Vale Graham Roser

Much-loved veteran of the NSW and Australian rallying community, Graham Roser, passed away aged 77 recently.

Roser (16-08-1946 to 25-05-2024) was a loving and proud father of Monique and Corinne and loving husband of Joy.

His involvement in rallying started early in 1966 at the age of 19 assisted by manning a passage control 7 miles (11.265km) north of Goulburn for the 1966 KLG 300 Rally.

There was a field of 300 entries and on that day only 100 cars were checked in at that Control, with the 200 others being heard driving up and down the Hume Hwy trying to find that obscure road – from that night on he was hooked and as a result he joined the Hills District Car Club a few weeks later.

Over many years he was a member of Hills where he held various roles including Club Captain, Treasurer, Social Secretary and finally President – a position he held for over a decade.

During those early years he organised, oversaw or participated in Motorkhana’s, Hill Climbs, Lap Dashes, Touring Assemblies, Economy Runs and the famous Hampton Rallies as well as the KLG300and the KLG Rally of the Hills.

He then stepped up in 1970 and started competing himself as a co-driver in State Championship Rallies and many other events with Ian Hill, who was also a member of the HDCC they campaigned a variety of cars including a R10 Reno and a number of different Lancers.

He also competed in the 1972 and 1973 Southern Cross with Robbie Jackson in a Torana XU1, finishing ninth Outright in 1972

He won the 1975 NSW Championships with Hill. He also finished with Ian as the first Privateers in the 1976 and 1977 Southern Cross International Rallies. During that time he contested many events including the Alpine Rally.

He then jumped in making the calls for Mike Bell and they won the 1978 NSW Clubman Rally Series.

Roser was always keen to fill a vacant seat and help out drivers in need of a navigator and jumped into Stuart English’s  “Chook Cooker” Mazda RX3 at Hampton.

He also called the corners many others including Ron Marks, E Haines, Mike Thorncraft and Warren Ridge.

Roser was certainly a dedicated and committed navigator and in one year he managed to front up to an incredible 19 rallies with Ian Hill.

In 1977 he was approached by Mike Bell and he joined the Deepwater Sporting Car Club and contested various rallies including the International 2GO and then he stepped up in 1980 and 1981 to become the Clerk of Course for that event.

He then took a break from Event Directing and it wasn’t until Colin Hill approached him nearly a decade later that saw him take on the role of Clerk of Course for the 2GO between 1993 and 2005.

He also took on the Bay Stages at one point when North Shore SCC took a break, as well as the Bega Rally from 1996 – 2008 so there was absolutely no chance of him getting bored.

During that time I recall having several long discussions with Roser and his team very late in 2022 after Glen Cuthbert tragically left us leaving NSW without the Harbour City Rally an ARC Round – which was an event that I actually competed in.

After several weeks I agreed to take on the role of Promotor for the NSW Round of the ARC.

Inspired by with Roser’s passion I created the Premier State Rally and with Graham as Road Director together with his dedicated team of officials from Deepwater and other clubs guided by Colin Hill.

They were a great duo and made sure that those events were an outstanding and we saw fields exceeding 100 entries and 95 vehicles taking to the roads and forests of the Central Coast in both 2003 and 2004.

It is great to see so many familiar faces here today from many of those events including those that drove Course Cars through to various Control Officials and those in Rally HQ.

Graham was a people person, and he had a very loyal team of supporters and officials and his passion and enthusiasm for the sport he loved was felt by all that had any dealings with him.

He would not been able to contribute so much to our sport in the way he did without the support and understanding of his loving family.

I recall Monique using all her professional skills in preparing environmental impact and wildlife studies and reports when we had issues with National Parks and State Forests – and yes we did run the rally through a National Park.

Corinne and Joy were always there ready to assist and to take on various roles and to support Graham as required to ensure the event went on.

Graham was awarded a very well-deserved NSW Rally Legends Award in 2023 by the NSW Rally Panel in recognition to his lifetime commitment to rallying in NSW and Australia.

Graham will be remembered by many of us as a skilled and successful competitor, by many as an inspiring club official, by some others as a reliable and skilled navigator and by far by the most as a loyal and trusted friend and a great mate to so many of us.

RIP Graham, we will miss you and we all hope you have found that elusive control where you can now rest in peace for eternity.

By Kirk Marks

Roser’s events

KLG 300 – Competitor
KLG Rally of the Hills – Competitor
Southern Cross with E Haines GT Cortina – Competitor 1971
Southern Cross with Robbie Jackson in XU1- Competitor 1972 and 1973
Glenorie Real Estate Navigational Rallies – Director 1977 – 1979 3 yrs
2GO International Rally – Clerk of Course 1980 – 1981 2 yrs
2GO – Clerk of Course 1993 – 2005 12 yrs
Bay Stages – Clerk of Course 1995 1 yr
Bega Rally – Clerk of Course 1996 – 2008 12 yrs
Premier State Rally – ARC – Road Director 2003 – 2004 2 yrs

Image: Paul Williamson/Australian Rally History Group Pre 1990

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