1st. All British Rally, 1977     

Cheshunt is a small rural village situated in the King Valley in north-east Victoria, Australia. It is located about 50km from Wangaratta and is close to the Alpine National Park. In the 1970's the British motorcycle was in decline. The great names of the industry were all but gone with only Triumph and Norton hanging on by a thread. In this climate the BSA Owners Association organised a unique rally that was for British motorcycles only. It was from these humble beginnings the All British Rally was born.

What follows is a report on the first All British rally courtesy of, the newsletter of the BSA Owners Association, June 1977. A copy of the original document can be viewed from the link to the left.

"The All British Rally

Well it seems that this Rally was one of the most successful events the club has undertaken. A few committee members arrived at the site on Friday night to set things up for the arrivals early next day. We were ready at 8.00 and waited till 11.30 for the first bike! The bulk of the people turned up between 3.00 and 8. After most people had a good time at the Whitfield pub (or for the bloke and his Triple, in the river!) they settled at the Rally site on Saturday night to stand around a fire and consume a few (or many!) cans. A few watched the film, which had better dialogue before the soundtrack was on than after. The film was only slightly interrupted by a club member’s Triumph twin,, aided by the drunken hand of the owner, trying to wind the tacho needle around more than three times! More than a few people were glad of the great (solo) effort made to provide coffee. The variety of bikes was particularly good, though we could have seen a larger range of older bikes. Still it was well worth looking at all the bikes that rolled up. The presentations of Trophies for the best of each make went off very well. The winners were well chosen, a task that would not have been easy, especially in the BSA and Triumph classes. We had an interesting but uneventful visit from the police on Saturday morning (before people arrived) and they were good enough to leave us alone. However there were reports of harassment in Wang And Benalla on Sunday arvo. The Club certainly learned from this Rally much towa-rds running the event again. The efforts of all those who worked so hard are greatly appreciated and it is hoped that the event can be retained and improved for next year. "