Table Of ContentGUIDE TO
THE SPEEDO ARCHIVE
IN THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM
Paul Wilson
2007
CONTENTS
Administrative History
Series List
Series Descriptions and Item Lists
COLLECTED ARCHIVES ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
Registration Number: 2001/92/1
Creator: Speedo Australia Pty Ltd
Alexander MacRae (1888 - 1938) was born in the Loch Carron/Loch Kishorn region, Ross Shire, Scotland
in 1888. He migrated to Australia around 1912. In 1914 MacRae began manufacturing men's and
women's woollen and cotton underwear and woollen knitwear in Sydney under the trade name
"Fortitude" (a motto taken from the MacRae family crest). The business was originally known as
MacRae and Company. It is first listed in Sands and McDougall at 40 Wentworth Ave and then at 283
Clarence St. In 1918 the business became known as MacRae Knitting Company and moved to 33 - 37
Regent St, Redfern. In 1922 it became a limited company and traded as MacRae Knitting Mills Ltd. At
around this time it also moved to larger premises at 109 Parramatta Road, Camperdown. In 1926 the
company moved again to a three floor factory in Federation Street, Newtown which it occupied until
1956.
In the early 1920s MacRae Knitting Mills came up with a revolutionary breakthrough in swim suit
design with the creation of what became known as the "racer-back" style. The racer-back was
figure-hugging and featured a high, narrow back panel which permitted freedom of the shoulder and
back muscles and largely eliminated fabric drag. The company ran a staff competition in 1928 to name
the costume and one of its employees, a former sea-captain, Captain Jim Parsons, won the five pounds
prize with the winning slogan, "Speed on in your Speedo". For competitive swimming, a lightweight and
strong silk swim suit was used, but because of the cost of silk, a cotton fabric was used for training
sessions. Soon after its introduction the Swedish swimmer, Arne Borg, set a world swimming record
wearing a Speedo swim suit. The famous Australian swimmer, Andrew (Boy) Charlton, also wore a
Speedo swim suit. From that point onwards the company formed close relationships with both still
water and salt water sports associations.
In 1937 MacRae Knitting Mills became a proprietary company. In the same year it was granted a
licence from Coopers Inc. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA to produce and market "Jockey" underwear for
men and boys. Jockey was the largest selling brand of underwear in the world. As a result of this
business arrangement, MacRae Knitting Mills ceased production of its "Fortitude" brand of underwear.
Following the death of Alexander MacRae in 1938, his two eldest sons, Alasdair and Bill, became Joint
Managing Directors.
From 1939 until 1945 the company turned almost all of its resources over to Australia's war effort, with
90% of production being for war purposes and the remaining 10% for essential civilian production. In
1942, because of the success of the Speedo brand, the company changed its name to Speedo Knitting
Mills Pty Ltd.
After World War II the demand for Speedo swim suits including the two-piece and bikini styles
necessitated the establishment of another factory at Windsor in 1947.
In 1948 Speedo became the official supplier of Australia's Olympic swimsuits for the first time. Other
national swimming teams also wore Speedos at the Olympic Games: for example at the Munich
Olympics in 1972, 52 out of 54 countries wore Speedo swimsuits.
In 1952 Speedo Knitting Mills (Holdings) Ltd was incorporated and became a public company listed on
the Sydney and Melbourne stock exchanges. Its name was changed to Speedo Holdings Ltd in 1959.
An additional factory was established at Newcastle in 1952, controlled by a separate subsidiary
company, Speedo Knitting Mills (Newcastle) Pty Ltd. In 1956 Speedo built a new administrative centre
and factory at 239 Pacific Highway, Artarmon and the Newtown site was closed down. The "House of
Speedo" at Artarmon was officially opened by the Governor of NSW, Lieutenant-General Sir John
Northcott, on 21 February 1957. By this time Speedo was employing 700 people.
Registration Number: 2001/92/1
Creator: Speedo Australia Pty Ltd
In the early 1950s the first skirtless version of the men's competitive swim suit was introduced and this
led to the racing style brief. Australian swimmers performed brilliantly at the 1956 Melbourne
Olympics wearing Speedo swim suits winning eight gold medals and this attracted world-wide
attention. In 1957 Speedo developed a new competitive swim suit using nylon which had strength,
elasticity, and repelled water which meant that it had fast drying properties.
In 1959 Speedo began exporting its products to the US and this development was accelerated after the
Australian Government introduced its export initiative scheme. The previous year Speedo had entered
into a licence arrangement scheme for skiwear with White Stag, part of the Warnaco Inc. group of
companies from Portland, Oregon. After undertaking careful research of the US market, Speedo decided
to enter into an agreement with Hirsch-Weiss, a division of Warnaco, for that company to be its
American distributor, and at the same time Speedo established its own advertising and sales promotion
organisation at Palo Alto in California. In 1968 Warnaco acquired 500,000 Speedo shares and became
the largest shareholder in the company.
For the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Speedo designed a costume for the Australian team that featured a green
and gold stripe. From 1965 prints were added to Speedo's product range and from then on swim wear
became a fashion item, with prints and colours changing each season.
