The SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA 317.60 : Ken Warby the fastest man on water
Date1978
Object number00000986
NamePoster
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 560 x 710 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA poster titled 'The SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA 317.60 Ken Warby the fastest man on water'. Features a colour photographic image of Ken Warby in a red jumpsuit sitting on SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA.
(Two of four identical posters).HistoryKen Warby, SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA's designer, builder and driver, achieved his world water-speed records on a shoestring budget. The boat was built over two years in the backyard of his suburban Sydney home, using stringers, brackets, stock bits of timber, plywood, screws and epoxy, and launched in 1974.
Warby first claimed the world record in 1977, taking his home-made hydroplane to a speed of 464.44 km/h and breaking American Lee Taylor's ten-year-old record of 458.98 km/h. But where Lee Taylor's record had cost close to $1 million in 1967, Warby built his boat in a suburban backyard with a military-surplus jet engine that cost $65. In 1978 he returned to Blowering Dam in the southern highlands of New South Wales and pushed his record to 511.11 km/h (317.68 m/h), where it still stands.
Warby was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in recognition of his achievement. More information about SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA's construction, configuration and condition can be found on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels www.anmm.gov.au/arhv.SignificanceThe poster is an example of the marketing and memorabilia produced for SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA during the 1970s.
