The year was 1964 and the construction of the Mountainview Hillclimb was taking place with much help from hired and borrowed earthmoving equipment. A 584 yard hillclimb was created, and on 4 April 1965 the very first hillclimb event took place. A few dramas arose on the day. The track surface was very loose and slippery as it was fresh bitumen and aggregate.

The start line deteriorated and it was not long before a concrete starting pad was laid to prevent the breakup of the surface, this we believe was early 1966. In 1986 the first concrete pad was replaced and the rear was inscribed on the pad.

The timing in the early years was conducted adjacent to the start line, which was noisy to say the least in the rather primitive structure. It consisted of a concrete pad, and we think, a shelter type roof. Many years passed before this timing hut was bricked in and louvers filled the font of the building.

1967 saw the installation of the famous bus which was placed at the top of the hill where timekeepers were able to monitor vehicle movements with more safety. This allowed them to view both the start and finish lines and all in between.

However, on 27 June 1986, the bus was removed and a more permanent structure was built by Bill Norton and helpers. On completion, the building was handed over to the then president, Graeme Green, at no cost to the Club and is still in use today.

The Grafton Scout Group held a billy kart derby at the circuit on 11 June 1987

Canteens have also progressed with time. In the early days, a tent was used as the place to serve food and drinks to spectators and competitors. This was situated in the pit area near the start line. The sport was growing, spectator and competitor numbers increased – those motor sport enthusiasts were emerging from afar. Due to the increasing demand, a permanent building was erected down near the start line on 30 May 1970, built once again by Bill Norton. All of the material for this building was donated by Corbett Timbers, a local sawmill at Koolkhan.

This building met its demise with white ants and needed to be replaced. In 1985 a canteen which consisted of concrete pad, four posts and a roof was once again erected by Bill Norton and crew on the ridge, east of the starting area. This building has been upgraded over the years and is now fully enclosed. The roof area feeds a 20,000 litre water tank which serves as our supply to the canteen and toilet/shower block (built in 1988). Those who helped build the amenities may remember that we hired a back hoe for the septic tank. It was going well until it was time to get the machine out. Unable to do this, the machine was taken down hill, very precariously at times, and at some acute angles, but it didn’t fall over. What a relief to see it back on level ground at the bottom of the gully! Who was the operator? Only those working would know.

We were always looking for materials that did not cost much or were free and the water container that served us well for many years (up until 1996) was an old concrete agitator bowl blanket at one end and mounted via a wooden frame. Unfortunately, it leaked badly and had to be repaired.

In 1992 we conducted our first national meeting, the Australian Hillclimb Championships. This was run over four days and some statistics included:

2280 cans of cordial

170 loaves of bread

300 hot dogs

650 hamburgers

420 steak sandwiches

300 sausage sandwiches

6kg of margarine

2 ½ bags of onions

20kg of tomatoes

20 kg of beetroot

17 lettuces

8 litres of tomato sauce

216 packets of potato chips

558 Mars Bars

From 1965 to 1985, the property was leased from then owners, Cecil and Muriel Grebert. The property was sold to a group of Grafton businessmen in the 70’s and in 1985 the land was once again placed on the market. Through various fund raising activities, donations and member’s loans, the Grafton Sporting Car Club was able to purchase part of the 87 acres. In consultation with Copmanhurst Shire, the portion was then divided into two lots, 57 and 30 acres. The club was in a position to pay $22,500 for the 57 acre lot, only half of the $45,000 total cost. This did ease the situation at the time, but was still a burden for those involved. The balance of the 30 acres was purchased by a club member who had the building entitlement for that portion. He eventually sold, and then we had new neighbours. In 1990, the club made the decision to reconstruct the track. This would facilitate the circuit being used for events other than hillclimbs.

With the gentle persuasion of some heavy earthmoving equipment, and the tireless dedication of a handful of faithfuls, Mountainview was transformed into the multi-purpose motor sport facility currently in operation. This 12 months transformation was completed in 1991 when Gordon Poynter, a founding member of the Grafton Sporting Car Club, officially opened the facilities. And so began the association between the hillclimb and the sprint kart circuit.

Once this started we were faced with a problem of extra activity and that meant more noise from our facility. This was overcome; however, we are still limited to the days the facility can now be used.

Now we had this magnificent facility, we were again on the lookout for a building to house lap scorers, announcers etc… Through good fortune, still a little unsure how, it just so happened that a timber building became available at the South Grafton rodeo grounds. We needed a semi trailer with an earthmoving float, a 30 tonne crane and many hands to make the move happen. The op section was removed and placed on one truck, and then the 20 tonne building was raised and lowered onto the float. We were then faced with which way to go! From the rodeo grounds we went west to the Copmanhurst Road, then back along the Clarence Way to Mountainview. It all seemed too easy. At Whiteman Creek Bridge the load was too wide. The beams that supported the building railwayline (which was again donated) had to be moved diagonally across the truck to allow access across the bridge. This was resolved and we were off again to Mountainview where it now sits proudly and very suitable for the job. Our enormous thanks to Des Yager for the truck and float and Wicks and Parker for the crane, and I believe at not much cost. Bill Norton had all the piers laid prior to the building arriving on-site, which made the job a lot easier.