Barbara and Don Olson, Paul McGinness and Don Clarke were among a host of Panmure residents who flocked to cards nights developed to gather money for the sprint winners in the 1960s.

Mrs Olson’s mother Susie Miles developed the idea in 1964, opening her home, providing prizes and cooking sausage rolls to ensure strong turnouts.

She believes they supported the sprint for at least a decade.

Up to four rooms – and even the hallway – of their house were filled with extra tables for the regular cards nights in the lead-up to the big race.

“Mum thought ‘fancy riding that far for just a little amount of money’ so she decided to have cards,” Mrs Olson said.

Mr McGinness said the cards nights were popular.

“Anywhere there was a square inch, there was a card table,” he said.

“The house would be packed.

“You couldn’t move in the place.”

The friends are thrilled Moyne Shire will donate $1000 to the Panmure Sprint winner on Saturday in recognition of the 100^th running of the iconic race.

A free barbecue outside the Panmure Hotel is planned, from 12pm until 3pm in a bid to encourage residents to support the cyclists on the last leg of the 278-kilometre race.

Panmure Action Group president Ian Wallace said respected commentator Lindsay Hill was coming out of retirement for the classic’s milestone.

“We as Panmure Action Group have given him a little story, a little bit of history of Panmure,” Wallace said.

“The little captions we’ve given him about Panmure, he’ll read out. A little bit like the Tour de France.

“Moyne are going to provide us with a PA system here for Saturday and when Lindsay takes off from here, they’re going broadcast back to Panmure and put over the PA system the call of the bike race into Warrnambool.”

The Panmure Sprint is the penultimate sprint on the Melbourne to Warrnambool itinerary. There are 16 in total, including at Allansford – just nine kilometres from the finish line in Warrnambool’s central business district.