This photo comes from The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Tuesday 24 October 1939, page 8,
and shows the top three contestants in the Soapbox Derby run at
Hobart, Tasmania. This derby was part of a Girl Guides and Boy Scouts' sports
meeting held in North Hobart on 21 October 1939.
The lucky winners were, in first place Alan Berndt, in second place Leo Winch and in third place Bob Burnett.
This post is part of a series of posts for Sepia Saturday, which provides an opportunity for bloggers to share their history through photographs. You can view more Sepia Saturday images here.
It's always good to see Alan's relatives competing in a soapbox race!
ReplyDeleteBTW It is remarkable that the Dutch word for 'soapbox' is a literal translation: 'zeepkist'. Or maybe the English word stems from the Dutch word...
Hi Peter,
DeleteWow, I only just noticed the 'Burnett' surname connection! Thanks for visiting.
What a wonderfully cheering local news snippet! Those soapboxes look quite substantial, not at all like the planks on wheels we raced around on. We called them 'geordies' for some reason. I was reminded of the funny episode of racing something similar, described by Clive James in his 'Unreliable Memoirs'.
ReplyDeleteHi Little Nell,
DeleteI thought it was a lovely little piece of local news. I have some great childhood memories of children racing these.
Aha. Note to self: write about my own soapbox (or gokarts as we called them her in Australia)memories. Thanks for reminding me Little Nell :)
ReplyDeleteWe also called the 'billycarts.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, gokarts/billycarts made out of old pram frames! Some great memories.
DeleteThe details are so fun to study - the different car designs and motor caps, especially.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy,
DeleteI thought the article was a great piece of local history. Thanks for visiting!
Those soapboxes have a nice individual look. I never actually saw one of those carts, but the pictures of more modern ones are streamlined and don't look like they were actually made by kids.
ReplyDeleteI have some great childhood memories of throwing together gokarts with whatever we could find laying around. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteThe local policeman banned us from racing our gokarts on the road in our village. He said it was because we had no brakes. We lined up just like in your photo.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
DeleteThey certainly were dangerous little contraptions without brakes, but fun all the same!
My first thought, as was Peter's, was the photo was of Alan and his brother. I had to read it twice to make sure who the kids really were.
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful photo, great post.
Nancy
Thanks for your comment, Nancy. When I first saw the photo, it brought back a lot of memories of my childhood.
DeleteWhat fun. My daughters had to "make" carts like this at junior school, the exercise ending with a race down a suitable hill. Of course Dad ended up doing most of the construction, but it was a lot of enjoyment for us all.
ReplyDeleteI remember the idea of such soapbox derbys from some dim and distant youth, although I never had a soapbox myself, but dreamt of one. Perhaps it was some ancestral memory passed down from my Uncle Bob.
ReplyDeleteAlan, a dream I'm sure you shared with many youngsters or it could very well have been an ancestral memory! 'Uncle Bob' did quite well with his 3rd place.
DeleteBrett, what a great way to spend quality time with the family.
The winners look proud and rather serious as they pose for their picture.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us!
Kathy M.
Cool go-karts! I have to laugh at the good play with names relating to Alan, hahahaha, especially when I first saw your post and name Karen, (you see I'm Karen too, although thankfully I go by Karen S.) so we should be okay! Great post- and welcome to Sepia Saturday!
ReplyDeleteKathy M, I'm sure these youngsters were very proud of their achievements.
DeleteKaren S, thank you for your welcome, I'm sure there won't be too much confusion with the similar names.
This brought back memories of my brother and his friends making go-karts in the 1950's. I was too timid a child to risk myself in one!
ReplyDeleteI still carry the scars of a soapbox cart accident. A Nail hadn't been "toshed" over propably and when we failed to navigate a corner properly it dug into my leg and left a scar that is still visible.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is that I do not ever recall seeing a soapbox. They certainly weren't available for boys to make racers, maybe all the politicians had cornered the market.
Don't you just love the Dutch "zeepkist" sounds so Continental and the zeep gives the impression of speed, shame a bout the Kist too much like the ancient cyst burials. Maybe, it means Speedy-coffin. The way we played it is quite apt
ScotSue, the article brought back a lot of memories for me also.
DeleteMike, while these vehicles were a lot of fun, they were certainly 'accidents waiting to happen'.
What fun!!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Theresa (Tangled Trees)
As a kid, I loved the thought of soap box derbies. Unfortunately I grew up in farm country -- ho hills, and little in the way of pavement -- such things as soap box derbies were seen as frivilous. None the less, I dreamed of having a such a wonderful thing as one of these little cars.
ReplyDeleteTheresa & Joan, I'm sure these kids had a great day and had some fantastic memories of the event.
DeleteAh. Where have all the soap-box vehicles gone? Do you think the current generation even knows what a soap box is? Fine photograph and thoughts.
ReplyDelete