HOSTED BY THE MARRICKVILLE HERITAGE SOCIETY

Cycling Communities: Cycling clubs in Sydney, 1860s-2000s’

Date: Sat 24 Nov at the Herb Greedy Hall, Petersham Road.

Time: 10:30am -12:00pm

Speaker: Dr Marc Rerceretnam, Cyclo-historian
The formation and popularity of bicycle clubs in Australia closely reflects the costs of purchasing a bicycle. In the 1860s it was largely a pastime for the rich and affluent, and by the 1890s it widened to include the middle classes. However by the turn of the twentieth century, with the rich and middle classes smitten with new motorized transportation like automobiles and motorcycles, opportunities to own a bicycle opened up for the first time to the working classes. As a result bicycle clubs flourished throughout the Australian social landscape. The decades following the Second World War saw growth in wealth and the growing affordability of personal motorized transportation. By the 1960s and especially in the 1970s, bicycle users turned away from the low tech bicycle towards the now affordable automobile. However by the 1990s and 2000s the bicycle acquired new meanings, practicalities and charm of bicycles were discovered yet again by new affluent professional classes.

Waratah Rovers Club 1 – Frank Walker glass slide collection, RAHS