SEVEN MILE BEACH SPEEDWAY

For more than 100 years, horses, cars and motorbikes staged races at low tide on this beautiful stretch of sand which since has fallen silent as a national park.

Seven Mile Beach, which extends from Shoalhaven Heads near Nowra to Gerroa, was gazetted as a New South Wales National Park in 1971.

Kiama Librarian, Rebecca Cook said, 'During the 1920s and 1930s the beach was known as the Gerringong Speedway and it played a significant role in the history of the motor car in Australia.'

In 1925 Don Harkness (1890-1972) an automotive designer, driver and engineer set the Australian land speed record on Seven Mile Beach.

With an estimated 2,000 people cheering Harkness on, he reached a staggering 104 miles per hour, or 167kph.

Now, it is home to surfers, walkers, joggers and the ‘beach bike brigade.’