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Harbour Craft 1 October 1932
Harbour Craft 1 October 1932

Harbour Craft 1 October 1932

Subject or historical figure (1894 - 1987)
Date1 October 1932
Object numberANMS0090[002]
NameMagazine
MediumPaper, ink
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Faye Magner
Description'Harbour Craft: The Official Organ of the Open Boat Sailing Clubs' was a magazine published weekly, with a coloured cover, printed pages and photographic reproductions. It included articles, news items and programmes of races as well as advertisements. The front page of this issue features a photograph of Charles 'Chook' Frazer's [sic] 10ft Flyer CORNSTALK, the winner of the JB Moffat Cup, 1931-1932 Season.HistoryCharles 'Chook' Fraser was 18 years old when he was chosen to tour as fullback with the second Kangaroos team to England in 1911. He also played as five-eight and centre at representative level. He played for Balmain from 1911 to 1926, and toured a second time with the Kangaroos, earning a reputation as one of Australia's great footballers. At the age of 35 he retired from football to concentrate on sailing. Fraser's first boat was the 6- footer OUR OWN which he sailed as a teenager in 1910. His father was a seaman and the family lived in Balmain on the waterfront of Mort Bay. His 10-foot skiff CORNSTALK was 17 feet 6 inches on the gaff and 19 feet 6 inches on the boom. It was said that a 10-footer could not carry that much sail, but Chook Fraser regularly sailed CORNSTALK with that area of canvas. CORNSTALK was skippered by Chook Fraser and V Taylor. In 1935, Fraser sold CORNSTALK and went on to sail an 18-footer also called CORNSTALK, often with members of his family and friends as crew. In this skiff, built by George Press, he contested the first 18-foot skiff World Championship in 1958. The 18-foot skiffs are designed to reach extreme speeds and provide an exciting and attractive sport for spectators to watch. This was the aim of the vessels when they were first designed in the late 19th century.SignificanceThis magazine provides a record of the popular sport of open boat racing on Sydney Harbour during the 20th century.