Phil Garlick’s Fatal Night at Maroubra Speedway

In the 1920s, when motor racing was still a young and extraordinarily dangerous sport, Reginald Gordon ‘Phil’ Garlick became one of Australia’s best-known racing drivers.

Born at Blayney, New South Wales, in 1888, Garlick was known as Gordon to his family. Away from racing, he was a respected businessman and managing director of Automobiles Limited. He married Nellie Esther Coleman in 1914 and the couple had sons. By all accounts, Garlick was composed in everyday life. Behind the wheel, however, another side emerged.

His domain was the Olympia Motor Speedway at Maroubra, a 1.6 kilometre (1 mile) concrete track with steep banking that attracted enormous crowds. Garlick became one of its greatest stars, winning across multiple classes and collecting trophies including the Paramount and Lucky Devil Cups. In June 1926, he recorded the track’s fastest time, reaching 157 kilometres per hour (98 miles) in his supercharged Alvis.

Painted emerald green, bearing the number 13 and named Lucky Devil, the Alvis became closely associated with Garlick as he pursued his ambition of reaching 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles).

On the evening of 8^th January 1927, more than 15,000 spectators gathered at Maroubra. During the final lap of a handicap race, Garlick was chasing leader Hope Bartlett when his Alvis skidded high on the steep northern banking. The car left the track, struck an electric light pole and crashed beyond the circuit. Garlick was killed almost instantly. He was 38.

At home in Rose Bay, Nellie had been listening to the race on the radio. The announcer described Garlick leaving the track before abruptly ending the broadcast, apparently realising his wife might be listening. Nellie telephoned the station but was given no further information and had to wait until speedway officials arrived to confirm that her husband had died.

Thousands attended Garlick’s funeral, with a procession of cars stretching around two kilometres to South Head Cemetery. His remarkable memorial depicts him as he had become known to so many Australians: wearing his racing helmet, hands on the steering wheel, forever behind the wheel.

Location:
South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia

Find a Grave Link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12540614/reginald_gordon-garlick

Sources & Photo Credits:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16351452
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223470260
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/245874794
https://www.motorcyclemeanders.com/phil_garlick.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12540614/reginald_gordon-garlick
https://www.espn.com.au/racing/story/_/id/15971032/greg-growden-pays-tribute-australian-motor-racing-pioneer-phil-garlick-gravestone
https://primotipo.com/tag/maroubra-speedway/