McConachy was born at
Glenorchy in
Otago in 1895. He was the New Zealand professional billiards champion from 1914 until 1980. He also held the title unchallenged from 1951 until 1968, when at the age of 73 and afflicted by
Parkinson's disease, he was narrowly defeated 5,234-5,499 by
Rex Williams. McConachy scored one of the early snooker
maximum breaks. He achieved it on Tuesday 19 February 1952 in a practice frame against Pat Kitchen at the Beaufort Club in London on a table reserved for professionals. An official of the
Billiards Association and Control Council later examined the table and found it slightly over the standard size and so the break was not accepted as official. At the time
Joe Davis held the record for the highest official break of 146. The match between McConachy and
Horace Lindrum for the
World Championship started the following Monday. McConachy was a keen advocate of physical fitness and regularly ran up to four miles every day. A strict teetotaller and non-smoker, he attributed his continued success well into his senior years to these things. He was also well known for walking around the table on his hands before the match started. He is a member of the
New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. He died at his residence in the
Auckland suburb of
Greenlane on 12 April 1980. == Snooker performance timeline ==