This week marks 25 years since Cessnock hosted the International Six-Day Enduro and the motorcycling event is still widely regarded as one of the biggest things to ever happen to the town.
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The event which ran from August 25 to 30, 1992 attracted teams from 21 nations and brought huge numbers of international visitors to Cessnock.
About 20,000 people lined the streets for the grand opening parade and 12,000 watched the final at Mulbring.
The late John Hall was the driving force behind the event, and was named Cessnocks citizen of the year in 1993 for helping to bring such a landmark event to the town.
The ISDE came to Cessnock on the back of the success of the Australian Four-Day Enduro (A4DE), which John founded in 1978 to give Australian riders experience in multi-day events.
In exciting news for local motorcycling fans, it was recently announced that the A4DE will return to Cessnock next year.
Johns son Malcolm is now the vice-president of Cessnock Motorcycle Club and is on the committee for the 2018 A4DE.
Malcolm said the club is excited to be bringing the four-day enduro back to where it all began for its 40th anniversary.
It will be a good boost for Cessnock, he said.
Dungog hosted it in 2014 and it injected $2.5 million into the town.
The A4DE will be held in Cessnock from April 3 to 7 (the week after Easter), and is expected to draw hundreds of riders and supporters to the Hunter.
The festivities will be centred around Cessnock Showground, where special tests will be held each day.
Malcolm said the club will need a big committee to make sure everything runs smoothly.
An informal meeting for anyone wanting to help the committee will be held at Pedens Hotel on Saturday, August 26 at 3pm.
If you cant make the meeting but want to help out, get in touch with Cessnock Motorcycle Club on Facebook.
