The start of a 1929 race on the beach at Blaauwberg, not all that far from where Killarney is today The start of a 1929 race on the beach at Blaauwberg, not all that far from where Killarney is today
As the Killarney racing circuit in its present form approaches its 50th anniversary - the first so-called Cape Grand Prix took place there on December 17 1960 - the Western Province Motor Club has become involved in a publication, ostensibly about the most recent half century of action.
However, the book goes back further, with an absorbing history of racing in the Cape from the time of the very first meeting in 1903 that was held on the old Green Point cycle track, near where the World Cup football stadium is today.
It includes details of some of the bizarre and often hilarious incidents that occurred during later pre-Killarney events on local beaches, vleis, airfields and public roads.
Killarney was first mentioned in a competitive sense when a road race to Saldanha Bay and back was flagged off from the Killarney Hotel.
An uncontrolled event run on open roads - such as they were in those far-off days - participants were warned to beware of any stray animals, pedestrians and donkey carts they might encounter along the route.
The only genuine circuit in these parts during the early years was built at Pollsmoor during the 1930s.
With four boringly long parallel straights joined by a series of tight corners and a lap distance of over seven kilometres, it was designed to be converted into a housing estate should the racing venture fail.
And with such an abysmal layout it would certainly have achieved its secondary objective had WW2 not resulted in it being converted into an army camp and eventually the prison it still is today.
The book also includes details of several of the great characters who raced at Killarney. Because although Stirling Moss won that first Cape Grand Prix, he came nowhere near Paul Hawkins, Sarel van der Merwe, Doug Serrurier, Dan Joubert or Dave van Wyk (Dave who?), when it came to sheer audacity and impudence.
Hawkins, in particular, was always partial to the great Australian adjective.
The son of a racing motorcyclist turned lay preacher, the younger Hawkins had a turn of phrase that could generate enough heat to singe the cassock off any man of the cloth.
Then there's a difficult question. Which Western Cape driver was the best of them all? The book lists several before voicing an opinion.
Another chapter covers Killarney's greatest race, a truly incredible event with a finish that defied all the laws of physics.
The book doesn't pull any punches.
The story of how close the club came to losing its circuit at one stage, before the efforts of dedicated members and friends got it back on its feet, is told in all its gory detail.
A 400-page, hardcover coffee-table publication it contains hundreds of photographs and illustrations, many of which have not been published before.
It is going to be available for R498, from the club office at Killarney, which will remain open until December 24. For more info contact the club on 021-557-1639.