THE ROAR OF THE MIGHTY VINCENTS SHOOK BRISBANE CITY: 100 YEARS OF EKKA SPEEDWAY AND A SOLID COPPER RELIC

A century after the first engines broadsided around the Brisbane Showgrounds, Nomad Dirt Culture host Jocelyn Dare uncovers the deeply personal legacy of her father, WWII veteran and world-record rider Ron “Johno” Johnson.

BRISBANE EXHIBITION SPEEDWAY, QLD 

Exactly 100 years ago today, the earth beneath Bowen Hills began to tremble. It was the night the gates opened to a ritual that would define working-class Brisbane for generations, when the unbridled thunder of the mighty Vincents shook the city centre , rattling windows across the suburbs and pulling tens of thousands of wide-eyed spectators to the wooden rails.

Today, the Brisbane Exhibition Ground stands silent on its official centenary. But for Nomad Dirt Culture host Jocelyn Dare, the history of the Ekka isn’t buried in old newspaper archives—it is forged in family blood, Aussie Grit, and an extraordinary hand-beaten piece of copper.

The Tallest Man on Two Wheels

The story of the Ekka’s golden era is the story of men like Jocelyn’s father, Ron “Johno” Johnson.

Returning home in the late 1940s after serving his country in World War II, Johno didn't look for a quiet civilian routine. Instead, he channeled that wartime adrenaline straight into the raw, brakeless fury of speedway solo and sidecar racing at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. Towering over every competitor in the pits, Johno officially held the world record as the world’s tallest speedway rider to ever drop the clutch on the track at 6’5.

Throwing a roaring Vincent sideways on loose dirt requires pure grit; doing it at his towering height made him an unforgettable giant of Queensland motorsport. He became “Brisbanes Bad Boy” & “The King of the Ekka” by one of Australia’s longest speedway writer and historian Peter White.

Alongside him on the high side of the sidecar was his passenger and best mate, Brian Hunter—known to generations of the family simply as “Uncle Brian.” Together, Johno and Brian carved their names into the clay, running bar-to-bar through dust, mud, and roaring crowds on Saturday nights.

A 93-Year-Old Brother and a Piece of Speedway History

This year, Uncle Brian celebrated his 93rd birthday. With that milestone came the reunion of a priceless family artifact and a piece of Brisbane sporting folklore that was nearly lost to time.

Brian placed into Jocelyn’s hands a heavy, solid copper artwork. Decades ago, just before Johno retired from competitive racing in the 1980s, a dedicated female speedway fan—an apprentice panel beater whose name has slipped from memory, though her etched signature remains permanently marked at the base—spent countless hours hand-beating and sculpting a stunning tribute in solid metal. The artwork was made around 1960s.

The artwork immortalizes a fierce, high-speed battle at the Brisbane Exhibition Speedway between Ron Johnson and fellow legend Sandy McCrea. Rendered with striking precision, the fine copper relief captures the lean of the bikes, the spray of the dirt, and the unforgettable, pristine white timber fence of the Ekka oval framing the battle.

Johno had originally gifted the copper piece to his trusty passenger and brother-in-arms, Brian. Half a century later, Brian passed it back into the hands of Johno’s daughter.

“Holding that copper artwork, you can practically hear the roar of the Vincents and smell the methanol,”says Jocelyn Dare. “Uncle Brian turning 93 and giving this back to our family on the centenary year isn’t a coincidence. It is a reminder of who built this sport. Speedway may not be on the dirt track at the Ekka today, but it does not mean we stop honouring and remembering our family legacies that built the grounds. Forever grateful for Uncle Brian for keeping it safe all these years. It brought many happy tears. We will focus on building a better sporting infrastructure for Speedway here in Brisbane for the future of our sport”.

 

The Fight for the Next Generation

For Nomad Dirt Culture, stories like Johno’s and Brian’s are not just fond nostalgia—they are the moral foundation of a modern advocacy campaign.

Today, while Australian riders continue to win world championships abroad, Brisbane does not have a single operational track for 500cc solo bikes or speedway 1,000cc sidecars following the closure and sale of grassroots hubs like Mick Doohan Raceway. The bureaucratic red tape that prevented an official 100-year celebration at the Ekka is the same institutional inertia that has left local competitors without a venue to race.

Nomad Dirt Culture is currently in active discussions with the Queensland Government and Olympic sport officials to demand that heritage and infrastructure go hand-in-hand. The community that filled those grandstands for a century has not vanished—they are merely waiting for leadership to catch up with their passion.

The mighty Vincents may have gone quiet at Bowen Hills, but the legacy of the riders and the souls who shook Brisbane will never be forgotten.

About Nomad Dirt Culture (NDC)

Nomad Dirt Culture is an Australian grassroots motorsport media, apparel, and advocacy collective founded by Jocelyn Dare. Dedicated to preserving motorsport heritage while mobilizing the next generation of competitors, NDC backs #AnyTyreThatHitsTheGround—championing drift, road racing, speedway solos, sidecars, karts, and dirt ovals nationwide.

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