History
The day when excitement for ’56 Olympics spilled into our streets
AUDIENNE BLYTH is still glowing from all the Winter Olympics glory as she looks back on Australia’s first Summer Games and how they lit up the region.
In 1956, great excitement heralded the Olympic Games in Melbourne. The plan was to have the Olympic torch carried by runners the 2000 miles (nearly 3220km) from Cairns to Melbourne.
Local runners, male only, had the opportunity to participate through the Maroochy Shire.
In an interview in 2000 (the Sydney Olympics year), Scott Trevor recalled: “I was a member of the Maroochy Amateur Athletic Club at that time and trained at night at the Nambour Showgrounds so as to qualify to carry the flame.
“I kept in good physical condition by cutting cane on the family farm and running around the headlands, carrying a stick of sugar cane similar in size to the torch that I was to carry. A torch bearer needed to be able to run a mile in under seven minutes.
“In the lead-up to the Olympics, the athletic club held a carnival at the Nambour Showgrounds. I was honoured to run in the one-mile race which included Murray Halborg: the great New Zealand runner who held several world records in long distance running. On the morning of Thursday, 15 November, a large crowd waited at the Yandina School of Arts for the supporting retinue of army trucks. Jeff Johnston arrived with the torch.
“My torch was ignited, the crowd cheered and I was ready to run the next mile.
“As the runners completed each mile, they were picked up by the support vehicles. Don McNiven carried the torch into Nambour as other runners lined his path into Station Square to arrive at the dais.
“Amid many whistle blasts from the sugar mill and the cane trams, the chairman of the shire, Mr DA Low MLA, welcomed the torch to Nambour just before 9am. Approximately 6000 people watched and cheered. Currie Street, being part of the Bruce Highway, was closed for all traffic during these events in Nambour.
“I have never forgotten that day and all the torch bearers: all members of the Maroochy Athletic Club. Their names were: Peter Venardos, Ron Owen, Ivan Walker, Alan Owen, Ted Thomas, Fred Clark, Jim Clark, Barry Newport, Ian Newport, Monty Williams, Don Craig, Bryan Hartley, Jeff Johnston, David Brandon, Cliff Whiteoak, Gordon Matheson, L Day, Don McNiven, Gary Pearson and myself, Scott Trevor.
“When the torch left Nambour to continue to Brisbane, all the torch bearers were invited to the shire chambers by the chairman for morning tea and to have photos taken. There were congratulations all around.
“We felt a great deal of pride in the fact that we were connected to such a famous event.
“Although nominated by the community and my children for a place in the torch relay for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, I was not selected.
“It seemed disappointing that a different route was taken through the coastal towns, not the hinterland towns. However, the exciting moments of that momentous day in 1956 remain forever.”
Audienne Blyth is a member of the Nambour Historical Museum, open 1-4pm Wednesdays to Fridays, and 10am-3pm on Saturdays.
