Joan Richmond

Joan Richmond (1905–1999) was an Australian pioneer in motorsport who competed internationally in seven Monte Carlo rallies and two Le Mans 24 Hours races.

Early life and education Joan Richmond was born in Cooma in 1905 and grew up in Victoria. She was educated at St Catherine’s, Toorak, leaving at the end of 1923.

Racing career As a young woman she trained and rode her own racehorses. In 1932, however, Victoria banned women from being horse trainers, which caused her to take up motor racing instead.

Travelling to England she accepted the opportunity to compete with Elsie Wisdom in the two-day 1,000 mile race at Brooklands. They won in a Riley Nine, at 84.41 mph, taking 12 hours 23 minutes and 53 seconds to complete the distance. but its age and poor reliability gave her little success.

In the 1930s she was co-driver with Bill Bilney, to whom she became engaged in 1937. He was killed during a motor race at Donington Park in July 1937. She gave up motor racing following the outbreak of World War II and remained in England, where she worked in a de Havilland aircraft factory.

She died in 1999.

Legacy Richmond gave her collection of trophies, cups, photographs, letters and diaries to David Price, a friend who hoped to produce a biography. Included were number-plates from the Monte Carlo rally. When Price was unable to attract a publisher, he sold the collection at auction in Melbourne in 2007.

The National Museum of Australia held an exhibition on Richmond in 2014 and holds the 1932 Brooklands 1000 Miles Race trophy awarded to Joan Richmond and Elsie Wisdom in its collections as well as a one-piece racing suit, a pair of driving goggles, her Monte Carlo Rally car number plates, personal journal, letters, photographs and newspaper clippings.