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Welcome to the NSW Council of the Australian Power Boat Association
website.
The NSW Council has been in existence in its own right since
the 1955, although NSW has formed major part of the Australian
Power Boat Association since its inception in 1929. The Council
consists of member Clubs who oversee the sport in NSW, by
giving sanction to member clubs, discussion with rules, Licencing,
Sanction/Insurance for race meetings and NSW Championships.
NSW holds the distinction of conducting the one of the oldest
trophy currently in existence - the Eastway Shield for the
Championship of NSW, first run in 1922 and still contested
today. The NSW Unlimited OPen Championship was first conducted
in 1906 over 100 years ago and predates the first Australian
Championship(The Griffith Shield) by some 3 years
Powerboat racing is an exhilarating sport and caters for
all ages and types of people and all types of budgets - from
the J1 Junior Class (6hp outboards) with children as young
as 8 years old, right up to the 120 miles per hour plus Unlimited
Outboards and Inboards. Most clubs conduct club days with
handicap racing that allows people with the most modest of boats to become involved and compete on skill and not outright speed.
Race meetings are regularly held all over NSW. A majority
held in the Sydney area - the Hawkesbury River at Windsor,
the Georges River at Milperra and Kogarah Bay at Sans Souci.
Outside Sydney race meetings are held at the Hunter River
at Raymond Terrace and the Manning River at Taree. Other meetings
at held occasionally at venues such as Karuah, Toukley, Griffith,
Ballina and Port Macquarie.
To get involved or for information on a Club in your area,
please see our "Member Clubs" section for contact
details.
For the latest information on whats happening in power boat
racing, be sure to visit our forums.
See you at the races
Glenn Banks
A Brief History
of the APBA
Early History of Australian competition in organised powerboat
racing appears to have originated from the activities of the
“Motor Boat Club” formed in Sydney on the 6th July
1905. Many years later the “Power Boat Association of
Australasia” was formed and had its first meeting on
the 29th November 1929, at the Royal Motor Yacht Club - Rose
Bay in Sydney, with the Club’s Commodore, Mr Stuart F
Doyle, as chair. Victorian and Queensland representation attended
the meeting and sub committee was appointed to draw up a Constitution
and Rules for controlling Championships in powerboat racing.Prior
to this, the first race for the Australasian Championship
and silver Championship Shield, presented by Mr E C Griffith,
was held during the 1909-10 season and was won by Mr A Davies’
“Fairbanks”. During the 1912-13 season, Mr Griffith
presented a silver cup for the Australasian Championship and
was known as the “Griffith Australasian Championship
Cup”. The first race was held over a course at Manly,
NSW and was won by Mr A Hordern’s “Kangaroo”.
After a spell of seven years, owing to the 1914-18 war, the
race was again held, this time in Adelaide on 25th February
1922, being won by the Rymill Brothers’ “Tortoise”,
the speed being approximately 33 mph. Another inaugural cup,
the Albert Cup for the 151 cubic inch class, was donated and
first competed for on the 14th March 1925 and was won by Mr
J W Breckenridge’s’ “Miss Brec”.
With outboard motors proving popular in the year 1927, the
O’Donoghue Brothers presented the Australian Outboard
Championship Shield, which was competed for on the Rose Bay
course on 28th April 1928 and was won by Mr E A Williams’
“Elto”.
The first race to be conducted under the control of the new
Association was the “Eastway Shield” for the Championship
of NSW and was held on the 28th February 1931 for which the
Association Certificate No. 1 was issued. To encourage a championship
for displacement boats, Commodore Stuart Doyle presented the
“Stuart Doyle Gold Cup” in 1933. Ernest Griffith
who had presented the “Griffith Australasian Cup”
and had been Honorary Secretary of the Rose Bay Club for 26
years, died on the 8th March 1935.
The late Mr Griffith was extremely active in the formation
of the Australian Power Boat Association and became its first
Honorary Secretary. During the 1930's an organisation of seven
NSW Clubs formed themselves into an Association to promote
State Competition, but after discussion, between this body,
known as the NSW Motor Boat Association, joined forces with
the Australasian Power Boat
Association during March 1933. Member clubs at the time were
Royal Motor Yacht Clubs - Rose Bay, Broken Bay and Newcastle
branches, South Australian Motor Boat Association, Queensland
Motor Boat Association, Australian Motor Yacht Squadron, St
George Motor Boat Club, Cooks River Motor Boat Club, Deepwater
Motor Boat Club, Jewfish Bay Motor Boat Club, Woronora Motor
Boat Club and Georges River Motor Boat Club.
The organisation grew steadily and slowly until the outbreak
of war in 1939 when activities were suspended for some years.
On the 27th November 1944, the Association Council met and
prepared for post-war activities in Rule revision, etc. The
policy of State autonomy was formulated and pursued by visits
interstate and it was during 1953, that the first State Council,
that of South Australia was established. All other States
followed and on the 18th July 1955, at St George Motor Boat
Club, an inaugural dinner
was held, with some seventy Club Officers and Delegates attending,
to launch the new organisation.
The first National Executive consisted of President - Colonel
R S Coates; Vice President - J T Stevens and Honorary Secretary
- T H Felstead. Under the new procedures, Annual Meetings
are now held and with over forty Clubs, a wealth of trophies
and wellfounded standardised racing rules, the sport has and
will continue to benefit greatly, particularly from the efforts
of those Association Officers and Delegates, all of whom spent
much time and effort in the early stages, to bring about clean
and keen competition for Australasian enthusiasts.
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