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Story: Powered water sports

Jack Brabham tries out the jet boat, 1960

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This 1960 newsreel shows world champion racing-car driver Jack Brabham meeting jet boat inventor Bill Hamilton. Brabham then goes for a spin in a jet boat on the Waimakariri River in Canterbury.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Pictorial Parade 99. National Film Unit, 1960

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Peter Clayworth, Powered water sports – Jet-propelled water sports, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/40442/jack-brabham-tries-out-the-jet-boat-1960 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 30 November 2012.