Iris Dixon

Iris Mary Bent (later Iris Dixon, 1931–2022) was an Australian cyclist. She won sixteen Australian national titles and was crowned Australian Champion of Champions at least three times.[1] During Bent's career, women's cycling was not yet an event at the world championships or the Olympics.[1] In 1951, she was described by one paper as "the best women's track cyclist in the world today".[2] After the birth of her second child, she stopped racing but she returned to competitive racing in her mid-fifties in the 1970s. Bent was inducted into Cycling Australia Hall of Fame in 2016.[3] In 2025, the Dixon Veloway, a cycling highway, in Melbourne was named for her.[4]

Early life

Bent was born in 1931[5] in North Carlton, Melbourne, Australia. She was the daughter of George "Buzzer" and Ellen Bent, and the eldest of four children.[6]

Bent learnt to ride when she was four years old on a bicycle her father had built for her.[4][6] She started training at the Brunswick Cycling Club where her father also raced. At the time, women could not join the club but the club allowed girls and women to train on their track. In 1945, when she was 14, Bent was entered into her first race.[6]

Cycling career

In 1947, she raced with the Victorian Women's Professional Cycling Union. The League of Victorian Wheelmen refused to recognise women's racing so the union became aligned with the Victorian Athletics League, whose lent officials to oversee women's races held in conjunction with local athletic carnivals.

In 1949, Bent won four national races at Adelaide to be crowned Australian "Champion of Champions".[7] Originally trained by her father, after her marriage, she was trained by husband, Jim Dixon.[8]

In 1951, she won all five national titles at the Bundaberg championships to retain the title "Champion of Champions".[9][10][11] On her return to Melbourne she was met by Hubert Opperman, the federal MP and former cyclist, who was Chairman of the Commonwealth Jubilee sporting celebrations committee.[12] Opperman described her achievement as "the most outstanding showing by a Victorian woman cyclist in history."[13] In 1951, the Sunday Mail dubbed her "the best women's track cyclist in the world today".[2][8]

Dixon was also the 1952 national champion.[14] In 1953, she won four of five titles at the Mt Isa Carnival to retain the title of Australian Champion of Champions.[14]

She continued racing after the birth of her first child[15] but stopped racing after the birth of her second child before returning to racing again in her mid-fifties in the 1970s. At sixty, she won the open 66 kilometre Northern Veterans handicap race from Benalla to Yarrawonga in 1992 .

Personal life

In 1948, Iris married James Herbert Dixon,[16] a fellow cyclist from Western Australia.[2] She was 18. Dixon would become her coach[2] and the couple went onto have four children. Bent continued riding well into her 80s.[17]

Iris Dixon died on 23 July 2022; she was 91.[18][5]

Recognition

In 2014, Dixon was inducted into the Cycling Victoria Hall of Fame followed by the Cycling Australia Hall of Fame in 2016[3] She was also posthumously awarded a local council award for contribution to sport.[19]

In 2023, the National Museum of Australia acquired thirteen items in order to establish an Iris Dixon Collection. Two years later, in 2025, the Dixon Veloway, a multi-lane cycling overpass, was named for her in Melbourne.[4][20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Vale Iris Dixon". SBS Sport (News clip). 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Caves, Col (7 January 1951). "Iris is "tops"". Sunday Mail. Brisbane, Queensland. p. 13. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Iris Dixon (nee Bent)". AusCycling (Profile page). Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c McMillan, Ashleigh (7 December 2025). "Life can flash before cyclists' eyes on busy Footscray Road. A new 2.5km veloway will change that". The Age. Melbourne, Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ^ a b "'I didn't realise I was a trailblazer': Vale Iris Dixon (1931–2022)". auscycling.org.au. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "18-Year-Old Woman Scratch Rider". Tweed Daily. Murwillumbah, New South Wales. 19 February 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Women's Cycle Championships to Boost Christmas Sports". Bundaberg News-Mail. Queensland. 15 July 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Victorian Girl Cyclist Now a 'Worldbeater'". Labor Call. Melbourne. 11 January 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Woman Cyclist Scoops Championship Pool". Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 2 January 1951. p. 14 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Vic Cyclist Retains Australian Title". Bundaberg News-Mail. 2 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Girl cyclist's 5-title wins". Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. 2 January 1951. p. 8. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  12. ^ "As One Cyclist to Another". The Age (Photo caption). Melbourne, Australia. 6 January 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Cyclist Praised". Daily Mirror. Sydney, Australia. 5 January 1951. p. 19. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Cycling: Mt Isa Carnival". Cairns Post. Queensland. 9 April 1953. p. 8.
  15. ^ "Mother Wins Cycling Race". Canberra Times. 16 June 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  16. ^ James Herbert Dixon and Iris Mary Bent, Marriage certificate, 1949, Victoria, registration number 11094/1949, Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria.
  17. ^ "Iris keeps fitness on track". Home Magazine. Herald Sun. Melbourne. 27 March 2017. p. 5. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Vale Iris Dixon, pioneer of Australian cycling dies". SBS Sport. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Merri-bek Community Awards". Merri-bek City Council. 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  20. ^ "VeloDay Is Here – New Elevated Bike Path Opens For The West". Premier of Victoria (Government Press Release). Retrieved 11 December 2025.
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