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Honda dealer where he was the workshop
mechanic specialising in the rebuilding of the early
4-stroke twin cylinder models.
He got to try his first Bultaco about the same time
as he found himself out of a job and with no money,
and not even a phone, but was advised to try to run a
business – any business. Don decided his first choice
would involve the new Bultaco brand of motorcycles.
To this end he wrote to convince Sr. Francisco Bulto
that this was a serious request to be come part of the
Bultaco dynasty. The big surprise to Don was when
none other than John Grace*, works engineer, called
in on Don. Don announced regretfully that although
he appreciated the visit he probably didn’t qualify for
a franchise, and in any case didn’t Bert Flood already
have dibs in Australia for the brand? No problemo,
Bert’s franchise was for Victoria and South Australia.
And what about the money problem? Don was
essentially broke. No problemo, look in the Yellow
Pages, find a financier, and borrow the money. John
Grace’s next question at this inaugural meeting
convinced Don that this was for real. “How many
models do you want to start off with?”
The rest of this story did not proceed as
smoothly as the fairy tale start, with another new
kid on the block, starting off in Orlando Road,
Lambton in Newcastle as a backyard mechanic –
Norm Fraser. Norm was smart and ruthless – you
have to be when in business, and eventually
swallowed up the NSW and Queensland franchises,
and Don was out of the picture but still the
proprietor of the business that his son runs to this
day. When Norm Fraser was getting out of the
Bultaco business, the amazing swag of new spare
parts was trucked from Newcastle to Sydney, then
Brisbane and after negotiations with Bill McDonald,
there were many trips with ute and trailer to Don’s
place where along with many newly manufactured
parts they now reside.John Imrie
Sthn. Highlands, NSW
See Paul Read’s obituary to Don Newell in Buzz Boxthis issue.
*John Grace’s real name was Juan Garcia. He was a native of
Gibraltar and raced, quite successfully under Grace as he felt
it would be easier to gain fame with an English-soundingname. He was the first sales manager for Bultaco and in fact
came up with the brand name – a combination of Bulto and
‘Paco’, which was Francisco Bulto’s nick name.ABOVE In his pre-Bultaco days,
Don Newell chases Tony Edwards’ Maico
in a scramble at Jerry’s Downfall, Qld.
LEFT Don Newell was still competing
into his late ‘seventies, Bultaco
mounted of course.