{"id":541266,"date":"2026-03-15T04:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T04:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/541266\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T04:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T04:18:16","slug":"community-push-to-revive-newman-motocross-club-years-after-it-was-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/541266\/","title":{"rendered":"Community push to revive Newman motocross club years after it was abandoned"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Lennox Connelly, 12 years of age and astride a bright red 85cc dirt bike, there are a few things that set Newman’s Echo Park motocross circuit apart.<\/p>\n

“It’s really unique,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The big bends and the jumps into the bowls, and the step-downs are really cool.”<\/p>\n

Best of all, it is in his backyard: the dusty course contours a spinifex-covered hill right outside the Pilbara mining community, about 1,170 kilometres north-east of Perth.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been travelling ever since we started,” Lennox said.<\/p>\n

“Having a track right there is going to be the best thing ever because we can wake up from our beds, have a normal brekkie \u2014 bacon and eggs \u2014 and then go ride.”\"A<\/p>\n

Newman’s Echo Park is known for its “big bends” and “bowls”. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

Lennox and his mates Harley Ross, 11, and Marley Jackson, 14, have travelled for as long as 12 hours to compete in motocross.<\/p>\n

Almost half a decade after their local club collapsed into insolvency, there is a push to reintroduce these young riders to the yawning turns of Echo Park.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Harley Ross, 11, says he particularly likes the jumps. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

But vandalism and successive heavy wet seasons have left the grounds, once capable of hosting hundreds of gearheads, with tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s quite sad because you get people that’ll come out and trash it, and it just ruins it for all of us people that are trying to train for the upcoming season,” Lennox said.<\/p>\n

“So yeah, it’ll be cool to see it up and running again, people there watching.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Newman is home to more than its fair share of keen motocross riders. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

Racing uphill<\/p>\n

Inside the clubhouse, chequered flags still hang above the bar, long-since expired condiments line refrigerator shelves, and dust coats empty trophy cases.<\/p>\n

“Everything has been left as [it was] the day that it was shut up,” Michael Heard explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“All of our fridges are damaged; all of our memorabilia, our trophies, are all missing.”<\/p>\n

\"Racing<\/p>\n

The Newman Motocross Club folded in 2021 after struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

Nor do the lights turn on \u2014 the switchboard’s copper conductors were stolen for scrap, he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Heard is among a dedicated group of Newman residents hoping to restore the beloved motocross club.<\/p>\n

Financial challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with ballooning insurance costs, forced its dissolution in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Trophies and memorabilia have been stolen from the clubhouse since it was shuttered. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

The lease on the land eventually reverted to the Shire of East Pilbara.<\/p>\n

Mr Heard, freshly appointed club president, said most of the damage occurred after the shire assumed control.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s really frustrating because it’s now work we have to put back into it, and it’s through no fault of a committee or club,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s just been left as almost a hidden eyesore in Newman to the side of town that people forget exists.”\"Some<\/p>\n

Windows have been broken and copper taken straight out of the switchboard. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

Shire president Anthony Middleton said he was not aware of the club’s present state.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, that’s what happens around every region, not just here,” he said.<\/p>\n

“These clubs that are out in the sticks or away from where there’s regular public … kids will always be kids, so it’s hard to try and manage that.”<\/p>\n

He invited the newly reformed club to apply for community grants to fund its revival.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Shire president Anthony Middleton says he is not aware of the damage, but invited the club to apply for community grants. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

Mr Heard estimated that figure could surpass $100,000.<\/p>\n

“We’re committed to doing the work that’s needed, getting out there, fundraising, getting new members, people from town out to help,” he said.<\/p>\n

A Pilbara pastime<\/p>\n

Resident Blaine Tucker recalled the club in its heyday, having joined in 2015.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Blaine Tucker says motocross is especially valued in the Pilbara mining community. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

“We’d get riders here from Broome and Karratha, Paraburdoo, Port Hedland, Tom Price,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s not just about the racing, it’s also having another club in town where people can come down and be a part of it and make friends, friends for life, learn some skills, and spend time with their kids.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

It has been almost five years since Echo Park hosted a race like this one, pictured in 2011. (Supplied: Michael Heard)<\/p>\n

Mr Tucker said the club was especially important to Newman, where the profitable extraction of iron ore brought a steady flow of the mechanically-minded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We are a mining town, so it does attract a lot of trades and people that like raw horsepower,” he said.<\/p>\n

At the end of February, the shire council voted to return the lease to the motocross club.<\/p>\n

Mr Heard said he not only wanted to achieve the club’s former heights but also to create a safe place for young people in a town with one of the highest youth offending rates<\/a> in Western Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“To be able to offer young kids … a safe place, somewhere they can learn a skill, compete against other young people, is so important for small towns like Newman,” he said.<\/p>\n

Four years into his own motocross career, Lennox Connelly agrees.<\/p>\n

“There’s so much dirt and area to do it, why not do it?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to Lennox Connelly, 12 years of age and astride a bright red 85cc dirt bike, there are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,105347,6271,71958,806,805,3144,803,804,268160,58080,16802,822,85],"class_list":["post-541266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dirt-bike","tag-mining-town","tag-motocross","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motorcycle","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-northwest-wa","tag-off-road","tag-pilbara-news","tag-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}