02/09/2026
𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 - 𝗚𝘆𝗺𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟬𝘀
The Kalamunda Gymkhana was an annual sporting event held each spring at Kostera Oval from approximately 1949 – 1957. The event was sparked by a growing need for somewhere for the various sporting groups of the district to come together, and also served as a fundraiser for various local charitable groups such as Lesmurdie Hospital and the Kalamunda ambulance service.
The main events of the day were motorsport racing, with TQ “midget” speed cars, sedans, and motorcycles racing on the gravel track around the oval, sending gravel and dust flying everywhere. The midget cars had a hand operated pump on the outside of the body, and the driver could be seen furiously pumping this in and out, presumably to pressurise the fuel tank.
Other sports often seen competing or performing displays at the gymkhanas included horse riding, rodeo, cycling, judo, fencing and log chopping. Activities such as egg-and-spoon, wheelbarrow and sack races were held for the children, and there were also stalls, sideshows and a parade of floats and novelty vehicles. One novelty event that was included for a time was the greasy pig competition, in which a pig would be smeared with grease and released for people to try to catch, but this was cancelled after one contestant who’d had too much to drink caused the pig an injury.
Pickering Brook also held Gymkhanas during the same period.
Pictured: Chasing the greasy pig at the Pickering Brook Gymkhana in the 1950s; adult and child contestants in a decorated tricycle parade at the Kalamunda Gymkhana in 1950; a 1949 float at the Kalamunda Gymkhana promoting the Kalamunda and Districts Horticulture Society (the model was a council employee named Melva Hall).
