Sir William Hamilton
Sir William Hamilton made the first pioneered jet boat. He was born in 1899.
Bill Hamilton or ‘billy’ was a farm boy and was born in 1899 in the South Island. He loved inventing and creating things.
Billy lived on an isolated sheep station I the Canterbury high country. He taught himself how to swim and dive and made a raft out of old drums and timber.
Later he built a canoe making sails from an old sheet using his mother’s swing machine. He built a canoe trailer from old bicycle wheels, a wooden frame and straps from a horse harness and a dog collar! He also designed speed cars.
Bill had developed his most famous invention, the jet propelled engine for a boat now called the Hamilton jet boat. His engines that he used are now used all over the world for lots of stuff. Queen Elizabeth honoured Bill Hamilton with an O.B.E and a knighthood.
It is because of his achievements and his service to the world that he is still remembered.
By Jamie Trass