Billy cart

A billy cart is a popular Australian form of gravity powered vehicle, often homemade and constructed for either recreational or competitive use. The name of the cart tends to vary regionally, with synonyms "go cart" and "hill trolley".
The first references to billy carts appear in the 1880s, with the term identified as originating from wooden carts pulled by billygoats, with these carts being a commonplace occurrence throughout Australia prior to the emergence of the automobile.
These carts were adapted over time to become both a tool and toy for children, featuring a design comprising primarily timber materials with four wheels and a front steering system which utilised a pivoting axle design. Rope was then attached to this pivoting axle to enable the cart to be pulled or steered by hand. This design was advantageous for kids who would scavenge areas for food, scrap materials and more, whilst also becoming a pastime wherein children would challenge others to see who could travel the fastest/furthest with gravity to assist in building momentum.
The early to mid 1900s are considered to be the time in which billy carts were most popular, as most Australians had become aware of the carts and due to the low cost and simple design were easy to construct. Many such examples were constructed either from scrap timber/offcuts or from wooden crates which had been used to transport goods such as produce. During World War II, billy carts were utilised by children tasked with collecting waste from the community as part of the war effort.
As automobiles rose to prevalence during this time there was an increase in incidents involving billy carts identified, this can be attributed to the fact that impromptu races organised by neighbourhood children were often run on the same roads as vehicles, without road closures, and as car ownership grew in suburban areas of Australia the risk of colliding with vehicles grew.
In 1952, seeking to aid his son's lawnmowing business, Mervyn Victor Richardson created a prototype lawnmower, utilising scrap metal and recycled household items, including wheels from a billy cart. Following the successful prototype Richardson created the Victa Mowers company, producing lawnmowers which quickly became an Australian icon.
Whilst no longer as popular as they once were, the mid to late 1900s were seen to bring on the rise of organised competitions. This can be linked both to the nostalgia of parents who built carts in the decades prior providing the same opportunity for their children, and to the immense popularity of Soapbox Racing in the United States.
During this time some competitive carts could be seen to adopt similar design cues to the American Soapbox, with an aerodynamic streamlined design, lay-down configuration and front pivot axle steering which was aided by a steering wheel to improve safety and control of the cart at higher speeds.
The more traditional cart style however remained a staple of recreational use, used by children living in suburbs either on grassed hills or streets with low volumes of vehicle traffic. This cart style was also often used competitively as the simple and low-cost design enabled them to be built by children with minimal assistance from adults, allowing for unofficial competition and collaboration to occur between children within a community. Billy cart derbies were often utilised during this time as popular community events, aimed at creating a rich environment of community participation and also further benefit as a fundraising opportunity.
In 1981, The Perth Soapbox Club (founded 1968) was successful in securing a location for a dedicated race track, located in the Western Australia Sporting Car Club complex. Following its construction it remains today as the only dedicated facility/track in Australia for billy cart racing.
Whilst the popularity of billy carts as a competitive sport has declined from the mid-late 1900s there remains a dedicated number of groups which organise annual derbys as a community event. Similarly, there is a large following of the sport, with a significant online and social media presence, particularly as corporations such as Redbull have developed billy cart races into a popular form of online content, creating strong links between entertainment, community experience and a recognisable sporting brand identity. The recreational appeal of billy carts has also remained relevant, with research reaffirming the social and health benefits associated with activities such as building and using billy carts in the backyard, local streets and parks.
A number of events are still held throughout Australia, aimed at bringing together the local community, and encouraging children to stay active and spend time outside in a unique low-cost sociable environment which encourages intergenerational participation. These events are also successful in attracting visitors from surrounding communities and interstate.
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Australia resulted in all annual Billy cart derbies throughout the country being put on hold as event organisers were unable to hold events due to social distancing and other measures implemented by local, state and federal governments. This also resulted in a number of events held annually prior to the outbreak in 2020 being cancelled or postponed indefinitely by organisers.
Rising costs associated with organising billy cart derbies have pressured a number of event organisers to either relocate or cancel events, particularly costs associated with insurance, as a result most events held today require sponsors to pay the costs associated with organising an event. Other pressures include complaints from locals regarding temporary road closures and inflation.
