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.

Education programmes are available for this exhibition.

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