Keith
Cox an original Monarch
I
recently had the privilege of sharing a couple of hours with Australian
legend Keith Cox a member of the original Edinburgh team of 1948. One
question often asked
by Monarchs fans, and which I put to Keith, is why did you not
return after such a promising debut year ? The
answer is quite simple he had a wife and family in Brisbane to consider
, he was then offered
a good job with the PMG when he returned to home in late 1948,
it was too good to pass up. He stayed with the department for 33
years. The offers from British speedway promoters still came in for
several years but the temptation was resisted. He was able to work
fulltime, ride interstate when the chances came, go fishing and enjoy
his speedway and most of all his family. It was an ideal lifestyle. Keith now in his 85th
year still rides on the road with the famous Ulysses motor cycle
club of which he is a past President. His memories
Meadowbank have not dimmed over the years, he recalls the warmth
and hospitality of the folk in Scotland and his promoter Ian Hoskins and
Frank Varey. He was originally earmarked for the Newcastle team, but
instead joined the Monarchs where he had his first outing on April 24
1948. He remembers a workshop he shared under the Meadowbank stadium
with Clem Mitchell and his team partners Dick Campbell, Denis Parker,
Eddie Lack. Bill Baird, Bill Maddern and Danny Lee. Keith had a good
mechanical background from
his mentor the former Sheffield star Andy Menzies. He proved to be a
good team man scoring several bonus points. he rates Sheffield as being
his favorite away track and recalls his amazement at his first sighting
of the tiny Bristol Keith who was born in Pomano in Queensland in 1923, began speedway in Brisbane in 1946. As an all round motorcyclist he competed in several motorcycle sports throughout his career. In Brisbane the exploits of the two Keiths, Gurtner and Cox are legendary speedway folklore, close friends off track, they even had adjoining homes on the fishing paradise of Moreton Island, but they were deadly rivals once the tapes rose. Keith retired in 1958. He represented Australia in 5 official test matches with an average that puts him second in the all time list of Australian test riders. Although credited with only
one Queensland state championship against arch rival Gurtie’s 7 he is quick
to point out that Gurtie won 5 of those after he
[Keith] retired !! Keith returned to the track
in Brisbane on his 70th
birthday aboard a Godden to set a time of 19 seconds, which was only 2
seconds below his times when he was at his peak. Today Keith and his wife
Myra live in a South Brisbane suburb where he is surrounded by memories
of his long career. I have visited many former riders but Keith’s
collection takes some beating. As I said
before he is still active on his road machine, involved in
charity runs through the Ulysses Club and enjoying good health. He is
computer literate which is a great bonus for researchers like me. He
shares a passion with many Queenslanders for a greater recognition of
Queenslands role in world speedway history which we hope will be
addressed in time. It was an honour and a privilege
to share some of speedways past with a living legend . Next year Edinburgh
celebrate 60 years of speedway. I hope these memories will revive other
memories of 1948 Tony Webb Brisbane
10/10/2007
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