Club History
Terry Stephenson served as the treasurer of the Gold Coast Kart Club from around 1971 to 1980. Along with his brother-in-law, Rod Haines, he attended a club meeting at Barry Burgess' home in Southport. The president at the time, Doug Pilling, oversaw the meeting, likely an annual general meeting, as Stephenson left as treasurer and Haines as the secretary.
The club conducted racing events on a small dirt track with an oiled surface at Coomera. It was located on the west side of the Mobile Service Station and situated in a cleared area amongst the scrub.
It was long before they started looking for a more suitable track with improved facilities and a sealed surface. They secured the help of the Hon. Ivan Gibbs MLA, who sourced five acres of suitable land in the middle of the bush near Coomera, on a property owned by a Mr. Bill Day. The annual rental fee was just $250. Gibbs also arranged for a government grant of about $600.
Around this time, Arthur Hilton became president. Stephenson and Haines remained the secretary and treasurer. However, they had no money to speak of. Stephenson made an appointment with his bank manager at the Commercial Bank of Australia in Surfers Paradise and managed to secure a $4000 loan secured by ten members who were prepared to back the cause.
Work started on the track shortly after. The group cleared the bush built a post and wire fence around the entire area five acres. Don Baxter kindly brought in all the heavy equipment and road base and constructed a stable road about a kilometer long between the track and the highway. He also donated the besser blocks for the canteen, which was built by suitably qualified club members.
The asphalt guy who came to lay the track did not deliver a suitable or smooth track. We put up with it for a short period, but eventually raised funds to replace it with hot mix. Bingo nights, which was conducted at the CWA hall in Mermaid Beach and income generated from race meetings helped raise funds for the relaying of the track.
However, getting good fields at the race meetings in the early days was a problem. Their main competitor clubs, Golden Valley at Samford and Ipswich saw the Gold Coast Kart Club as a threat and would actively boycott them. Some meetings, we would only have thirteen starters.
As time went by, some Brisbane people, like Dennis Purdy, became friends with the club. Purdy used to be an Ipswich member, and many feel he bridged the gap between the Gold Coast and Brisbane karters.
Towards the end of the 70s, we started conducting our meetings at the kiosk in Newfarm Park, where Purdy was the lessee.
Neil Coleman followed by Alan King became president. The Tecno Karting Center, owned by the Heath family, also supported the Gold Coast Kart Club. The “Tecno Pro 100” was a significant event held on 25 June 1978. It featured both Graham and Howard Heath, national champion John Pizzaro and Victorian Robbie Hunter.
Rod Haines and Terry Stephenson left the club in 1980 when others were elected at the AGM, and by then, John Vincart had become president.
