Jack, a famous sporting figure of the 1950s and 60s who won the 1954 RedEx Round Australia Car Trial without losing a single point, was no stranger to Port Stephens.

For decades the “larrikin legend” holidayed with friends in Shoal Bay, pursuing just about every water sport imaginable.

His youngest son, Phil Murray, who now calls Nelson Bay home, said he wondered if there is such a thing as a “geographic gene”.

“It wasn’t intentional,” Mr Murray said. “But here I am living two kilometres away from where he used to holiday.”

Mr Murray and his older brother, John, grew up at a time when their father’s escapades made national headlines.

Much has been written about Jack over the years, he even appeared on television show This is Your Life in March 1978.

However, Mr Murray said there was so much more than just cars, speed and explosions to his father’s story, which is why he has written a book about him.

“I came up here about 10 years ago and I joined the Port Stephens writers circle,” Mr Murray said.

“I got into short story writing, I developed and honed my skills.

“In the back of my mind I always wanted to write a biography about my father.

“He was an important part of history, winning the RedEx trial.

“Once I felt I’d developed my writing, I took on the task.”

In his book, titled ‘Gelignite’ Jack Murray, Mr Murray reveals the man behind the wheel.

“Duality is a theme that runs through Jack’s life,” Mr Murray wrote in his preface to the biography.

“Jack really did burn the candle – or the gelignite – at both ends… In many ways Jack lived two parallel lives and I recall that for some reason that was never explained to me when I was growing up, he seemed to have two birth dates.

“My father crammed the experiences of travel, sports and sheer zest for life of at least two men into his 76 years.”

The parallel life Mr Murray refers to is also about Jack’s time spent in Shoal Bay.

Jack had two great loves in his life: Ena Murray, whom he was married to between 1942 and 1983, the year he died, and Dorothy Rosewell, whom he has a relationship with for 25 years.

It was with Ms Rosewell that Jack holidayed with in Shoal Bay. They even owned an apartment in Shoal Towers.

The women both shared a life with Jack.

They were standing either side of his hospital bed when he died.

Mr Murray, who along with his wife of 30 years, Rhonda, is friends with Ms Rosewell, explores this relationship in his book.

He also explores the legend of Gelignite Jack, how he got his nickname, the RedEx trials and his father’s other athletic pursuits.

The 1954 RedEx trial was one of the longest of its kind in the world.

Far longer than the year before, the 1954 route saw competitors visit every state and capital city in mainland Australia – a round trip of about 15,400 kilometres.

Some 246 cars took part in the race that year.

Jack drove a 1948 Canadian Ford V8 called Grey Ghost. He was accompanied by navigator Bill Murray – no relation.

It was in Townsville during the rally that Jack earned himself the moniker ‘gelignite’.

He would detonate sticks of gelignite, also known as “jelly”, to clear debris from the rugged outback roads, and to mark his arrival and sometimes departure from country towns.

This was said to delight some and infuriate others, such as police.

Jack’s ties with Shoal Bay are largely outlined in chapter 13, titled Wrestling and Waterskiing, of Mr Murray’s book.

In it, the story behind the rock along Shoal Bay’s foreshore dedicated to Jack is explained.

Mr Murray said writing his father’s biography had proven to be a unexpected personal journey.

“The biographical task that I naively thought was simple to research, verify and document became so much more – a journey of understanding and discovery,” he said.

‘Gelignite’ Jack Murray is available online from New Holland Publishers and Booktopia.

It is available in some book stores.