‘Rocket’ bicycles were made by Jack Pesch at the Rocket Cycle Works from the late 1930s until 1997. Jack made all the frames in a workshop behind his shop on Petrie Terrace, Brisbane.
Jack Pesch (1917–2002) was a champion cyclist from the age of 14, representing the Valley Club and Queensland. He learned his bike-making skills at Bennett and Wood, manufacturer of Speedwell Cycles, in Sydney. By 1939 he had returned to Brisbane and established Rocket Cycle Works on Petrie Terrace, Brisbane.
I came back. I got a job here as a foreman in a bike shop. And I thought why do that, I might as well get out on my own…I would have been about 21 or 22 when I started here in business…Nearly every bike shop made their own bikes. You had firms like Ashby’s, and Massey’s… and Tommy Wallace… Most bike shops put out a good bike.
There are two ‘Rockets’ in the Queensland Museum collection. They were bought for the donor’s children in December 1985 and cost $400:
- H28464 – Number 400, lady’s 26-inch, single speed (46-23), steel frame, pedal brake.
- H28463 – Number 379, boy’s 24-inch, single speed (40-18), steel frame, pedal brake.
I always used quality material. Built a quality bike. I never roughed a job up. I never believed in cheap stuff. Someone wants some cheap stuff they can go somewhere else.
Jack painted his own frames. It is likely that the main colour of both ‘Rockets’ in the collection is ‘Royal Red’, with the lady’s bike decorated in ‘Pale Ivory’, with ‘Cream’ used for the boy’s bike. These colours come from the British Paints Gloss-Masta range. It was an acrylic paint, commonly used for house exteriors, but could be used to paint a bicycle frame using only one coat. The word ‘Rocket’ on both bikes would have been painted using a tubular metal stencil.
By the 1990s bicycles were mainly imported. They had gears and were lighter, but were often made from inferior quality, and Jack was getting more repair work than new bike sales.
General repair work is hard because they seem to have a series of problems and if you give a quote, 25 or 50 dollars, [they say] ‘oh it’s too dear’. They can go to K-Mart and buy a new one for 150 dollars. Then they get back to more rubbish again…Instead of paying me for repairs, which would do a better job, they go and buy another one… It’s sad, because the game has had it. That’s the way it goes…There’s no one learning the trade. It’s just become a throw-away society. No one wants to repair anything.
R9784 Queensland Museum
Jack’s contribution to Brisbane cycling was recognised with the opening of the Jack Pesch Bridge in 1998, the year after he retired and closed his business. The pedestrian and cyclist bridge spans the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer, adjacent to the Walter Taylor Bridge and the two railway bridges.
My personal opinion on bikeways today is they’re not good…All due respect, if they put them through a park there are people walking on them and there’s a character coming along on a bike he’s liable to knock ‘em over because its too narrow…They should make bikeways parallel with the main roads.
Queensland Museum Blog 
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