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Australia has a long proud history of sportsmanship on the water. Just as all settlers do, new settlers to the island brought with them the culture of their former lands.
The first rowing races in Australia were held locally between watermen and sailors aboard harboured ships. As the popularity of these races grew, the first competitive race ever held was put together in Melbourne in 1841, just six years after the area was settled.
Shortly after, competitive rowing races began to pop up all over the country.
One of the biggest regattas of the time was held in 1844 in Geelong, a settlement founded shortly after Melbourne. Geelong was a fully established town having a police force, small commercial centre, wool stores, and customs services. The unofficial regatta took place on Corio Bay and featured several different race classes; one for whale boats, two for sail boats, and one for rowing which allowed four-oared cutters and gigs. Could you imagine it?
By the 1850s the city of Geelong was the fourth largest in Australia. Once the prosperous town was connected to Melbourne by railroad, the regattas became more exciting, competitive, and organised. Due to the rough seas within Corio Bay, the regatta was moved to the Barwan River. While the water conditions were better, it was the upgraded vantage points for spectators that would prove vital. It allowed the sport to start gathering a real following.
In 1859, the popularity of rowing was in full swing, but it wasn’t until a Geelong boat builder by the name of Blunt built an eight-oared monster outrigger that the sport really took off.
It was in the same year that these outriggers became available that the first official rowing club in Australia was formed, aptly named the Melbourne University Rowing Club. They soon organised their own regatta – 8 months after the formation of the MUR, the first official two-day rowing regatta races were held in Melbourne. The names of winners – E. Fielding, Thomas Neil, D. McCullin, S.Bleasby, and John King – hold a special place in the history books.
Despite continual press and public excitement over the races, no official clubs on the Geelong were formed until two years after the Melbourne Regatta. After a disappointing first meeting on the subject, founders of the Geelong Rowing Club eventually garnered over 20 expert rowers to join the mix.
The men trained hard throughout the year and by the next Melbourne Regatta had two boats ready, the Native Youth and the Young Australia. By the time the rowers of the Geelong Rowing Club were ready to race, the Melbourne Regatta had expanded to feature four-oared races, overall race for boats excluding outriggers, gig races, and pair-oared races. Though the team had no official wins, it was after this Regatta that the Geelong Rowing Club decided it was time for their city to have its own professional races.
Unfortunately, the first Geelong Regatta was a disaster. You know your event’s bad when not even the judges show up! The Geelong Rowing Club persevered though. Due to the continued dedication and efforts put forth by the early clubs, official competitive races and regattas were finally being held throughout the country – proving the lust for putting the oar to water was not dead in Australia.
While the Geelong Rowing Club eventually imploded – disbanding into nothingness – the spark had been set. A number of other clubs popped up, including the historical Barwon Rowing Club, Adelaide Rowing Club, and the Bendigo Rowing Club.
The legacy of the early rowers in Melbourne and Geelong continues today as Australian rowing teams from all over the country have become “the ones to beat” at international competitions.
And the continued perseverance of Australia’s rowing athletes has earned the country multitudes of medals and wins in various International competitions including the Olympic Games.
Next time you watch a rowing race you’ll understand its fine history a little better and cheer them on even harder.