Kenny Blake, an 11 times Australian motorcyclist champion, remembered in metal sculpture by hometown Strathalbyn
At the unveiling in High Street, Strathalbyn, on South Australian Fleurieu Peninsula, in 2018 of the metal assemblage scultpture by Goolwa artist James Stewart of local motorcyclist hero and 11-times Australian champion Kenny Blake.
Image courtesy Australian Motorcycle News
Australian champion motorcyclist Kenny Blake was saluted by his hometown Strathalbyn, south of Adelaide, with the unveiling of a metal sculpture in its High Street in 2018.
Blake grew up in Strathalbyn on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, From school, he became an apprentice panel beater at Gilbert Motors. He started motorcycle racing his 1964 Triumph in 1966 and honed his skills as a motorcyclist around the local district. From there, with big support from sponsors and friends, he moving to Victoria to became a national star in the 1970s before heading to Europe. Blake won 11 Australian national and international motor racing titles.
Blake was killed, aged 32, in June 1981, competing in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race motorcycle – due to be his last before retiring. The race was run over six laps each 60.7 kilometres long. On the fifth lap, Blake, holding eighth position after starting last due to a fuel issue, had passed more than 103 riders when his Yahama TZ350 hit a wet patch on the track and aquaplaned into a barrier.
Strathalbyn also honoured his memory with the annual Kenny Blake Festival of Motorcycling at the town's oval on his birthday in October. During a week-long festival in 2018, a sculpture created by Goolwa artist James Stewart was unveiled by South Australiuan governor, Hieu Van Le, on the corner of High and Grey streets.
The sculpture depicted Blake and a Suzuki RG500 – the model he role famously in the 1976 Australian 500 Tourist Trophy to defeat 15-times world champion Giacomo Agostini in a thrilling race.
Stewart’s sculpture, taking about three and a half months to make and weighing about half a tonne, was made from engine components, assorted mechanical and suspension parts, hand tools and general motorcycle bits and pieces including chains and sprockets. A Coopers beer bottle cap on his helmet "claims him back to South Australia" from Victoria. Also an artist, photographer, illustrator, Stewart, from the Fleurieu Peninsula coastal town of Goolwa, specialised in assemblage art scupted from scrap, recycled and new metal items.