Scroll of children's artwork showing SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA
Date1978
Object number00004441
NameDrawing
MediumInk on paper, wood, cloth
DimensionsOverall: 500 x 47 mm, 3.05 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ken Warby
DescriptionA scroll of children's drawings depicting SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA. The paintings are by the school children of Tumut Primary School and were presented to Ken Warby on the occasion of his world water speed record. Photographs of Ken Warby looking at the scroll at Tumut Primary can be seen at ANMS0532(031 - 034).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.SignificanceKen Warby's achievement in 1977 and 1978 was inspirational to many people including the local children at Tumut Primary, the town near Blowering Dam where the speed record was set.
