Speaker 1: It's nineteen to fifty four. On the Nullerball Plane near
Speaker 1: the South Australian border. Two men scramble from a burning wreck,
Speaker 1: just in time to watch their car blow up right
Speaker 1: in front of their eyes. They risked their lives trying
Speaker 1: to put out the fire, but it's a lost cause.
Speaker 1: Fortunately they come away uninjured, but their cross country adventure
Speaker 1: is over. Two hundred and forty six cars had set
Speaker 1: out from Sydney two weeks earlier, attempting one of the
Speaker 1: most grueling motor racing events in history, except it wasn't
Speaker 1: exactly a race. The Round Australia Reliability Trial was an
Speaker 1: eighteen day long distance rally quite literally around Australia, across
Speaker 1: the roads and rugged terrain.
Speaker 2: The goal was to avoid penalties and reach.
Speaker 1: The finish line with your car in mostly one piece.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: By the time the flames had extinguished on that exploding citron,
Speaker 1: less than half of the cars remained. Leading the pack
Speaker 1: is a man named Jack Murray driving a Ford V eight,
Speaker 1: who was having an explosive adventure of his own. Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm Tony Armstrong and welcome to the poolroom. This is
Speaker 1: where we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird stuff between.
Speaker 1: When it comes to sporting pursuits, Jack Murray did it all, cycling, wrestling,
Speaker 1: water skiing. His success may have varied, but he was
Speaker 1: the kind of bloke would try anything at least once.
Speaker 1: He was also pretty eccentric, but we'll get to that.
Speaker 1: Jack was especially passionate about motor racing in all its forms.
Speaker 1: He was born in Melbourne and was tinkering with bicycles
Speaker 1: and cars as early as fourteen years old. In his
Speaker 1: mid twenties, he moved to Sydney to work as a
Speaker 1: test driver for Chrysler. Then Jack and his brother set
Speaker 1: up a taxi service and mechanic shop in Bondai. It
Speaker 1: was the nineteen thirties and business was good, but then
Speaker 1: World War II broke out and Jack found himself serving
Speaker 1: on a ship in the Pacific. After the war, the
Speaker 1: brothers continued their business, but Jack also started racing all
Speaker 1: kinds of cars. He raced at Philip Island and Mount Panorama.
Speaker 1: His most famous event, though, is the nineteen fifty four
Speaker 1: Round Australia Reliability Trial.
Speaker 2: The trial was unique in the world of motorsport. It
Speaker 2: took place on open public roads.
Speaker 1: Both tarmac and dirt, and there were sixteen stages over
Speaker 1: two and a half weeks, with more than fifteen thousand
Speaker 1: kilometers covered. The event would passed through capital cities and
Speaker 1: remote towns, but the most remarkable part the cars were
Speaker 1: restricted to everyday vehicles and very few modifications were allowed.
Speaker 1: The big and bulky cars of the forties and fifties weren't.
Speaker 2: Exactly built for rough terrain.
Speaker 1: Winning the event was going to take skillful driving and
Speaker 1: quite a bit of luck. Jack Murray chose his car wisely,
Speaker 1: a nineteen forty eight Ford V eight. It was Canadian
Speaker 1: built and the kind of vehicle used as a taxi.
Speaker 1: Jack bought the black sedan secondhand and spray painted at gray.
Speaker 2: It was later dubbed the Gray Ghosts.
Speaker 1: He even added personal number plates JM four five six.
Speaker 1: The imported Ford had some distinct advantages, a strong chassis,
Speaker 1: a high clearance, and most importantly, hydraulic shock absorbers. The
Speaker 1: reliability trial began on the third of July, departing from
Speaker 1: the Sydney Showground. Around five thousand people turned up to
Speaker 1: see the competitors off two hundred and forty six cars,
Speaker 1: each with a driver and the navigator. Jack teamed up
Speaker 1: with experienced racer Bill Murray no relation. He also rocked
Speaker 1: up to the starting line wearing a guerrilla mask. I
Speaker 1: told you he was eccentric. The event was organized by
Speaker 1: the Australian Sporting Car Club, who also came up with
Speaker 1: the rules. Instead of a first past the post format,
Speaker 1: cars had to travel between designated checkpoints within a specified
Speaker 1: time limit. Teams were handed penalty points for failing to
Speaker 1: make the time schedule, while a certain amount of where
Speaker 1: and tear was allowed. Penalties were also given for damage
Speaker 1: to the cars. They departed in two minute intervals, the
Speaker 1: first team leaving around midday and the last car eventually setting.
