The Southern Cross Rally was a major international rally mainly held in the Port Macquarie region of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, between 1966 and 1980. The rally attracted many of the world's leading rally drivers and factory teams.

The inaugural Southern Cross Rally was won by Harry Firth

Harry Firth

Harry L. Firth is an Australian former racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager well into the 1970s...

 in a works Ford Cortina

Ford Cortina

As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...

. Scotsman Andrew Cowan

Andrew Cowan

Andrew Cowan is a Scottish former rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005.-Early years:...

 dominated the event in the 1970s winning the rally five years in a row for the Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors

is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

 works team from 1972 to 1976. The last four wins were in a Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR and Cowan had also earlier won the 1969 'Cross in an Austin 1800

Austin 1800

BMC ADO17 was the model code used by the British Motor Corporation for a range of cars produced from September 1964 to 1975 and sold initially under its Austin marque as the Austin 1800. The car was also sold as the Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85, and later as the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and...

 making a total of six victories.

Some other notable Southern Cross winners were Colin Bond

Colin Bond

Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...

 in a Holden Dealer Team

Holden Dealer Team

The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s...

 Torana GTR XU-1

Holden Torana

The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...

 in 1971, the 'flying Finn' Rauno Aaltonen

Rauno Aaltonen

Rauno August Aaltonen , also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Before WRC was established Aaltonen competed in the European Rally Championship. He won the championship in 1965, with Tony...

 in a Datsun Violet 710 in 1977, Talmalmo farmer George Fury

George Fury

George Fury is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Australian Touring Car Championship.-Rallying:Born in Hungary, Fury rose to prominence during...

 in 1978 and 1979 in the Datsun Stanza and Ross Dunkerton

Ross Dunkerton

Ross Dunkerton is considered Australia's most successful rally driver to date, originating in Perth, Western Australia. He was previously a councillor for the Town of Bassendean, but moved with his family to Cairns in Far North Queensland in late 2007.Ross is married to his wife Lisa has two...

 who won the 1980 rally driving a Stanza.

There were many famous international rally drivers who contested the rally without winning it, including world champions Swedes Björn Waldegård

Björn Waldegård

Björn Waldegård from Rimbo is a former Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979...

 and Stig Blomqvist

Stig Blomqvist

"Stig" Lennart Blomqvist is a Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1985...

, and Finns Ari Vatanen

Ari Vatanen

Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament 1999–2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times....

 and Hannu Mikkola

Hannu Mikkola

Hannu Olavi Mikkola is a retired world champion rally driver. He was a seven time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times.- Career :...

. Some other notable international rally drivers who competed include Edgar Herrmann

Edgar Herrmann

Edgar Herrmann is a German-born Kenyan former rally driver. He also competed in sports car racing, driving mainly a Porsche 911. Herrmann notably won the Safari Rally in Kenya both in 1970 and 1971. Sports Illustrated journalist Robert F...

, Timo Mäkinen

Timo Mäkinen

Timo Mäkinen was one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is most famous for his hat-tricks of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally-Career:...

, Shekhar Mehta

Shekhar Mehta

Chandrashekhar "Shekhar" Mehta was a Ugandan-born Kenyan rally driver. He won the Safari Rally a record five times , including four consecutively, and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally Championship...

 and Paddy Hopkirk

Paddy Hopkirk

Patrick Barron "Paddy" Hopkirk is a former rally driver from Northern Ireland.He was born in Belfast and educated at Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare from 1945 – 1949 before attending Trinity College, Dublin until 1953. He started his winning career in professional racing and rally driving...

.

The final Southern Cross Rally in 1980 was a hard-fought battle between the Datsun Stanzas of Dunkerton, Fury and Geoff Portman and the Ford Escort BDA's driven by Greg Carr

Greg Carr (driver)

Greg Carr is an Australian former rally driver. Carr won the Australian Rally Championship three times and dominated the prestigious Castrol International Rally in the 1970s as well as winning numerous other rallies....

, Colin Bond and Ari Vatanen. Dunkerton held off the Escorts to win. A combination of lack of sponsorship money and 'burn-out' of the rally organisers led to the demise of what was still a very competitive event.

Winners

Year	Driver	Navigator	Vehicle
1966	Harry Firth Harry Firth Harry L. Firth is an Australian former racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager well into the 1970s...	Graham Hoinville	Ford Cortina GT Ford Cortina As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
1967	Barry Ferguson	Dave Johnson	Volkswagen Beetle Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
1968	John Keran	Peter Meyer	Volvo 142S
1969	Andrew Cowan Andrew Cowan Andrew Cowan is a Scottish former rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005.-Early years:...	Dave Johnson	Austin 1800 Austin 1800 BMC ADO17 was the model code used by the British Motor Corporation for a range of cars produced from September 1964 to 1975 and sold initially under its Austin marque as the Austin 1800. The car was also sold as the Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85, and later as the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and...
1970	Barry Ferguson	Dave Johnson	Holden Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Torana The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...
1971	Colin Bond Colin Bond Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...	George Shepheard	Holden Torana GTR XU-1
1972	Andrew Cowan	John Bryson	Mitsubishi Galant Mitsubishi Galant The first generation of the car, initially known as the Colt Galant, was released in December 1969. The design was dubbed "Dynawedge" by Mitsubishi, referring to the influence of aerodynamics on the silhouette. Three models were available, powered by the new 'Saturn' engine in 1.3 or 1.5 L ...
1973	Andrew Cowan	John Bryson	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR
1974	Andrew Cowan	John Bryson	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR
1975	Andrew Cowan	Fred Gocentas	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR
1976	Andrew Cowan	Fred Gocentas	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR
1977	Rauno Aaltonen Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen , also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Before WRC was established Aaltonen competed in the European Rally Championship. He won the championship in 1965, with Tony...	Jeff Beaumont	Datsun 710
1978	George Fury George Fury George Fury is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Australian Touring Car Championship.-Rallying:Born in Hungary, Fury rose to prominence during...	Monty Suffern	Datsun Stanza
1979	George Fury	Monty Suffern	Datsun Stanza
1980	Ross Dunkerton Ross Dunkerton Ross Dunkerton is considered Australia's most successful rally driver to date, originating in Perth, Western Australia. He was previously a councillor for the Town of Bassendean, but moved with his family to Cairns in Far North Queensland in late 2007.Ross is married to his wife Lisa has two...	Jeff Beaumont	Datsun Stanza