Graeme Cooper gets Australian Nationals win

‘Brickie’

Words by Gerald McDornan
Photos by Wayne Nugent and Gerald McDornan

(Wayne Nugent photo)

It may have taken them 38 years, but Aussie drag racing legend Graeme Cooper and his famous “Bricklayer” Holden station wagon have finally won the Australian Nationals.

Cooper and the “Brickie” took out the coveted gold Christmas Tree trophy in the Super Street class at the 51st annual Big Go held down under at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway. (Gerald McDornan photo)

Cooper bought the pristine, low mileage, one-owner 1963 EH Holden Premier wagon as a 17-year-old apprentice bricklayer in 1975.

He learned to drive in it before beginning to race the wagon three years later – first with its original six-cylinder engine before switching to a small block Chev in 1980.

The car’s name came about when Cooper advertised his trade by having “Bricklayer” and his phone number sign written on its rear window, with race fans adopting the moniker.