TEST RIDER BILL BRYDEN DIES

TEST RIDER BILL BRYDEN DIES

By Dennis Newlyn

Former state champion and Test match rider Bill Bryden has died.

His passing, in a Gold Coast, Queensland, aged care facility, closes a very significant chapter in Sydney and Australian speedway history.

Bill was part of the revival Test series in Australia during the 1967-68 season and was a member of the history-making First Test team at the Sydney Showground on November 11, 1967.

Bill also was a Sydney Showground track record holder and in the early years of his career, he rode for the Ipswich club in England.

One of his very early successes came when he finished second in the 1954 NSW Junior Solo Championship.

During his career Bill Bryden made nine appearances for Australia in Tests against Great Britain and scored 49 points.

Away from the track Bill Bryden spent a number of years employed as a retail butcher before he moved into the automotive industry and the used car trade.

In this work he is probably best remembered as proprietor of President Car Sales in Sydney because his company sponsored a season pointscore for solos at the Sydney Showground.

In his latter years Bill Bryden maintained a keen interest in speedway bike racing, via his patronage of the Gold Coast Motorcycle Club and the Hatcher Park venue.

RIP: Bill Bryden.