© Copyright 2011 Julianne Dodds
Speedboat and hydroplane Championships
1921 - 1925
John ‘Mac’ McGinnis Williams
Winner of the Australian Motor Boat Championship Griffith Cup
in 1924 and 1925 and
Vice-Commodore of the Motor Yacht Club of Queensland 1923.
Photo from Williams Collection
John McGinnis (Mac) Williams, was born in Warragul, Victoria in 1882.
This is the story of his speedboat and hydroplane racing from 1921 to 1925.
Over these years he owned several craft - Awaya, Miss Brisbane, Miss Coorparoo, Miss Liberty
and Century Tire.
The latter hydroplane won the 1924 Griffith Cup at the Australian Motor Boat Championship in
Adelaide, thus bringing the Championship race to Queensland for the first time in history.
In 1999, with a few newspaper clippings and a handful of my father’s photos, I began the long task
of compiling an accurate history. Along the way I have received assistance from many people
and organisations including:
The State Library of South Australia
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
A very special thanks and acknowledgement to the National Library of Australia and the dedication
of their staff for the online digitised newspapers and images on Trove. Through this resource I found
many articles that helped me to build my story and fit all the pieces together.
Thanks are also extended to my mother, Marjorie Williams, and all those too numerous to mention
who provided information to complete this story.
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