The 1947 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Mount Panorama Circuit

Mount Panorama Circuit

Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is the home of the Bathurst 12 Hour motor race, held each February, and the Bathurst 1000 motor race, held each October...

 on 6 October 1947. The race had 24 starters. The race was held over 38 laps of the six kilometre circuit for at 241 kilometres.

It was the twelfth 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...

 and the first race to have been held after the conclusion of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Racing in Australia resumed in 1946, but it took until 1947 for a group, in this case the Australian Sporting Car Club, to take on the running of the Grand Prix. Police opposition to racing at Mount Panorama led to the postponement of the race from Easter to October.

The race, a handicap event as was the tradition in the immediate post-war period, was won by Bill Murray racing his MG TC. Murray took the lead on the last lap of the race after a tyre failure on Ray Mitchell's Jeep/Ford Special caused the race leader to slow dramatically. Mitchell limped home for fourth position. Future Grand Prix stars also passed Mitchell, second was taken by Dick Bland in his Mercury Special. Bland would claim two more podiums over the four years but a win would be elusive. Third was taken by Lex Davison driving a mammoth Mercedes-Benz SSK. Davison would go on to become the Grand Prix's most prolific winner, even though his career would be cut short by his death at Sandown

Sandown Raceway

Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:...

 in 1965, Davison would win the race four times. Davison also completed the race in the shortest time, a prelude to the future of the race over the next decade and a half.

Classification

Results as follows.

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time
1	21	Bill Murray	MG TC / MG 1.3L	38	2h 39m 46s
2	7	Dick Bland	Mercury Special / Mercury Mercury (automobile) Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...  3.7L	38	2h 40m 22s
3	5	Lex Davison Lex Davison Alexander Nicholas Davison was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957...	Mercedes-Benz 38/250 Mercedes-Benz SSK The Mercedes-Benz SSK is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. Its name is an acronym of Super Sport Kurz, German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development of the earlier Mercedes-Benz S...  / Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz in motorsport Throughout its long history, Mercedes-Benz has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including sportscar racing and rallying, and is currently active in Formula Three, DTM and Formula One.-Early history:...  7.6L	38	2h 40m 33s
4	11	Ray Mitchell	Jeep/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	38	2h 41m 09s
5	23	Tom Sulman	Sulman Singer Singer (car) Singer was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...  Special / Singer Singer (car) Singer was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...  1.0L	38	2h 41m 48s
6	15	Alf Najar	MG TB Special / MG 1.3L	38	2h 41m 37s
7	12	Harry Monday	Mercury Special / Mercury Mercury (automobile) Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...  3.9L	38	2h 41m 59s
8	17	John Barraclough	MG NE / MG 1.3L	38	2h 42m 10s
9	13	Dougal MacLachlan	MG TA Special / MG 1.4L	38	2h 43m 55s
10		Les Burrows	MG J2 / MG 0.8L	38	2h 44m 37s
11	19	Ron Ward	MG TB / MG 1.3L	38	2h 45m 37s
12		Bruce Myers	Riley Imp Riley Nine thumb|250px|Riley Nine Kestrel Saloon 1933The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.The car was largely...  / Riley 1.1L	38	2h 46m 01s
13	18	Bill Nunn	MG TB / MG 1.3L	38	2h 47m 55s
14	22	Elliott Forbes-Robinson	MG TC / MG 1.3L	38	2h 48m 28s
Ret	1	Alf Barrett	Alfa Romeo Monza Alfa Romeo P3 The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after Tipo A monoposto . It was based on the earlier successful Alfa Romeo P2...  / Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo in motorsport During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private...  2.4L
Ret	9	Jack Murray	Bugatti Type 39 / 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	29
Ret	2	Frank Kleinig	Kleinig-Hudson 8 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...  4.2L	27
Ret	20	George Pearse	MG TB / MG 1.3L	23
Ret		Len Phillips	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...  0.8L	21
Ret	3	Hope Bartlett	Dixon / Riley 1.8L
Ret	4	Ron Ewing	Buick Special / Buick Buick Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...  3.8L
Ret	16	Walter Mathison	Jaguar SS100 Jaguar SS100 The SS100 is a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1940 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England. The last one is thought to have been delivered in 1941. In 1936 the name Jaguar was given to a new saloon car and from then on to all the cars...  / Standard Standard Motor Company The Standard Motor Company was founded in Coventry, England in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay . The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.-1903–1914:...  2.7L
DNS	8	Alec Mildren	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
DNS		Dennis Curran	Mercury Special / Mercury Mercury (automobile) Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...  3.9L
DNS		Ken Tubman	MG K3 / MG 1.3L
DNS		Len Golding	MG NE / MG 1.1L