Official rules and regulations for billy cart derbies typically vary between organises, due in part to track layouts, estimated cart speeds, safety concerns & other constraints such as starting ramps.
As a result there are no well-defined categories for design, however it is often observed to be two distinct design styles; traditional & professional. It is commonplace to see these categories separated at organised events to enable increased fairness of competition between entrants.
Traditional carts retain many design cues from billy carts constructed throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. These include a mostly timber design, upright seating, pivoting front axle with rope steering, plain bearings and solid wheels. Optional design features include a scrub brake on either one or both rear wheels and a wooden block to limit the pivot angle of the front axle.
Many guides are available online detailing the construction process and this style remains to be a low cost and simple design, able to be easily constructed with common hand and power tools and are still often utilised recreationally by Australian children as well as organisations such as Scouts due to the simplicity of construction.
A number of manufacturers produce these carts for a relatively low cost and can be found in stores throughout Australia as well as online retailers.
Professional carts form a much broader scope of designs compared to traditional carts, these carts are often capable of reaching speeds much higher than traditional designs as they are larger and heavier, and as such also may feature a range of safety features such as seatbelts and rollcages. Steering is often required by event organisers to utilise either a steering shaft and tie rod design, or handlebars, whilst brakes may range from scrub brakes to rim or disc brakes, typically required to be installed on two or more wheels. The overall construction of carts typically include either timber or metal frames, with most lightweight materials also permitted by event organisers, many carts using materials such as corrugated plastic, polycarbonate, fibreglass and carbon fibre in their designs to improve aerodynamics.
Pneumatic wheels are often utilised for professional carts, repurposed from common items such as wheelbarrows, push bikes and wheelchairs. These are often limited in size by event organisers to ensure safety and typically may either be constructed in a three or four wheel configuration depending on organiser restrictions.
Many professional carts are homemade, however often may require additional power tools during the construction process, due to this, particularly in recent years, many carts are fabricated professionally with some higher-end carts valued around $5000.
It is common that professional carts are designed around a specific theme, these themes can also be an ideal starting point for the design process as it can allow for the design to be unique yet recognisable. One of the most common themes for billy cart designs are vehicles, with some based on vehicle styles such as hot-rods and classic cars, whilst other vehicles used for inspiration include vehicles popularised in film and tv franchises, however designs can often include a broad range of local or pop culture references.
STEM Education
STEM Education programs within Australia have incorporated billy carts into a number of programs, with the simplicity of billy cart design allowing for kids of all ages to attempt their own project in a hands-on environment and develop critical thinking skills whilst also learning from the range of mathematical and scientific factors that determine what makes a billy cart design fast including rolling resistance, aerodynamics, and wheel diameters. These programs provide students with an opportunity to create & build upon skills which can be further applied in future studies and careers.
One STEM program sought to address high school students (year 10) not selecting higher level mathematics and science subjects for their final years of study, to achieve this the Design Technology class created a project which involved constructing a billy cart in stages and integrated each of these stages with mathematics and science classes wherein teachers would explore relevant topics such as budgeting, associations between wheel sizes, speed, stability and the forces which affect a billy cart's competitive ability. This program was successful in increasing student enthusiasm for the STEM subjects involved and was found to have positively changed student attitudes on selecting higher level mathematics and science subjects for their final years of study.
Flexible learning programs
Flexible learning option programs can utilise billy carts to provide at-risk students with the opportunity and means to develop key life skills such as engineering, building and design in a hands on environment, with these types of billy cart programs better suited for students which struggle in mainstream classrooms yet thrive in applied learning scenarios. Such inclusions of billy carts in flexible learning can occur either as school-supported entries into existing billy cart races organised outside of schools, or as school-based events organised by the schools themselves.
Incursions, excursions & school-based programs
Billy carts have been widely identified as a great low cost, low risk opportunity for young students to learn key skills such as problem solving and communication in a fun, active and engaging manner. A number of organisations which provide school incursion & excursion programs have included billy carts as a program option, typically requiring students to utilise simple tools and teamwork to build a simple billy cart kit before racing around a short track either being pushed or utilising small hills.