SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA on a trailer
Photographer
David Watson
(deceased)
Date1976
Object numberANMS0532[163]
NameNegative
Copyright© Luke Watson
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Tumut and Adelong Times
DescriptionSPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA on promotional tour out the front of a Fosseys with the Tumut store manager, Richard Coleman.
Fosseys, a country clothing store chain, was the first commercial sponsor for Ken Warby and SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA.HistoryWhen Warby first began designing and building SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA it was a self-funded project. His time and materials were all from his own pocket and resources but their came a time when it simply wasn’t enough.
In 1976 Warby was at the crux of the project. He desperately needed funds to move forward to finish SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA and attempt the world water speed record in 1977. So it happened that the ABC television network aired a program about Warby and SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA that was seen by a manager of Fosseys department stores who proposed they sponsor the project.
Fosseys was not a large chain but was able to contribute $25,000 to Warby's dream. The name 'Fossey' was painted on the side of SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA and Warby also undertook paid promotional tours for the stores. Their faith in Warby paid off as it was the Fosseys name that was in the picture when Warby and SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA set their first world water speed record the following year.SignificanceSPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA was a self-funded project by Ken Warby for many years. One of the first and only sponsors was the department store Fosseys. It was a small, local chain of stores not connected with the water speed world but very much in the spirit of Warby himself.
