Today marks the 100th anniversary of Seven Mile Beach in Gerroa being the unlikely venue for a moment in history when the 100 miles per hour barrier was broken on the sands.

After the Daily Guardian newspaper put up a £50 reward for the first person in Australia to reach the milestone, Don Harkness - an engineer from Sydney - wrote his name into the record books at Gerroa.

Back then the beach was known as the Gerringong Speedway, a place where motoring enthusiasts would gather to attend car races hosted by the Royal Automobile Club of Australia.

After the first event in May 1925, the Daily Telegraph reported that: “It was by no means an auspicious beginning, as the rain had made conditions anything but pleasant.

“Many a car became bogged in the sand on the way to the racing track, while the roads leading down to the beach were so treacherous that at least 20 cars had to be abandoned for the night on the hillside.”

Harkness built a speed machine after importing an Overland chassis from the United States.

He called his new car “Whitey” and equipped it wih a Hispano Suiza aeroplane engine in his bid to break the national record.

On 17 October, 1925, he not only became the first Australian driver to go past the 100mp/h barrier but he reached 107.75m/h (173km/h) as he motored along the flat stretches of Seven Mile Beach.

According to a report in The Sunday Times, “the run was made under the worst of conditions seen for years with danger hidden in every sand hole.”

A crowd of around 2000 people cheered him in his high-octane mission along the sands.

Seven Mile Beach was a popular place for motor racing enthusiasts with clubs from Goulburn, Nowra and Sydney travelling to Gerroa to strut their stuff at the “Speedway”.

South Coast History Society, in its recent Recollections issue, recalls that Gerringong Congregational Church took exception to the Club hosting beach racing on the Sabbath with the Nowra Leader reporting “the beach should then not be disturbed by racing on a Sabbath, so that the gentle roll and lapping of the waves on the sea shore will, in the future, continue in its quietude undisturbed”.

Council then announced “In view of the council’s resolution not to permit Sunday racing, the club is to be advised to arrange such fixtures for Saturdays.”

The beach was also used regularly for horse racing, which had started in the 1860s.

Seven Mile Beach was also used as the runway for the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand in 1933.

Cars lined the beach, shining their headlights to help the pilot, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, successfully take off at 2.30am, with thousands of spectators also watching on.

Harkness continued his daredevil racing exploits until he was involved in a crash in 1935 and decided to retire.