Sunday History Photo. NSW

Here’s a great Aussie we loved to hear about on the radio and read about him in the newspapers
Gelignite Jack Murray 1907 - 1983 - It just isn't possible to recount the life story of a man like Gelignite Jack,
Jack wasted no time in his life. From a young charismatic man who was a cyclist, champion amateur wrestler, pioneer water-skier, race car driver and all round sportsman to a successful business owner. His celebrity status rose with his larrikin antics during what is still considered to be one of the toughest rally races, the Redex Trials. He captured the hearts and minds of an Australian public that had been battered by the Depression and World War II and he reminded them of the lighter side of life. In the 1953 Redex Trial he rolled his Chrysler Plymouth.1953 may not have been his year but Jack made certain that 1954 belonged to him and so in a shower of gelignite explosions, good humour and gritted determination he set out to win. Jack Murray and his co-driver Bill Murray made the 18 day endurance race look like a picnic, while Jack earnt himself his nickname by blowing up a dunny and tossing sticks of Gelignite out the window of his Ford V8 to liven up his entrance to towns.
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In 1980 Jack's right leg was amputated above the knee and he spent 12 weeks learning to walk again. But in Jack fashion he handled it with dignity, determination and of course a sense of humour. A friend offered him a prosthetic leg from America, the best in the world, Jack responds "No, maybe not. That'd be left hand drive and the bloody thing would want to walk on the wrong side of the road." Jack didn't wallow or reminisce in the past he spoke of his future plans, like entering the 1982 Peking to Paris, "I might choose an automatic, though". Drive, race and water-ski Jack Murray continued to do it all.


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