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CHARLTON is not normally a town you would associate with the sport of motor racing.
But this weekend the small north central Victorian community will serve up its own slice of motoring heaven with the first ‘Weekend at Brocky’s’ event.
In part a tribute to motor racing legend and nine-time Bathurst 1000 winning driver Peter Brock, the weekend is being organised by his youngest brother Phil, himself a successful, if not unheralded former touring car driver.
If you think Charlton – population little over 1000 - is a strange choice of venue for such a motor racing showcase – you might be right.
That is until you realise that Phil, born and bred in Melbourne, now calls Charlton home.
It’s a move he has no regrets about and just as he did in his touring car racing days, he’s keen on making it a success.
“I moved up here about two years and never thought I would live in a country town before, but since I have been here I have really enjoyed it,” Phil told The Advertiser
“I just like the different atmosphere than what you get in big cities nowadays that I find so regulating and controlling, it drives me nuts
“It’s enjoyable here, but like many other country towns it’s dying because it’s all reliant on farming and farming now requires less people every year to produce the same amount of goods.
“So therefore you have smaller economy continually.
“The only way they are going to survive is through a little bit of tourism, so doing this Weekend at Brocky’s in Charlton is a way of getting some people here and spending some money and assisting the local economy.”
In his brother Peter, who tragically died in a rallying accident in 2006 aged 61, Phil has the perfect drawcard.
He is, however, unsure how many of the Australian sporting icon’s fans will flock to town for the showcase.
Some groups, in particular car clubs he thought might be involved in the weekend, won’t be.
In a sign of the times, Weekend at Brocky's has almost entirely been promoted through social media site Facebook.
“Facebook can be absolute pain in the neck but if you get in the right areas of it, it can be fantastic,” Phil says.
“I’ve re-met so many people from years and years ago.
“A lot of the people that are coming to this first one are people I have never seen on Facebook before.
“It’s like they always loved that period of motor racing but have never had anything to do with it.
“They don’t have much knowledge about it and that’s what they are coming for, to learn a bit about it.”
I had him for 57 years …. that’s fine. It was the people who met Peter for five minutes or two minutes, he signed something for them, whatever, who were absolutely besotted with him and they wanted him around. They’re the one I feel sorry for.
- Phil Brock
While there would be no shortage of material to showcase - cars included - Weekend at Brocky’s won’t simply be a memorial to Peter.
Phil has his own unique story to tell, including his involvement in the television and film industry, most notably as the lead stunt driver in Australian movie classics Mad Max and Mad Max 3: Thunderdome.
Despite car stunts traditionally being filmed at low to medium speed, Phil insisted that everything in Mad Max be done at a minimum of 90 miles per hour.
“If you are doing high speed stuff - and knowing the script of Mad Max - you know you have to do it flat out,” he says.
“It was still the hardest job I ever did.
''It was so fast and you couldn’t afford to make many mistakes – or any really.
“The other thing is of course they had no money, so if you wrecked a car that was it, they didn’t have any money to build another, or had no spares.
“It was great work, I absolutely loved it.”
Scenes from Mad Max and selected family and racing highlights will feature in a compilation of movies and documentaries to be shown at the restored Rex Theatre in Charlton from 2pm on Saturday.
The chance to see rarely viewed footage from the '60s, '70s and '80s will be followed by a dinner in the town, with seating for 180, on Saturday night.
A show and shine type event is scheduled from 9am to noon on Sunday.
Phil said this was a green light for motor enthusiasts to show off their machines, regardless of make.
He said plans were afoot to make Weekend at Brocky’s an annual event.
There is a touch of irony in the timing; last Monday (September 8) was the eighth anniversary since the death of Peter during a rally at Gidgegannup, near Perth.
Phil, who famously raced with his brother in several endurance races including at Bathurst in the 1970s and '80s, speaks candidly about the loss of his brother.
He says it’s the fans who should miss him most.
“I’ve always found it surprising … from day one after he went, I feel sorry for his fans,” he says.
“I had him for 57 years …. that’s fine.
“It was the people who met Peter for five minutes or two minutes, he signed something for them, whatever, who were absolutely besotted with him and they wanted him around.
''They’re the one I feel sorry for.
“Sure I miss him, don’t get me wrong … heaps .. but to me the shame is the fact he was going to grow older into this great statesman that would be so good for Australia … so good for the people.
“I don’t understand the fact that I should be so sad about it.
WHERE AND WHEN?
Weekend at Brocky’s will be held this weekend in Charlton, from 2pm on Saturday to noon on Sunday. For more information on the event, check out the 'Weekend at Brocky’s' Facebook page Phil Brock has created.
