Career
He was reputed to have miscounted the distance, due to not realising the spacing of the buoys changed from 100 m to 50 m in the last 250 m of the race, and so stopped temporarily while still 100 metres from the finish. MacKenzie visited South Africa in 1958, and rowed on the Vaal River at Billabong, near Vereeniging. He was also noted for his gamesmanship, including going out for practice sessions wearing a bowler hat
Mackenzie took part in an event of the Henley Royal Regatta where he was way ahead of all other rowers when he stopped rowing and tried to adjust his cap.
However, the reason was to give time to his opponents to catch up with him as it happened.
Then he started rowing again and he easily managed to get away, be faster and end first. MacKenzie was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.