BLACK MAC at speed

Photographer Graeme Andrews

Datec 1967

Object numberANMS1163[303]

NamePhotograph

MediumSilver gelatin print

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Graeme Andrews

Terms

DescriptionKen Warby driving the power boat BLACK MAC at speed.HistoryKen Warby started speed boat racing as a teenager. He built and modified speed boats and was mildly successful attracting sponsorship from Dulux paints and STP Oil. In the late 1960's along with Allan MacIntosh, Warby formed the Royal Rebels Racing Team with the boats MONTE CRISTO and BALCK MAC. The dream of breaking the world water speed record was brewing however and Warby began to talk of designing and building the boat to do it. SignificanceKen 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.