Zara Kathleen Samuel (later Kesper; 24 March 1907 – 15 January 1995), better known as Billie Samuel, was an American-born Australian cyclist. In 1934, she became the first woman to cycle from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. On her return journey, she broke the women's world record for the fastest ride from Sydney to Melbourne, previously held by Elsa Barbour.

Biography

Zara Kathleen Samuel was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States on 24 March 1907. Nicknamed "Billie", she was the daughter of Richard Martin Samuel, a Sydney musician, and Rae Samuel (née Walker). She was working as a waitress and had only been cycling for a few months when she decided to ride from Melbourne to Sydney, a 575-mile trip, in an attempt to beat the women's world record for that distance. The record at the time was held by Elsa Barbour for her 1932 ride from Sydney to Melbourne. Samuel was trained by controversial Australian endurance cyclist

Ossie Nicholson Oserick Bernard "Ossie" Nicholson (1910 – 9 November 1965) was an Australian cyclist who twice held the World Endurance record for distance in a calendar year. Australian cycling career Nicholson was a professional cyclist in the years be ...

who had been banned for allegedly interfering with another record attempt. His ban was lifted eventually after Samuel completed her ride from Melbourne to Sydney in May 1934. It took her 3 days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes, which was not fast enough to beat Barbour's record of 3 days, 7 hours, and 32 minutes. Samuel crashed twice on her ride and faced inclement weather. On 4 July 1934 Samuel left Sydney to ride back to Melbourne, attempting again to beat Barbour's record. This time, the weather was fair, and Samuel succeeded in setting the new world record of 3 days, 1 hour, and 20 minutes. Samuel weighed 91 lbs. at the time, making her the lightest woman champion, a record she held until at least 1971. After returning to Melbourne, Samuel announced that she also wanted to beat Elsa Barbour's world record for the fastest ride between Melbourne and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Samuel's Sydney-to-Melbourne record was beaten in 1937 by Joyce Barry. When she was 30, Samuel married Karl Gustav Kesper, who predeceased her. Billie Samuel died from pancreatic cancer and bronchopneumonia in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, ...

, on 15 January 1995, at the age of 87.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Billie 1907 births 1995 deaths Australian female cyclists Sportswomen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportswomen