Buggins was born to parents January and Ken in Carmarthen, Wales, and immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of 7 months. His interest in motorcycles began at the age of nine, when his father gave him a small motorbike powered by a lawnmower engine.
Any given afternoon when school had finished, and on weekends there would be all kids blasting around kicking dirt up.
At 17, Buggins broke a world record previously held by American stuntman Evel Knievel when he jumped 25 cars with a Yamaha dirt bike, in 1978. In just a few years he was riding an XR75 Honda and doing jumps off car bonnets like the others at the local dirt bike track, known as the "Dude Ranch" near Umina on the Central Coast of NSW. A schoolfriend recalls:
Buggo to us, or Dale would be going hard, wheelies, jumps, big power slides, it was something to see. I have pictures of Dale in our Rugby team
In 1976 he moved with his family to Wyong where he honed his jumping skills on a farm jumping cars.
Dale became a sensation with his stunt shows, the rest is history. Buggins"s work pre-dated Freestyle Motocross and the Crusty Demons 10-plus years on, and in that sense in Australia at least, he was a motorbike stunt pioneer like his idol, Knievel.
On 28 May 1978 Buggins broke Knievel"s world record by jumping over 25 cars at the Newcastle Motordome and by 1979 he was touring the United States. in the "Evel Knievel Spectacular". In 1980 he visited Seattle in the United States to perform with American stunt motorcyclist Gary Wells.
He toured the "Dale Buggins Spectacular", in the States and Australia, appearing at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and others around the country.
A documentary made with Buggins, Mud Sweat and Gears, by Douglas Stanley and Nomad Films was never released in Australia and appears to be "lost", though short clips of it can currently be found on YouTube. Buggins"s record has since been broken by fellow Australian FMX stunt rider Robbie Maddison. Buggins committed suicide on 18 September 1981 in the Marco Polo Hotel in Melbourne, by shooting himself in the chest with a rifle that he purchased the previous day.
Buggins had just returned from touring the United States. and was in Melbourne for the Royal Melbourne Show where he was scheduled to appear.
The National Motorcycle Museum in Nabiac in NSW, Australia, has a section of wall devoted to images and memorabilia of Dale Buggins"s career. Another museum, The Stuntman and Daredevil Hall of Fame, which will include Dale Buggins memorabilia is planned for Junee, in 2011-2012.
A number of short videos recording his development and stunts, including snatches of Dale Buggins himself, include:
•Dale Buggins retro video •Douglas Stanley documentary, Mud, Sweat and Tears about Dale Buggins work and life. •Dale Buggins Tribute with Jennifer Keyte, Channel 9 Television, 1997.
