The 1937 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held on the roads in and around the South Australian town of Port Elliott

Port Elliot, South Australia

Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay...

 on Boxing Day, 26 December 1936. Many contradictions exist about the race, firstly being held in 1936, rather than 1937. Secondly, the race has only become known as the 1937 Australian Grand Prix in more recent times. The race was known at the time as South Australian Centenary Grand Prix. The last Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...

 had been held some 21 months prior and no succeeding event had been planned. Eventually the Australian Grand Prix would be revived in April 1938

1938 Australian Grand Prix

The 1938 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Mount Panorama Circuit on 18 April 1938. The race had 30 starters. The race was held over 40 laps of the six kilometre circuit for at 241 kilometres....

. The stature of this race, the largest such race held in the three-year gap saw it incorporated into the Australian Grand Prix folklore.

Thirdly, despite the circuit being held around Port Elliott, the circuit is almost always referred to as Victor Harbor which is actually a few kilometres to the North along the Fleurieu Peninsula

Fleurieu Peninsula

The Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...

.

This was the first road race to have ever been held in South Australia, a practice that would later be banned. A long, almost eight mile course was laid out on the roads around Port Elliott and used just once for racing.

The race had 25 starters. The race was held over 32 laps of the twelve kilometre circuit for a total distance of approximately 400 kilometres.

It was the ninth race in the history of the Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...

.

Like most big motor races of the period, it featured a handicap start, with the slowest cars starting first and faster cars starting at intervals according to their predicted pace.

The race was won by pre-race favourite Les Murphy, driving a MG P, who was well clear of Tim Joshua driving a similar car with Bob Lea-Wright third in a Terraplane

Terraplane

The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane...

 based car. Fifth placed finisher Ossie Cranston, driving a Ford V8 powered car, completed the race in the shortest amount of time but had a handicap of over 55 minutes to overcome.

Classification

Results as follows.

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time
1	29	Les Murphy	MG PB / MG 0.8L	32	3h 57m 36s
2		Tim Joshua	MG PB / MG 0.8L	32	4h 7m 40s
3	19	Bob Lea-Wright	Terraplane Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane...  Special / Terraplane Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane...  3.5L	32	4h 9m 20s
4	20	Alec Poole	Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...  Special / Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...	32	4h 10m 29s
5	15	Barney Dentry	Riley Special / Riley 1.1L	32	4h 12m 32s
6	6	Ossie Cranston	Ford V8 Special / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  3.6L	32	4h 15m 47s
7	35	Ron Uffindell	Austin 7 Austin 7 The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...  Special / Austin Austin Motor Company The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...  0.7L	32	4h 19m 19s
8	27	John Summers	MG L Magna MG L-Type The MG L-type was produced by the MG Car company in 1933 and 1934.This 2 door sports car used a smaller version of the 6 cylinder overhead camshaft, crossflow engine which now had a capacity of 1086 cc with a bore of 57 mm and stroke of 71 mm and produced at 5500 rpm. It was...  / MG 1.1L	32	4h 22m 18s
9	18	Harry Beith	Terraplane Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane...  Special / Terraplane Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane...  3.5L	32	4h 24m 01s
10	23	John Dutton	MG C MG C-Type The MG C-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1931 to 1932. It was designed for competition use and based on the M-Type Midget. A special car, EX120 had been developed from the M-Type for George Eyston to make an attempt on the 750 cc class 24 hour record at Autodrome de Montlhéry in France...  / MG 0.8L	32	4h 24m 03s
11	9	Arthur Terdich Arthur Terdich Arthur Terdich was an Australian racing driver. He won the 1929 Australian Grand Prix....	Bugatti Type 37A / Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....  s/c 1.5L	32
12	26	George Martin	AC AC Cars AC Cars Group Ltd. formerly known as Auto Carriers Ltd. is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car marques founded in Britain...  16/80 / AC AC Cars AC Cars Group Ltd. formerly known as Auto Carriers Ltd. is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car marques founded in Britain...  2.0L	32	4h 30m 43s
NC	4	Lyster Jackson	MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L	29
NC	33	J. McDonald	Amilcar Amilcar The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940.The first offering was a small cyclecar; designed by Jules Salomon and Edmond Moyet, it bore a striking resemblance to the pre-war Le Zèbre. Next was the 903cc CC, which was available in two further versions; the CS was a sport...	28
Ret	22	Alf Barrett	Lombard AL3 / Lombard 1.2L	25
NC	31	Colin Anderson	Morris Cowley Special / Morris Morris Motor Company The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...  1.5L	23
Ret	17	Jack Phillips	Ford Special / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  3.6L	21
Ret	32	Lord William Waleran	MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L	20
Ret	30	Jim Gullan	Wolseley Hornet Wolseley Hornet (1930) thumb|right|275px|1932 Wolseley Hornet EW SpecialThe Wolseley Hornet was a lightweight saloon car produced by the Wolseley Motor Company from 1930 to 1936...  / Wolseley Motor Company Wolseley Motor Company The Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...  1.3L	17
NC	25	H. Abbott	Austin 7 Austin 7 The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...  / Austin Austin Motor Company The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...  s/c 0.7L	11
Ret	1	Jim Fagan	MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L	10
Ret	34	E.M. Winter	Vauxhall Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...  14/40 Special / Vauxhall Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...  2.3L	10
Ret	21	Hylton Dale	Bugatti Type 37A / / Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....  s/c 1.5L	9
NC	2	Tom Peters	Bugatti Type 37A / Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....  s/c 1.5L	7
NC	12	George Smith	Austin 7 Austin 7 The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...  / Austin Austin Motor Company The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...	7
Ret	13	Les Burrows	Hudson Special / Hudson Hudson Motor Car Company The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...	7
Ret	7	Frank Kleinig	McIntyre Hudson / Hudson Hudson Motor Car Company The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...	5
DNS	14	Bill Bullen	Alvis Alvis Cars Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company that existed in Coventry, England from 19191967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars and other armoured fighting vehicles, the...  / Alvis Alvis Cars Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company that existed in Coventry, England from 19191967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars and other armoured fighting vehicles, the... s/c 1.5L