In 1968 new warehouse premises were completed and occupied in Artarmon; in 1970 the Windsor
factory was enlarged; and in 1971 another factory was opened at Taree on the NSW mid-north coast.
Artarmon was the main administrative centre and undertook fashion merchandise cutting and all
knitting; Windsor was responsible for machining of all fashion wear; and Taree undertook the cutting
and machining of underwear. In 1971 the group of companies trading as Country Club Holdings Ltd,
shirt manufacturers, were acquired by Speedo which meant that Speedo now also produced a full range
of men's business and sports shirts.
The company's overall operations were also restructured at this time. Australia was to focus on the
Speedo, Country Club and Jockey brands; Speedo swimwear, previously exported to the US, was to be
manufactured by Blue Grass Industries Inc. of Kentucky, with Hirsch-Weiss remaining as distributors;
and the company purchased 30% of Robert Shaw and Co. Ltd of Nottingham (to 51% in 1972 and the
balance of the ordinary capital of the company was acquired in 1974) and through Speedo (Europe) Ltd
Robert Shaw became responsible for the manufacture and distribution of Speedo products in Western
Europe. These developments, the company's export trade, and its numerous international licensing
agreements - New Zealand was the first in 1963 - led to the formation of an International Division to
coordinate activities. Speedo was such a successful exporter that it won export awards from the
Department of Trade and Industry in 1964 and 1969. In 1974 Speedo Canada Inc. was established to
undertake the administration, manufacture and promotion of Speedo products in Canada.
For the competitive swimming events at the 1972 Munich Olympics Speedo introduced a new
elastomeric fibre known as lycra. Twenty one out of the 22 world swimming records broken at the
Munich Olympics were achieved by swimmers wearing Speedos. However for all purpose swimwear,
Nylon remained the most popular fabric.
In 1980 Speedo acquired the Gloria group of companies and also 44.9% of the equity in Formfit of
Australia Ltd, the remaining balance of shares being acquired the following year. In this year it also
acquired 50% stakes in Kentucky Textiles in the US and Carlton Place Textiles Ltd of Canada.
The period 1983 - 86 saw the consolidation of all the company activities both in Australian and overseas.
In 1983 Hirsch-Weiss, became the full licensee for the manufacture, sale and distribution of Speedo
products in the US; Botnick, a division of Warnaco, Canada assumed the same rights for Canada.
In 1986 AFP Corporation took over Speedo Australia and Speedo International and merged them into
the Linter Group of Companies. The company's International Division was separated from the
Registration Number: 2001/92/1
Creator: Speedo Australia Pty Ltd
Australian manufacturing company for taxation purposes. The company's 50% stake in Kentucky
Textiles was bought by the other 50% partner, Wayne Shumate, with Warnaco, owner of Hirsch-Weiss,
being granted a perpetual licence. Speedo (Europe) Ltd of Nottingham was sold to Crowther Ltd and a
perpetual licence was also granted.
In 1988 Abraham Goldberg, through Parkinson Holdings, acquired all of the Linter Group from AFP
and merged it with his own textile group, Entrad, and privatised the whole of the textile and apparel
companies under the umbrella group, Linter Textile Corporation.
In 1990 the British-based Pentland Group of Companies purchased Speedo after the Linter group went
into receivership and the company became known as Speedo International Ltd and operated from
headquarters in Nottingham. Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century SPEEDO launched a
number of innovative fabrics: S2000 was the world's first, fast swimwear fabric; Endurance swimwear
used a fabric that did not degrade in water; Aquablade was developed for racing swimsuits; and the
FASTSKIN swimsuit was based on a sharkskin design. A manufacturing and marketing arm was
retained in Australia until 2001 when all manufacturing was transferred to Speedo International
factories. The Speedo factory in Windsor was retained as a marketing and distribution point and
refurbished as a major design centre for Speedo leisure wear.
COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES LIST
Creator: Speedo Holdings Ltd
Reg. Number Series Title Date
2001/92/1-1 Annual Reports and Notices of Meetings 1981 - 1984
2001/92/1-2 Subject Files 1987-1990,
1996-1998
2001/92/1-3 Scrapbooks 1954 - 1991
2001/92/1-4 Press Coverage Reports 1996 - 1998
2001/92/1-5 Press Clippings 1957 - 1997
2001/92/1-6 "The House of Speedo" Photograph Album 1955 - 1957
2001/92/1-7 Speedo Sales and Promotions Photograph Album c 1960 - 1964
2001/92/1-8 Speedo Fall 1987 Sales Conference Slides 1987
2001/92/1-9 Speedo Australian Catalogues 1983 - 1994
2001/92/1-10 Speedo Overseas Catalogues 1986 - 1988
2001/92/1-11 Speedo Price Lists 1979 - 1990
2001/92/1-12 Speedo Fashion Catalogue and Magazine Photographs 1987 - 1990
2001/92/1-13 Speedo Advertising Photographs 1987 - 1990
2001/92/1-14 Advertisements and Advertising Layouts c 1976 - 1992
2001/92/1-15 'The International Swimmer' 1987 - 1989
2001/92/1-16 'The International Swimmer' Photographs 1958 - c 1990
2001/92/1-17 Video Recordings c 1975 - 2001
2001/92/1-18 Sound Recordings 1971 - 1982
2001/92/1-19 'Speedo Swim News' 1956 - 1962
2001/92/1-20 Australian Aquatic Sports Publications 1970 - 1991
2001/92/1-21 International Aquatic Sports Publications 1984 - 1990
2001/92/1-22 General Publications 1974 - 1997
COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES DESCRIPTION
Registration Number: 2001/92/1-1
Creators: Speedo Holdings Ltd
Series Title: Annual Reports and Notices of Meetings
Date Range: 1981 - 1984
Physical Characteristics: Staple-bound full colour, glossy annual reports.
