Back to 1971
When an old photograph was posted on a Facebook page, an ex-Springsite was surprised to see it was a photo of his father, which was taken 45 years ago.
Gary Edwards (54), who lived in Springs for most of his life, but moved away in 2003, recently returned to tell the story of the captivating photograph of his father.
The photo was posted on the Facebook page ‘Springs – History of a gold town’ by Tony da Cruz and came to his attention when a fellow Springsite sent him the link asking if the photo was of his dad.
“The man on the motorcycle was my father, Clive Edwards, during the Durban to Johannesburg rally in 1971,” says Gary.
He proudly adds: “It’s a 1936 Velocette.”
He explains that his father was born and bred in Springs and lived in the town until his death, from a heart attack, in 1980.
“This photo must have been taken moments before the end of the race.”
Gary inherited the motorcycle, which has been in their family for 55 years, from his father.
“I have not changed anything on the bike and even its wheels are still the same as in the photo.
“I rarely ride it and it only does about 1 000km every year,” Gary says.
However, it did get an outing in 2014 when Gary, following in his father’s footsteps, took part in the same rally from Durban to Johannesburg.
When he stopped at the Addie’s offices last week, he mentioned that he will be completing the rally once again, this year.
“I am currently on my way, Velocette in tow, to the Durban to Jo’burg rally in which my father took part 45 years ago.” Gary concludes.
