13/09/2026
I started riding Trials in 1973 originally as a member of the Motorcycle Club of Canberra. In 1984 we separated to form the Trials Club of Canberra. We always had Monthly Newsletters which took a lot of manual effort from a few regular Club members. Just remember that in 1973 there were no mobile phones, iPads or computers. We had to write up the Newsletter, and then got someone to type it on Gestetner sheets to fit on to a roller style printer. Print off enough copies, fold them up and put them in envelopes and post them to our Club members.
I had attempted to fly down to Tasmania on a small plane from Cootamundra Airport to spectate at the 1973 Australian Trials Championship but a couple of fellow enthusiasts withdrew so the plane didn't go.
In September 1974 a group of MCC of Canberra riders did compete at The Australian Trials Championships at Bentley near Casino run by the Richmond River MCC. I finished 57th in a field of 94. We all rode the same line in those days.
In 1975 the Australian Trials Championships were run by the AJS Motorcycle Club of WA, at Bickley near Perth.
I didn't start to keep copies of our Newsletters until late 1975, so attached you can see pages from the Official Programme on which I have written all of the results. The Sidecar class was run on the Saturday with the Solo event on the Sunday. We rode 8 laps of 10 Sections. (400 points maximum).
There were only 3 entries from NSW. Peter Paice who dropped only 5 points and won on his TY175, Mark Burgin from Wollongong on a TY175 who dropped 106 points, and myself who dropped 125 on my TY250B.
I had gone out to practice on the Friday before the Trial and had a decent fall which resulted in my front brake lever getting snapped, and although it wasn't confirmed until a couple of weeks after the Trial I had cracked the Scaphoid in my left wrist.
I rode with my wrist strapped up on the morning of the Trial by the wife of a friend. We didn't use the clutch very much at all back in the day.
The photo below was taken a couple of weeks after I got back to Canberra. My long time mate Bob Coleman also had his arm in plaster so we posed on the boot of his Fairlane.
Trevor Bennett
