Nina Eva Vida Jones born Nina Eva Vida Harris competed as Mrs JES Jones (1882 – 1966) was an Australian racing motorist who competed in the 1930s. She was said to be the first woman from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to compete at motor racing. Her husband John Alexander Stammers Jones was a brewer.

Life

Jones was born in 1882. Her parents were Susan Mary (born Clarke) and her husband William Henry Harris. Her father was a gentleman as his family had benefited from a bequest left by second fleeter John Harris. That John Harris left about £150,000 as he had gained a huge estate based at

Ultimo, New South Wales Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is adjacent to the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Sydney west of the Darling Harbour area, and ...

. Jones was born at Ultimo and she was home schooled. In 1910 she married John Alexander Stammers Jones who was a keen sportsman and he owned the Zig Zag Brewery, ten hotels and, in time, two

Darracq STD Motors, formerly Darracq & Company, was a French manufacturer of motor vehicles and aero engines based in Suresnes near Paris. The French enterprise, known at first as A. Darracq et Cie, was founded in 1896 by Alexandre Darracq after he so ...

cars. Their home at Lithgow which was near the brewery until they had a house built at

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

which they named Nia Heymo. She first drove in a

Chandler Motor Car The Chandler Motor Car Company produced automobiles in the United States of America during the 1910s and 1920s. Corporate strategy Chandler was incorporated in 1913, with Frederick C. Chandler as President, headquartered and with its factor ...

. In 1923 she went on a tour in her car and entered a

reliability trial A reliability trial is an organised bicycle ride which challenges a cyclist to complete a course, passing through designated control points, within a preset time limit. In the United Kingdom, such events are often held in the wintry opening months ...

. She began competing in events organised by the

Royal Automobile Club of Australia The Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA) is an Australian motoring organisation, which has also incorporated the Australian Imperial Services Club since 1987. The RACA was established in March 1903 in Sydney, and is the oldest motoring ...

and in 1925 she bought a

Crossley Motors Crossley Motors was an English motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. It produced approximately 19,000 cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958, and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to ...

20-70 model. The car had a 3.7 litre engine and was said to have a top speed of 75 mph. She won a Weekender trophy at Maroubra Speedway in that car at an average speed of 78 mph. She was said to be the first woman from New South Wales to compete at motor racing. In 1928 her husband sold his brewery and they went on holiday to Europe. While in Italy she saw "real" racing involving Bugattis, Sunbeams and Bentleys. In 1929 she viewed an

Alfa Romeo 6C The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road, race, and sports cars produced between 1927 and 1954 by Alfa Romeo; the "6C" name refers to the six cylinders of the car's straight-six engine. Bodies for these cars were made by coachbuilders such as Jam ...

Zagato Zagato is a Coachbuilder, coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. History The 1910s: Aeronautics Ugo Zagato was an Italians, Italian ...

in Italy and she had the car imported into Australia. In 1930 she beat 67 other (male) drivers at Bondi Beach where her car covered the quarter mile in 18.4 seconds. At Gerringong the crowd came too close at the finishing line and she hit a spectator giving him a broken leg. Her daughter, Vidie, competed in her

Lea-Francis Lea-Francis was a British motor manufacturing company that began by building bicycles. History Richard Henry Lea, R. H. Lea and Graham Francis, G. I. Francis started the business in Coventry in 1895. They branched out into car manufacturing i ...

car, and her son also drove the Alfa Romeo. The Alfa Romeo car nearly ended its racing following an accident in 1933. She had been cornering at high speed when a tyre was punctured and the car rolled several times. She and her daughter were thrown out and they had only minor injuries, but the car was burned out. The car was recovered and restored with new parts sent from Italy and in 1934 she had her last accident at a hill climb in Newcastle. Her son was driving when they crashed into an embankment. Jack was unhurt but she gave up competition after she spent six weeks recovering from a broken thigh. In 1934 her husband died and their son Jack died in a plane accident. Only her daughter was still racing but she retired when she married. Jones died in

in 1966. Nina Jones Crescent, in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm, is named in her honour.

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Vida 1882 births 1966 deaths Racing drivers from New South Wales Australian female racing drivers