This is supposed to be a celebration of 100 years of speedway heritage, but instead, it feels like the first 100 years of sadness. As the golden era of our community prepares to say goodbye to Machinery Hill, we are staring down the end of an absolute institution. This hill is the place where thousands of children, now grown, hold their deepest, most formative memories.
The anniversary date of this milestone is the 16th of October. However, the grounds are scheduled to undergo massive structural changes immediately after this year's show to upgrade the venue infrastructure for the upcoming Olympic Games, meaning the grounds will be completely unavailable by October.
Because of this, the RNA is letting our community use the grounds under very strict guidelines for just one single day. One day to come together, take our final photos and remember. But this isn’t just speedway. This is a culture. This is the very core of Australian motorsport being cleared away for the world stage. While a modern stadium structure is slated to replace it for the world stage, the original, historic 100-year-old grandstand and pit area as we know them are facing a complete knockdown-rebuild. Once that original timber and historic footprint are dismantled, that physical history is gone forever. This is the very core of Australian motorsport heritage changing irreversibly.
This milestone stands on an incredible, unbroken timeline of documentation. We honour powerhouse historians like Tony Webb, who dedicated his life’s work to archiving this legacy, writing 90 Years of Brisbane Speedway and publishing the definitive book on this very heritage so these decades of dirt track history live on forever in print. Alongside him, legendary writers such as Dennis Newlyn and the Peter White have contributed over 60 years of fierce, dedicated journalism to the sport, ensuring every roar of the engine and every triumph on the clay was etched into history.
For me, this hits a vein that runs straight to the heart. These grounds are woven into my own family legacy. Right here, on this very dirt, my father Ron Johnson set a world record as the World’s Tallest Speedway Rider. "Big Bad Johno" was his showman name, and he was officially crowned the "King of the Ekka" by the legendary motorsport journalist Peter White.
The goal for Nomad Dirt Culture has never changed. This is our collective legacy. We should never forget where we come from, or the roaring voices that spoke and raced long before us. We must stand up, support our motorsport heritage and ensure that it is never forgotten. We owe that absolute respect and honour to the community of the golden era.
We also want to extend our sincere thanks to the RNA for acknowledging this 100-year milestone and providing this final window for the community. Because this community never actually left. We are still here, four generations deep, packed with professional racers spanning every single division.
THE FIELD GUIDE FOR THE FANS:
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🗓️ The Date: Sunday, 5 July 2026
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⏰ The Display: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
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📍 The Location: Brisbane Exhibition Grounds Main Arena
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🎟️ Admission: Free entry for public spectators
Note: Space inside the arena is strictly restricted to nominated display vehicles only, and nominations close mid-June via the CSAQ/VSAQ club secretaries. Attendees must utilize designated parking areas outside the main arena.
When the engines finally fall silent on the 5th of July and the dust settles over the grandstands one last time, the bulldozers may take the physical timber and steel of Machinery Hill. But they can never touch the spirit of what was built here. They cannot demolish the bloodlines, the records, or the lifetimes of sweat and fuel left in the dirt. We carry the crown and passion forward.
Long live the King and long live the Ekka.
Journaled from the fence line by Jocelyn Johnson-Dare. The daughter of Ron Johnson.
If you have memories of Machinery Hill, comment below to remember and respect the legacy for the next 100 years.
3 comments
So sad that this is happening. Everything at the RNA showgrounds is being demolished and it is just so wrong it should all be heritage listed as the grounds are a major part of Queensland history, I loved going to the speedway as a kid and have so many fond memories and to hear even more is being demolished is just so wrong the grounds have already had alot of changes that are all just to make more money, when are they going to wake up to the fact that people hate the changes and are sick of all the heritage disappearing because of greedy companies and why wreck it for the stupid olympics they should of passed on the olympics adn used the money to help the farmers the homeless and keep our heritage intact
Spent many nights at the speedway at Ekka from 1970 until it it closed How sad to see it disappear My grandfather started following speedway from its inseption and my son is now the 4th generation in our family to follow speedway
Hope they don’t distroy the John McDouald stand. It may need some New timber & a coat of aqua deck but it it so beautiful..
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