IN THE BEGINNING
The official start of the inaugural Hamilton Island trophy race -
12th June 1984
The first racing outrigger canoe, a Malia, was introduced to Australia by Keith Williams and Max Christmas and the first regular competitions held in Australia were in the Whitsundays between the staff on the resort islands and mainland. The first Hamilton Cup race was held in 1984 and was a huge 16km marathon around Hamilton Island - with change overs!! This first race was won by Max Christmas's team from the Gold Coast who later became Outrigger Australia.