© Copyright 2011 Julianne Dodds
Speedboat and hydroplane Championships
1921 - 1925
Miss Coorparoo and Miss Brisbane make their debut
But Mac the racing man wasn’t satisfied with just one boat.
He had Reg Holmes busy with another hydroplane,
Miss Coorparoo, which was powered with an 8-cylinder 140 h.p.
Sturtevant engine. She was launched from Holmes’ boatshed
in January 1923 and shipped from Sydney to Brisbane by the
Melbourne Steamship Company. Miss Brisbane was also ready
to make her debut in Sydney – again. Donkin’s hydroplane was
also being prepared in Sydney, so Mac had inside information
about her performance. Reg Holmes wrote in a letter to Mac
“So far Donkin’s job has not been out, although I think
I can hear the engine running about in the bay now.”
Miss Coorparoo arrived in Brisbane in time for the A.N.A. Anniversary Regatta on 27th January
when the Motor Yacht Club of Queensland organised speed boat races on the Hamilton Reach.
Mac raced Miss Coorparoo home for her first win followed by George Whatmore’s Gee Whiz and
Lahey’s Q.P.
The following weekend in Sydney, Reg Holmes gave Mac’s Miss Brisbane her first run against
Meteor and Miss Aussie at the Eastway Shield championship that was held at Rose Bay. Miss Brisbane
was forced to withdraw with propeller trouble. After a brief setback with a burst petrol pump, Meteor
was declared the winner over three heats. After the propeller problem was fixed, Reg arranged to have
the ‘new’ Miss Brisbane sent to Adelaide for her race in the 1923 Australasian Championship.
Speedboat and hydroplane Championships
1921 - 1925
Miss Coorparoo and Miss Brisbane make their debut
But Mac the racing man wasn’t satisfied with just one boat.
He had Reg Holmes busy with another hydroplane,
Miss Coorparoo, which was powered with an 8-cylinder 140 h.p.
Sturtevant engine. She was launched from Holmes’ boatshed
in January 1923 and shipped from Sydney to Brisbane by the
Melbourne Steamship Company. Miss Brisbane was also ready
to make her debut in Sydney – again. Donkin’s hydroplane was
also being prepared in Sydney, so Mac had inside information
about her performance. Reg Holmes wrote in a letter to Mac
“So far Donkin’s job has not been out, although I think
I can hear the engine running about in the bay now.”
Miss Coorparoo arrived in Brisbane in time for the A.N.A. Anniversary Regatta on 27th January
when the Motor Yacht Club of Queensland organised speed boat races on the Hamilton Reach.
Mac raced Miss Coorparoo home for her first win followed by George Whatmore’s Gee Whiz and
Lahey’s Q.P.
The following weekend in Sydney, Reg Holmes gave Mac’s Miss Brisbane her first run against
Meteor and Miss Aussie at the Eastway Shield championship that was held at Rose Bay. Miss Brisbane
was forced to withdraw with propeller trouble. After a brief setback with a burst petrol pump, Meteor
was declared the winner over three heats. After the propeller problem was fixed, Reg arranged to have
the ‘new’ Miss Brisbane sent to Adelaide for her race in the 1923 Australasian Championship.