Time Travellers in Essendon, Flemington and the Keilor Plains

Sporting Clubs

Suburban Bicycle Club, 1887 to circa 1893

This photo appears to include club members from the Suburban Bicycle Club, picture below.  In this photo the man seated on the left has "Secretary", the man seated  in the centre, "Captain", and the man kneeling on the right "Sub-Captain". The positions are on cloth badges on their left sleeve.   Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Collection. 

Going on the names given in the catalogue entry  for the photo below they may be Secretary F. G. Tilley,  the Captain   F. J. Speakman, and the Sub-Captain E. Randall.

Suburban Bicycle Club, 1892, Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Collection, H6265

The following names are given by the State Library of Victoria, but don't account for every person in the photo.

Club members from left to right: Cr. W. Blackwell (Patron) -- G. M. Seward -- C. J. Bown (Treasurer) -- E. C. Rigby -- W. K. Barmby -- Cr. F. Durham (Patron) -- W. Bestall -- W. Speakman -- W. P. Johnstone -- C. Greenwood -- E. M. Brearley -- A. J. Davey -- J. Dickinson (Vice-President) -- J. J. Fraser -- G. Norris (Vice-President) -- W. Norris -- C. Norris -- W. Traill -- J. Ettershank -- I. Robb -- W. J. Probart -- A. E. Stewart -- E. Glassen -- E. E. Bruce -- F. L. Dundas -- E. Robb (Bugler) -- F. J. Speakman (Captain) -- E. Wilson -- D. J. Walker -- G. C. Norris -- E. Randall (Sub-Captain) -- F. G. Tilley (Secretary) -- Cr. J. E. Rigby (President).

Right click and select View Image to get a large image.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 E Randall (Sub-Captain), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 F J Speakman, (Captain), 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35

The Suburban Bicycle Club appears to have started in 1887 (going by the article in 1891 about the 4th Annual General Meeting being held.  Below is the first item so far located in Trove relating to the club. Blackwell, Durham and Rigby, identified in the above photograph,  were councillors for the Flemington and Kensington Borough.  W K Barmby was the licensee of the Flemington Inn in the 1890s.

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Last Saturday afternoon the members of the Suburban Bicycle Club, met near the Newmarket railway bridge to run off a match for a gold medal presented by Mr. Barnby.* The distance was from the Keilor church and back, about 28 miles, and there were a number of competitors who were handicapped according to their merits. After a spirited race the winner turned up in Mr. C. Bown, the second and third places being occupied by Messrs E. Hayward and G. Norris, respectively. There was a second prize presented by Hudson Bros., and a third prize given by Mr. S. D. Walker, of Kensington. One of the competitors (Mr. Barnby) had a nasty fall from his bicycle just after starting, and had to give up the race through the machine breaking. He was going very fast along the Racecourse road, when the wheel caught in a rut, and Barnby missing the pedal was thrown clean off on to the hard metal, and sustained a nasty injury to his arm.

* Barnby may be a reporter's error for Barmby, whom we know from later reports to have been a member of the club.

A CHARGE FOR ENQUIRY. (1888, January 21). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66148838

CYCLING GOSSIP

On the 9th inst. the Suburban Bicycle Club held its fourth annual meeting. The office bearers for the ensuing year were elected as follows:- President, mayor of Flemington and Kensington; captain, F. J. Speakman (re-elected) ; sub-captain, F. G. Tilley ; secretary, F. C. Tilley (re-elected) ; treasurer, O. J. Bown (re-elected) ; bugler, E. C. Rigby ; V. C. U. delegate, C. J. Bown; committee, F. G. Hart, G. J. Bown, D. A. Nicoll, E. C. Rigby, W. J. Probart, F. J. Speakman, A. A. Rattray, F. G. Tilley. Mr. Norris won the attendance medal, presented by Mr. Geo. W. Burston, and the second prize, presented by the club, was secured by F. J. Speakman. The attendance medals for the ensuing year will be— 1st, £3 3s.; 2nd, £1 10s. The club also resolved to encourage fast road riding, and as an inducement for members to come out of their shells they have decided to give a £5 5s. medal to any member breaking the 100 miles Australian record, and a £2 2s. medal to any member covering the distance within 10 hours, excluding those who have won a 100 mile medal. It was resolved to hold a road race in April. The following runs were fixed for this month: — 17th, Heidelberg ; 24th, Romsey; 26th, Caledonian sports, Melbourne cricket ground; in the evening Australian Natives' sports, Exhibition oval; 31st, secret leader, W. J. Probart.

CYCLING GOSSIP. (1891, January 17). Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918), p. 20. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198047007

CYCLING GOSSIP.

By Ixion.

This afternoon the wheelmen of Melbourne will hold perhaps one of the greatest cycling demonstrations ever witnessed in the colonies.     It is the day upon which the first series of contests for the cycling premiership is to be run.

[There follows an interesting account of the race to be run and the prizes won, and names the members of various clubs competing:]

Suburban club : F. G. Tilley, F. J. Speakman, C. Greenwood, Norris, Seaward, De Feu.

CYCLING. (1892, August 20). Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918), p. 17. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196892370

CYCLING

Suburban bicycle club hold a run to Macedon,  returning Sunday. Meet at Newmarket at 1 o'clock.

CYCLING. (1893, May 27). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193417423

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It is not clear what became of the Suburban Bicycle Club.  It was apparently not absorbed or transformed into the North Suburban Cycling Club, which began in 1895 - there were no familiar names from the Suburban club amongst the office bearers of the NSCC.

The last mention of the Suburban Bicycle Club in the newspapers was on 16 September 1893.  By this time some of the stalwarts of the club were riding elsewhere.  C Bown was riding with the Melbourne Bicycle Club, and C Greenwood with the Austral Bicycle Club in Fitzroy.  F J Speakman seems to have dropped out of cycling, and concentrated on running.