Sandown Racecourse and Australia’s first car race

And it all began back in 1904, when the very first automobiles in Australia did battle at Sandown in Sydney.

When Colonel Harley Tarrant invented and constructed Australia's first petrol-driven automobile in 1901, it was only the beginning of his career as a car mogul.

Because building the Tarrant Automobile was not enough for the motor enthusiast - he wanted to race it.

Back at the turn of the 20th century, most Australians were still getting about by horse-driven carts and rail because the cost of buying a car was priced beyond the means of the average person.

Tarrant's automobile was affordable and he wanted to show people just what it could do.

So, he registered his creation in Australia's very first car race in Melbourne, Victoria.

Pulling together Australia's first car race

Today, Sandown Park is known as Ladbrokes Park and is known more for thoroughbred horse racing and hosts the final event of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

Around the horse track, though, the motor racing track remains which hosts the Supercars Championship in the Sandown 500 and has also hosted major events like the World Endurance Championship and the Australian Grand Prix.

It is also the birthplace of motor racing in Australia.

Way back in 1904, the Commercial Travellers Association invited the fledgling Automobile Club of Victoria to its annual picnic at Sandown Park.

The invitation included three different motor contests, the Voiturette Handicap for cars up to six horsepower, the feature Motor-Car Race for heavy automobiles and the Roadster Motor-Cycle Handicap.

The day motor racing became a serious sport

Around 1400 curious onlookers turned out in March 1904 to see the spectacle.

Little did they know they were about to part of history and would get to see pioneers of motor racing and car production in Australia in action.

The Voiturette Handicap attracted the largest field, with nine of the 16 entrants of the day competing in the event.

Amongst them was James Robert Crooke, a real Aussie character described in one news article as a 'bushranger, master marksman, champion jockey, race promoter, track owner and racing driver'.

His Locomobile, a 41/2 HP 2-cylinder steam engine conveyance, was good enough to claim the first race of the day.

In the main event, Tarrant was able to get the publicity he craved with a commanding win over three miles.

It was not high octane, the cars were restricted to 30mph (49kph), but the event began what would be a proud Australian motor racing industry.

The legacy of the Tarrant

It is believed only 16 Tarrant automobiles were built in the early 1900s, before Harley became the exclusive dealer of Ford Model T’s in 1908.

The last surviving Tarrant was acquired by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria in 2002.

It had been discovered by Maurice Smith—a former Tarrant employee—back in 1932. He presented the vehicle to Tarrant’s grandsons Kenneth and Peter Holmes in 1960.

The Tarrant was lovingly restored by elderly tradespeople who knew the craft of yesteryear, ensuring Australia’s greatest piece of automobile history was brought back to its original glory.

Col Tarrant was also one of the founding members of the RACV, which makes it appropriate that the vehicle is with the motoring club today and available for all Australians to enjoy.