Burt Munro

#145 Do - celebrate amazing locals of the past. On August 26th 1967, 68 year old Burt Munro broke a world speed record on his 47 year old motorcycle 'The Munro Special'. Today I headed into E. Hayes & Sons hardware store in Invercargill to see Burt's famous motorcycle. Burt was born in 1899 at Edendale in Southland. In 1920 he bought an Indian Scout motorcycle with a top speed of 60mph for £140 and modified it for speed. In 1940 he gained the New Zealand Motorcycle speed record of 120.8mph, and in 1967 he claimed the World Record Class S-A 1000cc with an average speed of 184.087mph (296kmh!) in Utah on his Munro Special motorcycle. And this record still stands! You can also see tools from his garage in the shop - Burt's bikes and his tools were sold to the Hayes family, knowing they would always remain in Southland. Amazing to see how low it sits.

#history #exhibition #museum