Westmead and it's racy past

Westmead, now a burgeoning industrial node, has an interesting history that would only be known to the most avid petrol heads.

In the mid-fifties, Donald and Malcolm Holdsworth bought 200 acres of farm land for £30 000 from Marianhill Mission in order to build a race track, which was known as The Westmead Circuit. This track hosted the first National Grand Prix on 17 December 1961 and attracted champion drivers the likes of; Graham Hill, Jim Redman, Jim Clark and Sterling Moss to name a few. The international drivers outranked our local drivers and Jim Clark walked away with the winner's title with approximately 67000 spectators lining the track.

The Westmead Circuit was built specifically for this event with a 3.5km track. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this track was built during inclement weather resulting in the tar being laid on a muddy foundation. This resulted in the tar starting to break up in practice laps and this was patched with concrete, this resulted in the ultimate demise of the track as the cost of repairing the crumbling tar and concrete would have been too high.

Gary Hocking was later killed in the 1962 Grand Prix in the final practice when his Lotus-Climax left the road and somersaulted into a ditch. The section of road where this fatal accident occurred is still in use as a public road and the road has been named Hocking Place in his memory.

Most of the circuit still exists and the old control tower is still visible and is used as offices. The history of the Westmead Circuit still echoes in the area as the road names hint at its fast paced past: Westmead Road, Circuit Road, Monte Carlo Road, Moss Road and Clark Road to name a few.

Westmead is now a popular key industrial node with a mix of stand-alone properties and industrial parks. Westmead is flanked by the M13, the N3 and the M19 making it's accessibility the reason for its success.

Deal Core Property Group prides itself in specializing in industrial property in this area and is happy to assist you with your property requirements.

Contact Ryan Berry 083 607 8128 / ryan@dealcore.co.za