On 12 February 2021, Geoff Sim passed away. He was 72 years old.
Geoff won consecutive Australian 125cc championships in 1975 and 1976 riding a TA125 Yamaha provided by Kevin Cass.
He was the founder of City Coast Motorcycles, Keira Street, Wollongong
Ian McPhee writes, on 25th Jun 2026:
Geoff Sim would have been 78 today but let himself fall down the steps and hit his head.
After motorbike racing he came to gliding guess about 1980 and with other motorbike friends went to Tocumwal to learn. They all went to Forbes club to fly gliders.
He later came to Keepit and also got involved with a RF5B motor glider at Albion Park with Ron Berry and later had G109A HDS which had been flown out from Germany for German television.
He wave flew at Jindabyne (he held Australian record for motorglider height for over 10 years.) and castletop at Kaputar camp, morning glory at burketown (the second year) and many safaris in Australia. Went to Jackson oil field for the first and only Bergfalke reunion in Australia.
He built his own Lancair mostly at Ballina and flew it to New Zealand and around Australia, including Cape Lavique in WA and had a prop strike in soft sand and came back on a truck to keepit.
Then add motorbike adventures including racing all around Australia and riding across Russia to St Petersburg and came to grief and was carted on back of a truck to Finnish border and ambulance took him to Finland hospital - thanks David M
He often helped instructing with mid week courses at keepit and then next week he would be off to Jervis Bay teaching Navy officers to fly gliders. Think a Friday 22 May 1987 Geoff was the extra instructor for the week and tug did 82 tows on that day and Geoff did 38 training flights in a day!! . The date is in his log book.
Geoff had a different definition of what walking distance was from an airfield to town was! He considered 10km walking distance!!
Alaric Giles:
David McGonnigal writes:
Ian,
A great summation of a life well lived. A few minor corrections though. Geoff must have started gliding earlier than you say as when I got back from my first world motorcycle ride in December 1979 Geoff and Fred Bassett were already members of Forbes Gliding Club - with the late, great Des Vagg. And I'm sure it was Dominic Williams who held the height record from our week in Jindabyne (I wrote it up in Australian Geographic) as Dom (who I spoke to a few months ago) fitted an on-demand oxygen system in his Nimbus and the rest of us were cheap and went for the constant flow system. Dom never got the hang of wave so I acted as his (still-resentful) wave marker as he came past me and upwards to set the record (constant flow was restricted to 30,000ft). My day was still be better than Fred's who got to 30,000 feet too but came back to find his over-efficient ground crew had turned his charting barograph on, then off again, so he couldn't get the flight acknowledged.
And FYI in Russia he was carted in a van (with the SRV250 inside) to the first Russian/Finnish border and was told he had to ride his bike to the next post (it was on his carnet), which he did in agony and less than 18 hours after he came out of intense care. It was the bravest thing I've ever seen - he couldn't use his right arm so I rigged up a bungy cord so it was always pulling that way while he could use his left arm to keep the bike straight (and upright). It was about 30km. Whenever we stopped I had to jump off my bike and catch him before he fell.
Where we met the incredibly well-equipped Helsinki ambulance turned out to be just the second border post. We left his bike there and it took months to get it released through the third and final border post by the Russians and finally in to Finland. He had it set to come back to Australia in a glider container but mad cow disease hit and there was no way they were putting a bike with Russian germs in a crate of new gliders so presumably it's still in a barn in Germany. He then sent me a cheque for the bike (which Lynn had lent him after she rode it in South America).
Another memory from Siberia was of visiting Victor who saved and bred Siberian tigers a day's ride from Vladivostok. While we were there at his compound he took advantage of that to get a full night's sleep while we stood guard with guns against Chinese poachers (fortunately none turned up) and that may have been a first for my pacifist friend. I remember bizarrely standing as Geoff's control tower next to the tigers while he rehearsed an instrument landing pattern for his IFR exams when he got home.
Russell White:
A bit of preliminary research brought a smile.
