Official souvenir cover of the first Australian hovercraft mail, Melbourne, October 8 , l963 , part of the Melbourne International Philatelic Exhibition. Sent to F.G. Gilbert , 28 William Street , Norwood , South Australia .
In l966 John Ford established an electrical engineering and metal fabrication business in Launceston ,Tasmania , and built a prototype hovercraft powered by two Volkswagen engines, which ran on the Tamar River in November of that year
He teamed up with engineer David Rowell to form Air Cushion Vehicles Australia Pty. Ltd. and over three years two hovercraft were built , ACV-6 and ACV-10, the number denoting how many passengers. AC-10 went to Papua New Guinea , AC-6 to Melbourne.
