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Image Not Available for Memorabilia relating to Jack and Valerie Lewitz's speed boat careers
Memorabilia relating to Jack and Valerie Lewitz's speed boat careers
Image Not Available for Memorabilia relating to Jack and Valerie Lewitz's speed boat careers

Memorabilia relating to Jack and Valerie Lewitz's speed boat careers

Date1950s - 1960s
Object numberANMS1166
NameArchive series
MediumPaper based material
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Carol and Gordon Billett
DescriptionThis archive series numbered [001] - [119] consists of speed boat memorabilia relating to the successful racing careers of Jack and Valerie Lewitz in New South Wales during the 1950s and 1960s. It includes 102 photographs depicting the Lewitzs and the boats JO, WENDY, TORTOISE, JOKER, BOREAS, WASP, NORNIE, ANNE, WENDY TOO, LORNA, SAPPHIRE, MAXINE II, HI-FI, JOY, TORCH V, SATAN, RIPTIDE, KANGA, HURRY UP, DIABLO, CAROL-JOY, EAGLE HAWK, and PLATYPUS. Also included are three newspaper clippings; a regatta flyer; a sheet with course record holders; and programs for the Stuart Doyle Gold Cup, the Silverwater Speedboat Club, the Australasian Championship Regatta, the Festival of the Snows Regatta, trials conducted by the St George Motor Boat Club, Newcastle Queen's Birthday Regatta, and Wallagoot Lake Boat Club Annual Regatta.SignificanceThis collection illustrates the boom era of speedboating in the decades after World War II. The increasing affordability and widespread use of cars, engines and the advent of mass production made speedboating affordable and the sport became a popular pastime on the flatwater surfaces of rivers and lakes.