"At the pub (in Burketown), Geoff & Ian were almost speechless about their flight. For Ian, who normally talks 15 to the dozen, this was remarkable. Geoff just shook his head slowly as he stared, seemingly dazed, into his drink, then looked up and remarked that their first flight on the rollcloud had been the highlight in a lifetime of gliding."
Re Dom and the wave at Jindabyne, I might add that if memory serves it was his very first wave flight.
Ian McPhee:
Well thank you Dave Mc and others for your wonderful stories of Geoff.
I still remember that first think email from you Dave of him being in Helsinki hospital and I phoned (numbers go Finnish hospitals then Helsinki then ward and finally room and phone calls goat money) and you wanted me to talk with him and he really did not know he was talking to me. Fortunately next day he knew it was me and I was very relived.
Then there is getting engine from Adelaide and changing it overnight at Burketown and it worked. Thats written up in Australian gliding. I can remember being given $10 in 20 c to feed the burketown street STD phone and check freight if engine. Engine came Ansett Adelaide Melbourne Sydney Brisbane and 5.30 am Cairns. The it had to go in a Bandit (big cargo door) and I phoned flight west Cairns and they said "passengers take Precedence". I said how much us a seat. They said say $89.50 with Queensland government subsidy. He then realused I was serious and there were think one passenger to Doomadgee next day. He said "it will be tight" it was and we ran new engine that night.
He used to regularly go to Flinders island and hire a car for $25 from van Park. Once on way back he stopped south Coast of NSW for fuel and the security guy at airport also issued ASIC. He let fly what he thought of the crap of ASIC s. Later this guy and Geoff became almost friends but it took a while.
Then there is spending think 3 nights in the gong lock up to serve out multiple bike parking fines as he was not paying money. Think Robin brought him meals but remember Geoff serviced the police motorbike. Tim what do you remember on this.
One if a kind.
Tim Simm:
Hi Ian
Yes he spent a few days in the lock up. He was putting the bikes outside next to the footpath each morning. They started booking each bike. He argued that it was like putting a billboard in front of the business. He kept putting them out and the fines kept coming. Eventually the police came and spoke to him as they were tired of the drama. It turned out it was the neighbor ringing the police every day. He went next door for a chat and didn't see the police again. Only problem was the fines were still owed. There was no way he would pay them so they came up with a week or so in the lock up. Pretty sure he spent the time studying for his pilots license and Mum took him dinner.
Ian McPhee
Timothy,
That is truly wonderful story as I only got bits and pieces of the story over the years.
I know he hated unnecessary government red tape and regulations. We had a group of police from Wollongong to learn gliding years ago. Think he influenced them go come. I remember them saying "the Geoff Sim we deal with is a different Geoff Sim you see". I am not too sure what they meant.
I will add that I learnt from those police if the public engraved on tools etc in my case NSW 9993LR (my drivers licence number) then there would be no need to have police auctions as mostly they recover stolen goods and never know who owns them. I have always engraved power tools for the past almost 40 years. Pawn shops are well aware of the NSW DL engraving and it is their red flag.
So thankyou the "gong" police.
David McGonnigal writes:
Tim, Geoff told me that he was never going to pay the unjust fines. And I think the court told him that it was seven days in gaol but weekend days count as double as do the entry and departure days so he arrived Friday night and left Monday morning.
Wendy and Harry Medlicott
Thanks Ian for such wonderful memories of one of the greatest. Harry and I joined him flying in many places and competitions. The best memory was the wave in Jindabyne where we were in one glider and Geof in another, each of us determined to get the best height!
He always remembered birthdays and I got a card in the mail box from him every year as well as Christmas. Wish he was still with us.
David McGonnigal writes (15 February 2021):
Geoff was Australian 125cc champion, and much, much more.
Vale Geoff Sim (1948-2021) My friend of almost 50 years, Geoff died at the weekend. I've spent a lot of time reflecting on our friendship and adventures over the decades and realised that there have been very few people who have directed the course of my life more than Geoff...
ContinuedVale Geoff Sim
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