Windback Wednesday - 1903 Walking Race

In July 1903, 36 share brokers took part in a 14 mile (22.5 kilometre) race held across the suburbs of Adelaide. The race started at the intersection of King William Street and South Terrace to Glenelg via Burnside, Glen Osmond and Cross Roads. Approximately 2,500 people turned up to watch the race. The winner of the race was Mr H Cox with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 21 seconds. This equates to an average walking speed of 9.1 km/h, or just over a kilometre every seven minutes. This is much faster than the ordinary walking pace of 5 - 6 km/h!

This photograph now hangs along with several other historic photographs on the wall near the ramp heading towards Customer Service in the Burnside Civic Centre.

Photograph: Glen Osmond Road walking race, circa 1903. Donated to the Burnside Library Local History Collection by Mayor Anne Monceaux.