The Club History
Our Story
​With only 120 cars recorded in South Australia in 1905, it was a difficult mission that went for two years. In the end 18 cars and 10 motorbikes took part in the original Old Crocks Run on the 5th of May 1934. The run started from the Adelaide CBD and finished at Glenelg Football Oval. Despite two cars not making it due to mechanical failure, the run was a huge success. Over 85 thousand people lined the streets to watch on.
To run the event, the organisers needed a business, like a club behind it. The year before the run took place, the Veteran Car Club of South Australia was created. After the event, it was determined that a club limited to veteran cars would not be feasible. As a result, a new club was created, the Sporting Car Club of South Australia.
Dr Geoffrey Howard was elected as the club’s first president, Gronwy Morris as secretary and Kenneth Johnson as treasurer. A Veteran Section within the SCCSA was introduced. Percy Wein-Smith was elected Chairman.
Membership was half a guinea (ten shillings and sixpence). A week after it was founded, the SCCSA hosted its official first event, a run to Mannum. The week after that, at Snake Gully, the club hosted its first ever hillclimb. On the 10th of October 1934, the SCCSA hosted its first speed meeting. Held on the beach at Sellicks Beach, the event was ‘too’ successful as the gathering of spectators was simply too much to handle. By the end of 1934, the club had 30 to 40 members.
Today, the Sporting Car Club of South Australia has grown to service thousands of members. In the 1950’s a significant milestone took place when the club took ownership of the Collingrove Hillclimb in the Barossa Valley. With that brought more members and its motorsport interests expanded when it soon hosted Grand Prix’s throughout South Australia, including the Victor Harbour and Nuriootpa Grand Prix. The club’s expansion grew again as it hosted and promoted more and more club events on and off track.
In the years to follow, the club would purchase its new headquarters in Unley. Mawson House remains its headquarters to this day, hosting events throughout its sprawling rooms, including the Eric Rainsford library – considered the largest automotive library in the southern hemisphere.
The success of the club continued on August 11, 2026 when a media announcement revealed an all new re-brand of the club’s assets, along with a brand new website, and new era for Collingrove that expanded its capabilities beyond just motorsport.
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