Dale Buggins

Dale Charles Buggins (1961–1981) was an Australian stunt motorcyclist who has built a national and international reputation by the age of 20. At 17, Buggins broke a world record previously held by American stuntman Evel Knievel when he jumped 25 cars with a Yamaha dirt bike, in 1978.

Early life Buggins was born to parents Jan and Ken in Carmarthen, Wales, and immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of 7 months. His interest in motorcycles began at the age of nine, when his father gave him a small motorbike powered by a lawnmower engine. In just a few years he was riding an XR75 Honda and doing jumps off car bonnets like the others at the local dirt bike track, known as the "Dude Ranch" near Umina on the Central Coast of NSW. A schoolfriend recalls: Any given afternoon when school had finished, and on weekends there would be all kids blasting around kicking dirt up. Buggo to us, or Dale would be going hard, wheelies, jumps, big power slides, it was something to see. Dale was a school friend of mine at Woy Woy South Primary School, and Woy Woy High where he did very well in all subjects. I have pictures of Dale in our Rugby team. In 1976 he moved with his family to Wyong where he honed his jumping skills on a farm jumping cars. Dale became a sensation with his stunt shows, the rest is history.

Career Buggins's work pre-dated Freestyle Motocross and the Crusty Demons by 10-plus years. In that sense, at least in Australia, he was a stunt motorbike pioneer like his idol, Evel Knievel.

On 28 May 1978 Buggins broke Knievel's world record by jumping over 25 cars at the Newcastle Motordome and by 1979 he was touring Australia with the "Evel Knievel Spectacular", a Michel Edgley Production. Scheduled to play 35 cities and towns, the tour flopped after four, when Knievel left the show citing safety concerns.(The Canberra Times, 2 March, 1979, p.3). The last venue was Melbourne Show Grounds.

His father and younger sisters, Chantell (who subsequently quit showbusiness) and Emma, appeared in the Channel 9 special in 1997.

The National Motorcycle Museum in Nabiac in NSW, Australia, has a section of wall devoted to images and memorabilia of Dale Buggins's career. Another museum, The Stuntman and Daredevil Hall of Fame, which will include Dale Buggins memorabilia is planned for Junee. A tribute, "Song For Dale", was recorded by Melbourne band Lost Ragas on Transatlantic Highway LP.

An official fan club, supported by the Buggins family, can be found on Facebook.

On the weekend of September 17, 2021, a memorial service was held at the Palmdale Cemetery, NSW, hosted by the fan club, and attended by family, friends and fans. A road trip to the Nabiac Motorcycle Museum followed where an auction of Dale's memorabilia was held to raise funds for the mental health charity, Gotcha for Life. Videos of the event can be found on youtube.