Valda Unthank

[4][5] Little is known of her early years until her first reported cycling record in 1935, covering the 89 miles (143 km) from Prahran to Wonthaggi in 5 hours 5 mins.

[6] What first established Unthank's reputation though was the ride in October 1938 from Adelaide to Melbourne covering 475 miles (764 km) in 33 hours 43 minutes.

[7] Unthank was sponsored by Austral bikes,[8] a brand within the Malvern Star group,[9] and the rides were organised by Jack O'Donohue, publicity manager for Bruce Small Ltd.[10] This was followed shortly after by riding from Launceston to Burnie and return on 14 November 1938, setting the 12 hour Australian women's record of 198.4 miles (319.3 km) and rode on to set the 200 miles (320 km) Australian women's record in 12h 8 min.

[19] Unthank's seven day record was eclipsed in March 1940 by the next Malvern Star woman rider, Pat Hawkins who rode 1,546.8 miles (2,489.3 km).

[20] World War II saw Unthank retire,[21] although she returned for events competing on bicycle rollers to raise money for the Red Cross.