Sepia Saturday 490 - 5 October 2019

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Don't these women look relaxed in this boat?  It's a long weekend this weekend in the land of Oz.  The Queen's Birthday weekend to be precise.  And I fully intend to relax.  

 When I searched for photos in our family collection of women in boats, I came across this one.

I didn't think much about it to be honest.  I have no idea when it was taken or who that little girl is.  I am now wondering if it was my mother's cousin Joy.  I think it is certainly my mother's mother Kit sitting on the left with the hat.  This is one of my maternal grandfather's photos.  No writing on the back to help me.  So I'm going to guess sometime in the early 1930s before my mother was born in 1935.  

 The name of the boat certainly did help me.  As I blundered my way around Trove and Google, I have now come to the conclusion that this must be a speed boat.  

 My grandfather loved horse-racing so it is not too far a stretch to think that he might e might have been interested in anything that went fast.

 So here are some of the things I found.  First this page, when I searched for images of motor launches, called Kookaburra.  This doesn't look anything like Manly to me from the background in the photo but I probably have no idea and welcome comments.  It looks more like a big river like Parramatta or a lake.  

 This bulletin board mentioned a few other possible sites like Farm Cove, Clifton Gardens or Luna Park.  The mention of Luna Park reminded me that one of my library friends featured in the SMH today regarding her collection of all things Luna Park.

 Here's another article about the Kookaburra II.

 Some articles from Trove were fascinating.

 I like this one from 1929 (see the unfinished Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background?)
The Sun, Tuesday 10 December 1929 courtesy of Trove.
I do wonder if this is precisely what Tom and Kit did i.e. caught the Kookaburra up to Newcastle to see Kit's twin sister Belle or whether they came back the other way, bringing Joy with them to spend some time with them in Sydney.
Here's another more recent article from 1947 giving us a better photo and dimensions of the craft.
Sydney Morning Herald, 12 February 1947 courtesy of Trove

 Most appropriately on this weekend, I found an article about the Queen of Speedboats tournament in the Referee from 14th December 1933 on Trove.


How much would it have cost to go for a joy ride like this.  Well,  P Dunbar aged 16 paid a shilling to go on the harbour in 1934 and this was his account.
Sydney Morning Herald, 26 May 1934 on Trove.

 I hope that you enjoy this Queen's Birthday weekend and are full of joy, gliding or racing on sun-kissed water.  Do you think P Dunbar was a man or a woman?

 For more Sepia Saturday stories go here.

Comments

Crissouli said…
Certainly a great range of activities... seems the need for variety never changes... Great to see all these. thanks, Alex.
October 5, 2019 at 11:13 PM
La Nightingail said…
A lot of interesting info re: speedboats & the Kookaberra in particular. Must have been some quite the boat!!! :)
October 6, 2019 at 5:52 AM
Mike Brubaker said…
A super photo for the theme and great sleuthing to figure out its story. And I think P. Dunbar was a girl. No 16 year old boy would use that many adjectives and adverbs.
October 6, 2019 at 1:58 PM
smkelly8 said…
I liked the old newspaper stories about speedboating. Interesting.
October 7, 2019 at 7:24 AM
Molly of Molly's Canopy said…
Excellent research on your chosen photo -- it's always nice to find newspaper stories that give a background to a family experience, such as the boat ride pictured here. I also like the 16-year-old's letter -- quite a writer for one who was so young.
October 8, 2019 at 12:41 AM
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