Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and ran a small engineering workshop before he started racing midget cars in 1948. His successes with midgets in Australian and New Zealand road racing events led to his going to Britain to further his racing career. There he became part of the Cooper Car Company's racing team, building as well as racing cars. He contributed to the design of the mid-engined cars that Cooper introduced to Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and won the Formula One world championship in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 he established his own Brabham marque with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which in the 1960s became the largest manufacturer of custom racing cars in the world. In the 1966 Formula One season Brabham became the only man to win the Formula One world championship driving one of his own cars. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving World Champion of the 1950s.
After the 1970 Formula One season, Brabham retired to Australia, where he bought a farm and maintained business interests, which included the Engine Developments racing engine manufacturer and several garages.[
He was perhaps best known for inventing the box kite, which was quickly adopted by other aircraft designers and subsequently formed the aerodynamic basis of early biplanes.
Yes, Ineedabiggerboat, it is Francis Forde. That was a relatively quick ID to what we have experienced lately. Can you post another pic?
I have not made a study of our past Prime Ministers so I had no knowledge of him until I went to find a candidate. He was the Prime Minister who served in that role for the shortest time.
Bio for Francis Forde:
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Australiafrom 6 to 13 July 1945, in a caretaker capacity following the death of John Curtin. He was deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946 and is the shortest-serving prime minister in Australia's history.
After Labor's landslide defeat at the 1931 election, Forde was elected deputy leader in place of Ted Theodore. He was expected to become party leader after Scullin's retirement in 1935 but lost to John Curtin by one vote. He returned to cabinet in 1941 as Minister for the Army in the Curtin government, and as the de factodeputy prime ministerwas one of the government's most prominent figures. When John Curtin died in office in 1945, Forde was appointed prime minister to serve while the Labor Party elected a new leader. He contested the leadership ballot against Ben Chifley and Norman Makin, but Chifley emerged victorious.
Forde continued on as deputy leader and army minister in the Chifley government, but lost his seat at the 1946 election. He then was High Commissioner to Canada from 1947 to 1953. Forde attempted to re-enter federal parliament in 1954, but was unsuccessful. He won a state by-election in Queensland the following year the only former prime minister to enter state parliament but served only a single term before again being defeated. Forde died at the age of 92, and was accorded a state funeral. At the time of his death, he was the longest-lived Australian prime minister, a record surpassed by Gough Whitlam.
As I said Im not in a position to post any pics.
You and the thought police can work out who posts something. Open to anyone in my view.
BTW, you should have mentioned The Brisbane Line in your bio. Its important.