Don Harkness: A Gentleman Racer During The Early Days Of Speed

Donald James Harkness, better known as Don Harkness, belonged to that rare early breed of racer who treated a car less like a possession and more like a scientific instrument. Born in 1898 in Leichhardt, New South Wales, he trained as a mechanical engineer at a time when Australia was still importing most of its machinery and nearly all of its performance automobiles. By the early 1920s, he was already designing engines, experimenting with metallurgy, and working across both automotive and aviation fields. Speed was not the goal at first. Understanding was.

Then 1924 happened.

Don Harkness: “Whitey” and the first victories

That year, Harkness imported an Overland chassis from the United States. Instead of racing it as delivered, he dismantled it almost immediately. The frame was reinforced, the weight was stripped, the components were redesigned, and the engine was reworked for sustained high-load operation rather than ordinary road use. When the car returned to life, it wore a new personality and a new name: Whitey.

Australia did not yet have purpose-built circuits comparable to Brooklands. Racing happened where space allowed. Dirt tracks, horse courses, and long beaches became proving grounds. Harkness and Whitey competed at Penrith Speedway, Maroubra track, and the wide, hard sands of Seven Mile Beach at Gerringong.

The results came quickly. Over roughly a year, the pair collected more than fifty victories. Reliability was as important as speed, and Harkness’s engineering approach paid off. He tuned the car not just for maximum power but for endurance across multiple heats in harsh conditions. Salt air, blowing sand, and improvised fuel all punished machinery. Whitey kept finishing.

The wins also made Harkness known beyond engineering circles. He had become a public racer in an era when the press eagerly followed mechanical heroes.

Don Harkness: Chasing 100 Miles Per Hour

In 1925 The Daily Guardian newspaper offered a £50 trophy to the first Australian driver to exceed 100 miles per hour over a measured mile. The prize money mattered, but the achievement mattered more. Breaking 100 mph was still seen as entering aviation territory. Many believed it was unsafe on land.

Don Harkness decided an ordinary racing car would not do. He built a new machine around a Minerva chassis and installed a Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine. The engine choice reflected his background. Aircraft engines delivered sustained power and cooling stability that automotive engines of the period struggled to match.

At Gerringong in October 1925, on the same Seven Mile Beach where he had raced Whitey, Harkness reached 108 mph. He became the first person in Australia to officially exceed 100 mph.

Between record attempts, he entered hill climbs and undertook long overland expeditions into the Australian interior. These trips doubled as testing programs. There were no wind tunnels and few proving grounds. The outback served as both laboratory and torture chamber.

Don Harkness: The ANZAC Project

Public attention brought partners. Racing driver Norman Leslie “Wizard” Smith and promoter Jack Mostyn approached Harkness to develop a purpose-built international record car capable of competing with global land speed attempts.

The result was the ANZAC.

The car combined a heavily modified Cadillac chassis with a Rolls-Royce aircraft engine. The scale of the project reflected a shift in thinking. Early racing had been modified road cars. The ANZAC was engineered for one purpose: sustained maximum velocity.

At Gerringong, the car recorded an official one-mile speed of 128.571 mph. Later at Kaitaia Beach in New Zealand, it reached 148 mph, though the timing could not be certified. Even unofficially, the run demonstrated Australia had entered serious speed engineering territory.

The F.H. Stewart Enterprise

Harkness & Hillier Pty Ltd, his engineering firm, pursued an even more ambitious machine in the early 1930s. Sponsored by Sir Frederick Stewart, the next car was named the F.H. Stewart Enterprise.

This time, the powerplant came from a Napier Schneider Trophy seaplane engine, an aviation unit built for high output and sustained high RPM. Installed in a streamlined chassis designed around stability rather than maneuverability, the car represented a maturation of Harkness’s philosophy. Speed records were no longer stunts. They were engineering campaigns.

In 1932, the Enterprise set an official world ten-mile record at 164.084 mph. For a nation geographically distant from European and American racing centers, it was a remarkable achievement and proof of domestic engineering capability.

Don Harkness: The Accident and the Later Years

Racing in the interwar years carried enormous risk. In 1935, Harkness suffered a severe crash in which he became trapped in the car and nearly engulfed in flames. He survived but stepped away from active driving afterward.

He did not leave motorsport. Instead, he returned to engineering, advising on vehicle development, aviation powerplants, and performance engineering projects well into the 1960s. His influence shifted from public spectacle to technical mentorship.

Late in life he donated his photographs, documents, and technical records to Australia’s Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, preserving the story of a period when beaches functioned as racetracks and aircraft engines powered cars toward new limits.

A Legacy of the Engineer Driver

Harkness was never simply a driver chasing trophies. He represented the early twentieth century engineer driver archetype. He designed the machines, understood their stresses, and pushed them personally to the edge of failure. His career charts the evolution of racing from modified road cars to purpose built high speed vehicles.

In an age before corporate teams and aerodynamic departments, speed depended on ingenuity and nerve. Don Harkness had both, and Australia’s early place in the international speed record history owes much to his willingness to treat every race as an experiment.

Don Harkness Quick Facts

• Full Name: Donald James Harkness
• Born: 1898, Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia
• Profession: Engineer, racing driver, aircraft engine designer
• Famous Car: Whitey Overland special
• First Major Record: 108 mph at Gerringong in 1925
• ANZAC Record: 128.571 mph official one-mile speed
• Enterprise Record: 164.084 mph ten-mile world record in 1932
• Engineering Firm: Harkness & Hillier Pty Ltd
• Retired From Driving 1935 after a major crash
• Legacy: Pioneer of Australian land speed engineering

FAQ

Who was Don Harkness?
Don Harkness was an Australian engineer and racing driver known for building and driving high-speed record cars during the 1920s and 1930s.

What was Whitey?
Whitey was a heavily modified Overland race car Harkness built in 1924 that won more than fifty races on Australian tracks and beaches.

Did Don Harkness break the 100 mph barrier?
Yes. In October 1925, he reached 108 mph at Seven Mile Beach in Gerringong, becoming the first person in Australia to exceed 100 mph over a measured mile.

What was the ANZAC speed car?
The ANZAC was a purpose-built land speed racer using a Cadillac chassis and a Rolls-Royce aircraft engine that recorded 128.571 mph officially.

What was the F.H. Stewart Enterprise?
It was a record-breaking car powered by a Napier seaplane engine that achieved a ten-mile world record of 164.084 mph in 1932.

Why did he stop racing?
He retired after a severe 1935 accident but continued working in engineering and motorsport development for decades.

Why is he important in motorsport history?
Harkness demonstrated that Australia could design and build competitive high speed machines and helped transition racing from modified road cars to specialized record vehicles.