Map of the Rob Roy Hillclimb course.

The Rob Roy track commences on a slight incline, proceeds through a sharp right turn, which originally passed a rusty iron shed (whose memory is perpetuated by the name Tin Shed Corner), down a slight incline, to a level stretch along the top of an embankment holding back a half-acre dam, then rears up a one-in-three gradient. The track then winds its way uphill through a series of left turns to the finish line. The start and finish lines are 760 yards (695 metres) apart.

The following is an extract from The Car, January 15, 1937:

“The site of the hillclimb has finally been completed, and the first event is to be held there on Foundation Day [February 1. 1937]. This is the first hill in Australia, as far as we know, to be specifically made for hillclimbing. It was cut out of virgin bush to the specifications of the LCCA, and it is its objective to make it the Shelsley Walsh of Australia...Everything is there that is required, judges box and telephone box at the finish, as well as a telephone box at the start...The grades of the hill, taken from the start and given for every fifty yards, are as follows: 1 in 18, 1 in 8, 1 in 10, 1 in 8, then level crossing the dam, and followed by 1 in 3.75, 1 in 5.5, 1 in 5.75, 1 in 5.75, 1 in 4.75, 1 in 5.75, and to the top 1 in 15. The approximate distance of the climb is half a mile.”

Text courtesy Leon Sims and MG Car Club of Victoria

Background

The Rob Roy Hillclimb, Australia’s oldest purpose-built Hillclimb, was established in 1937 at Christmas Hills, about 30kms from Melbourne. Hillclimbing, in which cars are driven uphill one at a time against the clock, is one of motorsport’s oldest events and was first held in 1897 in France.

In 1939, the track was sealed and became one of only three bitumen-surfaced purpose-built hillclimbs in the world, the other two being the Shelsley Walsh and Prescott courses in the UK.

The Rob Roy Hillclimb has a special place in Australia’s motoring history. Drivers who competed here include Jack Brabham, Harry Firth, Stirling Moss, Jean Behra, Reg Parnell, Stan Jones, Lex Davison, Bill Patterson, Doug Whiteford, Peter Whitehead, Reg Hunt and Len Lukey.

In 1962, bushfires ravaged the Rob Roy course, and it lay in disuse for 30 years until the MG Car Club of Victoria secured a lease on the property and faithfully restored the track.

Sources: Leon Sims, A history of Rob Roy Hillclimb - 1937 to 1961 - The Hill, The Drivers, The Cars. And, the MG Car Club of Victoria