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Image Not Available for Manuscript log of by William or George Clarke of MALUKA - in Queensland waters
Manuscript log of by William or George Clarke of MALUKA - in Queensland waters
Image Not Available for Manuscript log of by William or George Clarke of MALUKA - in Queensland waters

Manuscript log of by William or George Clarke of MALUKA - in Queensland waters

Datec 1933
Object numberANMS0382[004]
NameManuscript
MediumPaper
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Bill Gale
DescriptionA typed manuscript log by William or George Clarke of MALUKA during a 1933 sailing trip in Queensland waters. Text begins 'Our trip to north Queensland occupied 5 months, leaving here on the 22nd April 1933, and arriving back on the 21st September, the actual distance covered was 3,400 nautical miles...' HistoryGeorge and William Clark took up sailing in 1930 when they moved to Sydney. They were introduced to sailing by Cliff Gale in 1929. They purchased BELLBIRD and joined the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club in 1930 winning the Kelly Cup in 1931. Although keen racers, cruising was their passion. They began by sailing to Myall Lakes, Broken Bay, Port Hacking and Jervis Bay. They sold BELLBIRD in 1932 and commissioned the building of the cruising yacht MALUKA. On 22 April 1933 they commenced a five month cruise to Queensland followed by a second cruise to Queensland in 1935 - 6. In 1939 MATHANA was used in Harbour patrol duty, and post war raced with the SASC. MALUKA afloat in 1972 was used as a motor boat for fishing and had a large diesel engine. "George and William Clark are first-class Australians who have learned to sail by their own initiative and have weathered some of the worst storms ever. To talk with them is to learn something, as they are quiet, humble and self assuring, and they have the knack of knowing what should be done and when. They refer to themselves as the "Lucky Clarks" because they think they are extremely lucky to be with us, but this must be tempered with the fact that they spent many years in the outback and thus learnt to improvise and also picked up an intuitive instinct which served them in good stead on many occasions. Their initial contact with sailing was to hear it spoken of by Keith Adams, who managed the adjoining property, and when his friend Cliff Gale came to visit they heard little else. Visiting Sydney in 1929 Cliff took them out in JUNE BIRD and they liked it — thus, when they packed up and sold their property at Canowindra and came to Sydney to live in 1930, almost the first thing they did was to purchase BELLBIRD and join the S.A.S.C. " - S.A.S.C Historical Committee, The Amateurs, A documentation of the first 100 years of sailing on Sydney Harbour Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, 1972. SignificanceThis manuscript is part of a collection of yachting memorabilia consisting of logs, scrapbooks, maps and photograph albums from the estate of George and William Clark, active members of the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club who undertook several ocean cruises in their yachts BELLBIRD, MALUKA and MATHANA in the 1930s.