Speaker 2: Off at nine pm.
Speaker 1: It was a slow start, with breakdowns and traffic jams
Speaker 1: delaying the first group of cars.
Speaker 2: It was an open road event after all.
Speaker 1: They traveled north to Brisbane via Newcastle before winding their
Speaker 1: way through Bunderberg, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. The first age
Speaker 1: was nothing but eventful. One team had their Jaguar engine
Speaker 1: catch fire, only to put it out and continue on
Speaker 1: their way, and heavy rainfall across Queensland made parts of
Speaker 1: the journey treacherous. The trial continued day and night. Drivers
Speaker 1: would catch a few hours of sleep at major checkpoints,
Speaker 1: then keep going. Occasionally, though they get woken up by
Speaker 1: a loud crack. It was Jack Murray throwing explosives out
Speaker 1: of his car window. You see, sometimes there were obstacles
Speaker 1: on the back roads, large rocks and stuff, and jelligknite,
Speaker 1: a type of explosive would be used to clear a path.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: Jack being the Larican, he is also like to celebrate
Speaker 1: with a bang as he passed through towns Unreal. His
Speaker 1: competitors and the police were not impressed, but Jack shrugged
Speaker 1: it off, down playing the explosive to nothing more than
Speaker 1: a firecracker. Jeligknite wouldn't hurt a flee out in the open.
Speaker 1: The prank entered motorsport folklore and gifted him the nickname
Speaker 1: of Jelignite Jack. Back on the road, Jack and Bill
Speaker 1: had hit the lead early and weren't letting up. It
Speaker 1: turns out the old Ford V eight was paying off
Speaker 1: because the next age was one of the toughest. From
Speaker 1: Townsville to Mount Isa, up to Darwin, then down a Broom.
Speaker 1: Drivers had to contend with tight corners, dusty roads, and
Speaker 1: sharp rocks that threatened to.
Speaker 2: Tear up their tires.
Speaker 1: Major hazards like creek beds and river crossings caused some
Speaker 1: teams to call on locals needing help to push their.
Speaker 2: Cars out of the water.
Speaker 1: Next was the long trip south through Meekathara and down
Speaker 1: to Perth before tackling the Nullibore Plane, then onto Adelaide.
Speaker 2: By this point.
Speaker 1: Jack's ford had a crackshock absorber and damaged suspension. Newspapers
Speaker 1: questioned whether it even make it back to Sydney, but
Speaker 1: Jack and Bill remained the only team who'd completely avoided penalties.
Speaker 1: Just the final stretch to go, heading into Melbourne, Jack
Speaker 1: was pulled up and questioned by police. Apparently complaints of
Speaker 1: explosions had been reported around Victoria. Cheekily, Jack denied knowing
Speaker 1: anything about it, before supposedly turning back to Bill and
Speaker 1: asking if they had Anygelic Knight left in the car.
Speaker 2: Lastly, it was on to Canberra before the run home.
Speaker 1: Remarkably, Jack and Bill Murray made it to Sydney without
Speaker 1: a hitch, and they were welcome by twenty thousand spectators
Speaker 1: they had won. Jack and Bill shared the first prize
Speaker 1: of two thousand pounds and collected their winner's trophy. Jack
Speaker 1: Murray went on to enjoy a varied and successful career
Speaker 1: in motorsport, competing in rallies and marathon events. Later in life,
Speaker 1: he ran into some health issues. He needed to have
Speaker 1: a leg amputated because of blood circulation problems. He responded
Speaker 1: in his typical humorous way, just as well, I can
Speaker 1: scale on one foot. Jellic knight Jack died on the
Speaker 1: eleventh of December nineteen eighty three at the age of
Speaker 1: seventy six. He lived a full life doing what he loved.
Speaker 1: Give me a good car, put me in the direction
Speaker 1: of the Aussie Outback and I'm happy. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to the ballroom with me, Tony Armstrong, this has been
Speaker 1: an iHeart production.
Speaker 2: Catch you in the next one.