Community spirit shines in Broken Hill
For Mildura siblings Chloe and Harley Ackerly, motorbike racing isn’t just a sport—it’s a way of life. The talented duo has raced across Australia, racking up titles and taking on the country’s best. But their recent trip to Broken Hill Speedway took a devastating turn, leaving them with broken bones, stolen bikes, and an unexpected display of incredible community spirit.
It all started on Saturday night, when 18-year-old Chloe, a fearless competitor who races against the lads when there’s no other girls to beat, was sitting in second place in the boys’ class. But her race came to a crashing halt when her front wheel was taken out, sending her tumbling hard onto the track, resulting in a fractured eye socket, broken nose, hand, and pelvis.
As if that wasn’t enough, Sunday morning brought more heartbreak—Chloe and Harley’s bikes, had been stolen from the back of their ute which was parked close to their accommodation at Broken Hill Tourist Park. After reporting the theft to police, the family returned home to Mildura, their dreams of racing shattered—at least for now.
Their bikes, valued at around $20,000 each, were uninsured due to the exorbitant cost of covering race bikes.
But what happened next was something special
A simple Facebook post about the stolen bikes went viral, amassing 1,500 shares in over the next couple of days. The Broken Hill community sprang into action—people kept watch, tracked sightings, and even staked out locations at night in a determined effort to bring the bikes home.
Locals reported seeing the bikes being ridden around on Sunday morning and even filling up at the local OTR on Tuesday night. The sheer power of community spirit led to an incredible breakthrough—by Thursday, the stolen bikes were found abandoned in the bush off Silver City Highway, behind the local golf course.
With their beloved bikes finally back, Chloe and Harley returned to Broken Hill to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. For Chloe, recovery now takes priority, but she’s already eyeing her next race—the NSW Sidecar Titles in early March.
A former Australian Junior Girls Champion, Chloe isn’t one to back down from a challenge. “A massive thanks to the entire Broken Hill community who helped locate, went looking, and shared my post to get the word out,” she said.
