The early history of speedway race meetings is a subject of much debate and controversy.
There is evidence to show that meetings were held on small dirt tracks in Australia and the United States before World War I. On 13 November 1905 motorcycle racing was held at the Newcastle NSW Rugby Ground, a distance of approximately 440 yards.

American rider named Don Johns was known to have used broadsiding before 1914.
It was said that he would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn.
By the early 1920s, Johns' style of cornering was followed in the US – where it was called "Short Track Racing" – by riders such as Albert "Shrimp" Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck.

Motorcycle Speedway can be traced back to the early 1920s.
One track that staged speedway, amongst others, was at the West Maitland Showground, whose first speedway meeting was staged on 15 December 1923.
This track had a motorcycle riding entrepreneur as its Secretary and his personal account has him inviting his friends and their associates to do a few laps one Sunday morning, the noise attracted the attention of the Showground committee and approval to race at the "Electric Light Festival " was won.
Motorcycle racing under lights was a huge success and its promoter was New Zealand born John S Hoskins.
These pioneers introduced the Speedway signatures of No Left Footpeg and the Steel Shoe, ironically fashioned from worn coal shovels, manufactured in this Steel region.

Following the success of Maitland, Speedway meetings were conducted at Newcastle Showground in 1924.
These events were very successful and led to the construction of Newcastle Speedway off Darling St, Hamilton.
Johnnie Hoskins became the Secretary of Newcastle Speedway Ltd. The Newcastle Herald reports the Grand Opening on 14 November 1925 attracted an audience of 42,000 at that time it was approximately one-third of Newcastle's entire population.

After Maitland, Newcastle Showground is the second oldest Motorcycle Speedway track in the world.
However, its first recorded motorcycle race was much earlier in 1908.
The first Australian Motorcycle Speedway Championship was held at Newcastle Showground in 1926.
Ironically it was won by American rider Cec Brown.
Visiting English and American racers were common, for they were highly paid showmen, often winning a year's salary in just one night.
It was very successful, so Newcastle Showground held the championship again in 1927.
Very fitting that Newcastle Showground held the first National Speedway Championship anywhere in the world.

In 1926 Johnnie Hoskins took his Speedway show to Sydney's Royal Showground.
A very wet Sydney summer nearly sent Hoskins broke, so he took the show on the road to Perth, where one good season made him wealthy again.
He and his riders decided to take the show to England as the word had spread about this exiting sport.
14 April 1928, Johnnie Hoskins,13 Australian Riders and their motorcycles sailed from Perth on the passenger ship Oronsay to introduce Speedway Solo motorcycle racing to England.

The first meeting in the United Kingdom took place at High Beech on 19 February 1928.
There are, however, claims that meetings were held in 1927 at Camberley, Surrey and Droylsden, Lancashire.
Despite being described as "the first British Dirt Track meeting" at the time, the meeting at Camberley on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in a clockwise direction.
Races at Droylsden were held in an anti-clockwise direction but it is generally accepted that the sport arrived in the United Kingdom when Australians Billy Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention of introducing speedway to the Northern Hemisphere.
Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting.
The first speedway meeting in the UK to feature bikes with no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt was the third meeting held at High Beech on 9 April 1928, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and "Digger" Pugh demonstrated the art for the first time in the UK.
Proto speedway was staged in Glasgow at th
The early history of speedway race meetings is a subject of much debate and controversy. There is evidence to show that meetings were held on small dirt tracks in Australia and the United States before World War I. On 13 November 1905 motorcycle racing was held at the Newcastle NSW Rugby Ground, a distance of approximately 440 yards. 
American rider named Don Johns was known to have used broadsiding before 1914. It was said that he would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn. By the early 1920s, Johns' style of cornering was followed in the US – where it was called "Short Track Racing" – by riders such as Albert "Shrimp" Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck.
Motorcycle Speedway can be traced back to the early 1920s. One track that staged speedway, amongst others, was at the West Maitland Showground, whose first speedway meeting was staged on 15 December 1923. This track had a motorcycle riding entrepreneur as its Secretary and his personal account has him inviting his friends and their associates to do a few laps one Sunday morning, the noise attracted the attention of the Showground committee and approval to race at the "Electric Light Festival " was won. Motorcycle racing under lights was a huge success and its promoter was New Zealand born John S Hoskins. These pioneers introduced the Speedway signatures of No Left Footpeg and the Steel Shoe, ironically fashioned from worn coal shovels, manufactured in this Steel region.
Following the success of Maitland, Speedway meetings were conducted at Newcastle Showground in 1924. These events were very successful and led to the construction of Newcastle Speedway off Darling St, Hamilton. Johnnie Hoskins became the Secretary of Newcastle Speedway Ltd. The Newcastle Herald reports the Grand Opening on 14 November 1925 attracted an audience of 42,000 at that time it was approximately one-third of Newcastle's entire population. 
After Maitland, Newcastle Showground is the second oldest Motorcycle Speedway track in the world. However, its first recorded motorcycle race was much earlier in 1908. The first Australian Motorcycle Speedway Championship was held at Newcastle Showground in 1926. Ironically it was won by American rider Cec Brown. Visiting English and American racers were common, for they were highly paid showmen, often winning a year's salary in just one night. It was very successful, so Newcastle Showground held the championship again in 1927. Very fitting that Newcastle Showground held the first National Speedway Championship anywhere in the world.
In 1926 Johnnie Hoskins took his Speedway show to Sydney's Royal Showground. A very wet Sydney summer nearly sent Hoskins broke, so he took the show on the road to Perth, where one good season made him wealthy again. He and his riders decided to take the show to England as the word had spread about this exiting sport. 14 April 1928, Johnnie Hoskins,13 Australian Riders and their motorcycles sailed from Perth on the passenger ship Oronsay to introduce Speedway Solo motorcycle racing to England.
The first meeting in the United Kingdom took place at High Beech on 19 February 1928. There are, however, claims that meetings were held in 1927 at Camberley, Surrey and Droylsden, Lancashire. Despite being described as "the first British Dirt Track meeting" at the time, the meeting at Camberley on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in a clockwise direction. Races at Droylsden were held in an anti-clockwise direction but it is generally accepted that the sport arrived in the United Kingdom when Australians Billy Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention of introducing speedway to the Northern Hemisphere. Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. The first speedway meeting in the UK to feature bikes with no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt was the third meeting held at High Beech on 9 April 1928, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and "Digger" Pugh demonstrated the art for the first time in the UK. Proto speedway was staged in Glasgow at th
Motorcycle speedway