History
Athol Yeomans first suggested a new car magazine in 1950. He was 21 and working in the production department of K.G. Murray Publishing.
Fred Smith, Murray’s general manager, scoffed at the idea and, instead, started Man’s Life, Adventure Story and Master Detective. Predictably they soon disappeared, while Yeomans was fired for a practical joke on Smith that went spectacularly wrong. The motoring magazine didn’t happen.
Two years later, a freelancing (i.e. unemployed) Yeomans applied for a job at Hudson Publications. Only to be told by Norman Hudson that the advertised job had disappeared because he wanted to start a motoring magazine. Upon hearing this, Yeomans claimed “he almost passed out with desire” and persuaded Hudson that, with his editing experience on the short-lived monthly motoring journal Through The Windscreen, he should be employed on the new magazine. Hudson planned to call it Wheels.
In September, 1952 Yeomans found himself “in a musty smelling stationery storeroom sitting at a table looking at a bare sheet of paper.” With photographer Barrie Loudon, the only other full-time staffer, Yeomans spent months planning the first issue, writing most of it himself. That first Wheels – May 1953, price two shillings and sixpence (25 cents) – was a sensation. Success was immediate - the 30,000 copies printed sold out in a couple of days. A few months later Wheels was selling 60,000 copies a month.
Since 1963, Wheels has annually announced its Car of the Year award, although this has been withheld in 1972, 1979 and 1986. The award was created by Bill Tuckey, who also instigated comparisons tests within the title. [4]
It was announced in September 2010 that Bill Thomas, former deputy editor of BBC Top Gear Magazine in the UK, would take over as editor in November 2010.
In October 2012, it was announced that former Top Gear Australia magazine editor Stephen Corby was to become editor of Wheels, replacing Bill Thomas. [5]
For the October 2013 issue, Ben Oliver drove a Volvo S60 Polestar from Melbourne to Sydney along the Hume Highway, and Wheels launched the "Raise the limit, lower the toll" petition to raise the speed limit to 130 km/h, as it is in the Northern Territory. The campaign has since received lots of media coverage and acclamation among Australian motoring enthusiasts.
Glenn Butler was the publication’s editor from 2014 through 2016. He was replaced by Alex Inwood, former deputy editor of the magazine, who was appointed editor of Wheels in March 2017.
In the February 2018 issue, the magazine was redesigned with new fonts, thicker paper, a cleaner style and appearance and a greater emphasis on hero photography.
In the October 2020 issue, the publication’s editor, Alex Inwood, left the magazine. His replacement was former Motor editor, Dylan Campbell.
In 2020, Wheels was acquired by Are Media, the successor to Bauer Media Australia. [2] [6]
From June 2022, the former editor of Motor, Andy Enright, was appointed as editor of Wheels. From June 2023, Wheels magazine celebrated its 70th anniversary with a trilogy of monthly issues themed around Past, Present and Future.
According to Roy Morgan, Wheels' 70th year saw a massive circulation leap of 40.8% to reach 290,000 readers. [7]
WHEELS EDITOR TIMELINE
- 1953-56 Athol Yeomans
- 1956-58 Ian Simpson
- 1958-63 Ian Fraser
- 1963-68 Bill Tuckey
- 1968-71 Rob Luck
- 1971-87 Peter Robinson
- 1987-94 Phil Scott
- 1994-99 Angus MacKenzie
- 1999-02 Ewen Page
- 2002-10 Ged Bulmer
- 2011-12 Bill Thomas
- 2012-13 Stephen Corby
- 2014-17 Glenn Butler
- 2017-20 Alex Inwood
- 2020-21 Dylan Campbell
- 2021-22 Ash Westerman (acting)
- 2022- Andy Enright
