© Copyright 2011 Julianne Dodds
Speedboat and hydroplane Championships
1921 - 1925
Miss Brisbane being towed after she broke down during a race on the
Brisbane River on 28th April 1923.
Photo from Williams Collection
Miss Brisbane and Miss Coorparoo - triumphs and disappointments
Up until this point, there was no engine size restriction in competing speed boats. The power of the
engines in the recent Australasian Championship had ranged from 160 h.p. to 700 h.p.
Several weeks later, Mac was present at a meeting in Brisbane where the Commodore of the Motor
Yacht Club of Queensland, George Whatmore, listened to proposals to revolutionise speed boat racing
in Brisbane.
On Saturday 24th March 1923 it was
Miss Coorparoo’s turn to race for the Pennant
Championship of Queensland at Hamilton
Reach in the Brisbane River. The course
covered 16 miles over three laps. Mac’s
Miss Coorparoo easily beat Gee Whiz
with Q.P. miles behind. Then followed
a handicap race that was also won by
Miss Coorparoo.
A few days later Mac, who was then Vice-Commodore of the Motor Yacht Club of Queensland,
was honoured at a complimentary dinner given for him in Brisbane. George Whatmore thanked Mac for
representing Queensland at the recent Adelaide races and said that Mac was one of the finest ‘sports’
he had ever met. Whatmore said that after the expense of rebuilding Miss Brisbane and doubling her
power and the cost of shipping her to Adelaide, it was a shame that her hull was knocked about on the
trip and she was not capable of doing herself justice. At this point it must be explained that there was
another racing vessel named Miss Brisbane, a yacht owned by George Whatmore. At the dinner he took
this opportunity to attribute his recent yacht’s victory in Sydney Harbour to his skipper, Norman Wright,
who, in his own words, was “the best boat sailor in Australia”.
Mac had two weeks to prepare for his next race on the 7th April, the challenge for the Pennant
Championship of New South Wales, so Miss Brisbane was sent to Sydney by steamship. At Rose Bay,
three competitors lined up – Mr. A. J. Allan’s Miss Aussie who was the previous year’s winner, Donkin’s
Greyhound, and Miss Brisbane. Unfortunately Miss Brisbane broke down in the third lap and it was
Greyhound’s turn to win the Pennant.
Returning to Queensland, Mac’s next planned event was a sports gala and fete in April 1923
that included speed boat races. The organisers were raising funds to complete the South Brisbane
Memorial Park, which was built by men who returned from the war (Diggers) and who were unfortunate
to be out of work. The park was opened four months later and is still enjoyed to this day. Mac had
planned to race both Miss Brisbane and Miss Coorparoo, but Miss Brisbane’s shaft broke and Miss
Coorparoo’s cooling system was giving trouble so neither boat started.
Mac with mechanic Les White in Miss Coorparoo winning
the Australian Championship Pennant in Brisbane
on 24th March 1923.
Photo from Williams Collection.
Miss Brisbane with Mac and the mechanic Les White on the Brisbane River at Kangaroo Point.
The Botanic Gardens can be seen in the background.
Photo from Williams Collection.
Speedboat and hydroplane Championships
1921 - 1925
Miss Brisbane being towed after she broke down during a race on the
Brisbane River on 28th April 1923.
Photo from Williams Collection
Miss Brisbane and Miss Coorparoo - triumphs and disappointments
Up until this point, there was no engine size restriction in competing speed boats. The power of the
engines in the recent Australasian Championship had ranged from 160 h.p. to 700 h.p.
Several weeks later, Mac was present at a meeting in Brisbane where the Commodore of the Motor
Yacht Club of Queensland, George Whatmore, listened to proposals to revolutionise speed boat racing
in Brisbane.
On Saturday 24th March 1923 it was
Miss Coorparoo’s turn to race for the Pennant
Championship of Queensland at Hamilton
Reach in the Brisbane River. The course
covered 16 miles over three laps. Mac’s
Miss Coorparoo easily beat Gee Whiz
with Q.P. miles behind. Then followed
a handicap race that was also won by
Miss Coorparoo.
A few days later Mac, who was then Vice-Commodore of the Motor Yacht Club of Queensland,
was honoured at a complimentary dinner given for him in Brisbane. George Whatmore thanked Mac for
representing Queensland at the recent Adelaide races and said that Mac was one of the finest ‘sports’
he had ever met. Whatmore said that after the expense of rebuilding Miss Brisbane and doubling her
power and the cost of shipping her to Adelaide, it was a shame that her hull was knocked about on the
trip and she was not capable of doing herself justice. At this point it must be explained that there was
another racing vessel named Miss Brisbane, a yacht owned by George Whatmore. At the dinner he took
this opportunity to attribute his recent yacht’s victory in Sydney Harbour to his skipper, Norman Wright,
who, in his own words, was “the best boat sailor in Australia”.
Mac had two weeks to prepare for his next race on the 7th April, the challenge for the Pennant
Championship of New South Wales, so Miss Brisbane was sent to Sydney by steamship. At Rose Bay,
three competitors lined up – Mr. A. J. Allan’s Miss Aussie who was the previous year’s winner, Donkin’s
Greyhound, and Miss Brisbane. Unfortunately Miss Brisbane broke down in the third lap and it was
Greyhound’s turn to win the Pennant.
Returning to Queensland, Mac’s next planned event was a sports gala and fete in April 1923
that included speed boat races. The organisers were raising funds to complete the South Brisbane
Memorial Park, which was built by men who returned from the war (Diggers) and who were unfortunate
to be out of work. The park was opened four months later and is still enjoyed to this day. Mac had
planned to race both Miss Brisbane and Miss Coorparoo, but Miss Brisbane’s shaft broke and Miss
Coorparoo’s cooling system was giving trouble so neither boat started.
Mac with mechanic Les White in Miss Coorparoo winning
the Australian Championship Pennant in Brisbane
on 24th March 1923.
Photo from Williams Collection.
Miss Brisbane with Mac and the mechanic Les White on the Brisbane River at Kangaroo Point.
The Botanic Gardens can be seen in the background.
Photo from Williams Collection.