Lake Perkolilli Red Dust Revival 2025

The Lake Perkolilli Red Dust Revival will return from 29 September to 5 October 2025.

The Red Dust Revival is a unique and nostalgic motorsport event held yearly at Lake Perkolilli, a rock-hard claypan located about 23 kilometres from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

This event celebrates the golden years of racing from 1914 to 1939, featuring historic pre-war cars that raced on the claypan during that era.

The Revival aims to re-create the atmosphere of those early days of motor racing, with fields of authentic vintage cars and motorcycles that reflect the style and spirit of the original racers. The event is not about speed but the celebration of the vehicles and people who bring history back to life with period-correct machines.

The Motor Museum of Western Australia has a unique connection with the Red Dust Revival and has showcased an example of race vehicle for a number of years, including our current display – Heza Henry, located within the Goldrush display inside Brockwell Hall.

1926 Ford Model T Racer – On Display

Affectionately known Heza Henry, this vehicle was built as a tribute to West Australian motor racing legend Ossie Cranston’s first Ford racer which raced successfully at Lake Perkolilli near Kalgoorlie in the 1920s.

Nominally a 1926 Ford Model T with parts from many T years, it is made from three chopped-up chassis which were rusting away under a tree on a farm in Beverley.

The rails were welded together and zedded. All the parts that nobody wanted from other restorations have gone into this car — except for the Rajo overhead valve cylinder head which was fitted to a T which raced at Sydney Speedway in the 1930s (or so the legend goes!).

It was made to look like the rough-and-ready speedway racers of the era. Engine is a 3-Litre Ford T block, stock transmission with wooden bands, Rocky Mountain accessory brakes on the rear, York accessory radiator shell, distributor ignition replacing the Model T buzz coils, 1925 Chrysler disc wheels, home-made Hartford shock absorbers and a body from a Brooklands Riley.

The car was built by Graeme Cocks and the Ford T Party. The T Party as a project to introduce young people to the delights of Henry Ford’s legendary car.

Heza Henry was raced at the 2019 and 2022 Red Dust Revivals at Lake Perkolilli.