Lovers of a bicycle from a bygone era have turned out in their thousands for the National Penny Farthing Championships in Tasmania.

February 19, 2023

The wheels of time have turned backwards in a small Tasmanian village as cyclists from across the country competed in the National Penny Farthing Championships.

The much-loved event in Evandale, 18 km south of Launceston, wrapped up on Sunday, with the 20-mile (32km) Dianne Sullivan Clarendon Road Race.

It capped off an action-packed weekend of riding on early versions of the modern bicycle that saw thousands of spectators, many in period costume, line the streets of the historic town.

Hundreds of cyclists competed in an array of events, including a relay and an obstacle course, on their high-wheeled machines, which were popular in the 1870s and 1880s.

Penny farthing enthusiast Simon Weir beat riders from across the country and overseas to take out the national championship.

He was also crowned overall “Best Australian” and won the road race.

“Probably the most lovely thing is just the wave of smiles that follow you when you ride,” Mr Weir from the ACT told Seven News after the events.

Evandale residents set up market stalls and a period-themed festival at a local park, creating the ambience of a colonial country fair in near-perfect weather for the 40th year of the event.

Penny farthings were immortalised in Banjo Patterson’s poem Mulga Bill’s Bicycle, penned in 1896.

The bikes were actually only popular for about 15 years and had almost disappeared from use by the turn of the 20th century.

They enjoyed something of a worldwide revival in the 1980s.