NEWCASTLE (NSW)

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1940's - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP

The unsealed Emergency Airstrip was built by the Royal Australian Airforce for the 2nd World War. The airstrip was quite small, only 3800 feet in length and 150 feet wide.

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1950 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP CIRCUIT

The Tomago Circuit was a one mile track that ran up and down the airstrip at the Hunter River end and ran from 1950 through to 1954, Only four race meetings were ever held at the circuit.

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1950 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP CIRCUIT   24th September 1950

On Sunday the 24th of September 1950 a race meeting was conducted by the Maitland Motor Cycle Club to raise money for the Maitland flood victims.

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1953 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP CIRCUIT   19th April 1953

On Sunday the 19th of April 1953 the Maitland Motor Cycle Club conducted a race meeting at the Tomago Strip Circuit in aid of the Maitland Childrens Library appeal, 3,000 spectators attended raising a sum of 150 pounds.

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1953 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP CIRCUIT   15th November 1953

Sunday the 15th of November 1953 saw the Maitland Motor Cycle Club conduct a Motorcyle and Sidecar race meeting at the Tomago Airstrip circuit, as yet no results are available.

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1953 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP MOTORCYCLE RACING

1953 - Photo's: unknown.

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1954 - TOMAGO AIRSTRIP CIRCUIT NEW SOUTH WALES TT CHAMPIONSHIP   7th February 1954

On the 7th of February the Maitland Motor Cycle Club hosted the 1954 New South Wales TT as well as the Airstrip Championship at there Tomago Airstrip circuit, A crowd of 10,000 was hoped for, the actual number was closer to 7,500.
Competitor numbers were very healthy with around 100 solos and 12 sidecars nominated.

(Research and editorials John Campbell)

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1966 - THE AGE NEWSPAPER REPORTED

RAAF  pilot  glides  disabled jet  onto  Bush  Strip

Sydney: A Jet fighter pilot yesterday saved a two million dollar Mirage when he brought it down without power on an abandoned bush lined air strip near Williamtown. He was Flight Lieutenant Glen G Cooper, 28. of Kotara, a member of the 75 Squadron at Williamtown RAAF Base.

Flight Lieutenant Cooper could have used his ejection seat to bail out of the powerless plane after a flame out of the engine, But he was afraid the ditched plane would land on a farmhouse or a populated area, He decided to stay with the fast falling plane and brought it down on a restricted area of the old Tamago Airstrip.

Missed Bushes: I could see bare patches of gravel on the airstrip and a lot of grass, he said, There were a few bushes down the middle of the strip but I managed to miss them, A couple of others got caught up in the undercarriage and plane stopped before it reached the end of the strip. Since the war the airstrip has been used at intervals for Motor Racing and by crop dusting aircraft.

31st May 1966

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