Ken Warby and his parents
Photographer
David Watson
(deceased)
Date1977
Object numberANMS0532[280]
NameNegative
Copyright© Luke Watson
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Tumut and Adelong Times
DescriptionKen Warby and his parents Neville and Evelyn. Warby leans and gives his very relieved mother a kiss.
Ken Warby had decided to become the fastest man on water from a very early age. Realising their son would not be dissuaded, Neville and Evelyn Warby supported him on his journey and were present on both days at Blowering Dam when the world record was set.
His father Neville had supported Warby's early speed boat adventures, even lending him money to buy the motor for his first boat. It is unlikely however that he could have foreseen the path ahead and where his son's love of speed and water would lead.HistoryAlthough Ken Warby's parents had long been involved in his speed boat racing starting from a teenager, his quest to break the world speed record and later the 300 mph barrier was always a concern for them, particularly his mother Evelyn. They were present at Blowering Dam in 1977 and 1978 to witness Warby and SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA set new records but it was said that Evelyn 'shook and shook' and asked Warby at the end "You'll finish now? No more?"
SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA is an Australian designed and built jet-powered, wooden, point hydroplane that has held the world water-speed record since 1977. Breaking both the 300 mph and 500 km/h barriers, SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA raised the world record to 511kph in 1978 at Blowering Dam near Tumut NSW.
Ken Warby, SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA's designer, builder and driver, achieved his world water-speed records on a shoestring budget. Warby built his hydroplane over two years in the backyard of his suburban Sydney home, using stringers, brackets, stock bits of timber, plywood, screws, epoxy and a military-surplus jet engine that cost $65. He eventually launched the boat in 1974.SignificanceThere were a small group of long-time supporters with Warby in 1977 when he broke the world water speed record - two of these were his parents. This image show again the length of time Warby had been wanting the record and the palatable relief that he and SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA had survived.
