Firing Up: Ceramics and the Hamilton Motor Cycle Club

In the 1920s motorcycle riding was the pastime of the well-heeled adventurer. By the 1960s this had all changed. Riding became associated with youthful counter-culture: hippies and ruffians ruled the roads.

Were Hamilton Motor Cycle Club members ruffians, hippies, or well-heeled adventurers? And why did they assist with the purchase of ceramics for the Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato collection?

In Firing Up you can see a selection of works purchased using funds gifted by the Club during the 1970s - including Barry Brickell’s ‘Cylindrical Pots’ - and learn a little about the history of Hamilton’s ‘motorcycle grand prix’.

This exhibition is curated in honour of the centenary of the Hamilton Motor Cycle Club.

Image: Barry Brickell, Cylindrical Pots, 1976. Purchased with assistance from the Hamilton Motorcycle Club. Collection of Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato.