The 30th anniversary of the Rally Australia has been marked in Perth by those who were there for the original event.
Rally Australia kicked off in 1988 as a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and such was its success that it became a round of the World Rally Championship the following year.
Over the weekend, more than 250 people involved in that event gathered in Perth’s Whiteman Park as part of two days of celebrations.
Those present included the former Chairman of EventsCorp John Osborn, its then-General Manager Terry Penn, Organising Committee Chairman Garry Connelly, former CEO Shane Crockett, and other members of the board, organising committee, management, staff and officials, including current Sporting Director Adrian Stafford.
The first running of Rally Australia was based in Fremantle before moving to Perth for its first round under world championship status in 1989.
It remained in Perth until 2006 and has been run in Northern New South Wales since, with Coffs Harbour establishing itself as an annual stop on the calendar since 2013.