Description: Annual Reports and Notices of Meetings, Speedo, Artarmon, New
South Wales, Australia, 1981 - 1984
Annual reports and notices of meetings prepared by Speedo Holdings
Limited before its annual general meetings. Each annual report
contained information about the date, time and place of the annual
meeting, important company information such as the names of
directors, the names and positions of senior executives, an annual
review of operations by the Managing Director, sales and other
financial in brief, and directors' reports which gave more detailed
information about operational results for the group and its
Australian and international subsidiaries. The annual reports were
full colour glossy publications which enabled photographs of some of
the company's main products to be included.
Arrangement: Chronological
Dimensions: Shelf Length 0.01 m
Box Number: 1
COLLECTED ARCHIVES ITEM LIST
Series Title: Annual Reports and Notices of Meetings
Item Number Item Title Box
2001/92/1-1/1 Annual Report and Notice of Meeting, Speedo, Artarmon, New 1
South Wales, Australia, 1981
2001/92/1-1/2 Annual Report and Notice of Meeting, Speedo, Artarmon, New 1
South Wales, Australia, 1982
2001/92/1-1/3 Annual Report and Notice of Meeting, Speedo, Artarmon, New 1
South Wales, Australia, 1983
2001/92/1-1/4 Annual Report and Notice of Meeting, Speedo, Artarmon, New 1
South Wales, Australia, 1984
COLLECTED ARCHIVES SERIES DESCRIPTION
Registration Number: 2001/92/1-2
Creators: Speedo Australia Pty Ltd
Series Title: Subject Files
Date Range: 1987-1990, 1996-1998
Physical Characteristics: Folders containing paper records.
Description: Subject Files, Speedo, Artarmon/Windsor, New South Wales,
Australia, 1987 - 1990, 1996 - 1998
A small number of subject files that primarily contain historical
information about the Speedo company, information about various
products as well as the products of its Australian and overseas
competitors, and Speedo's role as an outfitter to various sporting
teams including the Australian Swimming Team at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics. The file titles and their date ranges are: Atlanta
[Olympics], 1996 - 1997; Atlanta 1996 Outfitting, 1996; PR [Public
Relations] - 1996, 1996; "Accessory" Competitor Information, 1987 -
1990; Boogey Board/Brasil, 1989; Jodie Clatworthy, 1987; Speedo
Historical File, 1988 - 1990 (covering developments in competitive
swim wear from the 1920s); and Sponsorship, 1998.
Arrangement: By subject.
Dimensions: Shelf Length 0.16 m
Box Number: 1
COLLECTED ARCHIVES ITEM LIST
Series Title: Subject Files
Item Number Item Title Box
2001/92/1-2/1 Subject File, 'Atlanta [Olympics]', Speedo, Artarmon/Windsor, 1
New South Wales, Australia, 1996 - 1997
Administrative file concerning Speedo sponsorship
arrangements for the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta,
Georgia, USA and the performance of Australian and
international swimmers wearing Speedo swimming costumes
at the Games. The file also contains two packets of
unidentified colour photographs taken during the Games.
2001/92/1-2/2 Subject File, 'Atlanta 1996 Outfitting', Speedo, 1
Artarmon/Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1996
Administrative file concerning Speedo outfitting Australian
aquatic water sports competitors for the 1996 Olympic Games
held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
2001/92/1-2/3 Subject File, 'PR' [Public Relations] - 1996, Speedo, 1
Artarmon/Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1996
Administrative file concerning the public relations function
undertaken by Speedo mainly relating to the 1996 Olympic
Games held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The file includes a
folder marked "Atlanta 1996 Clippings" and two Press
Coverage Report folders for February 1996 and September
1996 created for Speedo by its publicist, Jan Geary of Jan
Geary Publicity Partners Pty Ltd of Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia.
2001/92/1-2/4 Subject File, '"Accessory" Competitor Information', Speedo, 1
Artarmon/Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1987 - 1990
Administrative file containing product brochures and other
printed material produced by Speedos competitors in the
swimwear and accessories market.
2001/92/1-2/5 Subject File, 'Boogey Board/Brasil', Speedo, 1
Artarmon/Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1989
Administrative file concerning Speedo Bodyboards and the
Speedo Bodyboarding campaing. The file contains two publicity
folders and a transfer sticker.
Description:into receivership and the company became known as Speedo International Ltd and operated from headquarters in Nottingham.
