THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT 131. Rowing in Australia Early History – Bobby Pearce – Reinhold Batschi – Peter Antonie – Oarsome Foursome – Australian Women Australian historian Scott Bennett: “Favoured by a mild climate which permitted an all-the-year-round participation in outdoor activities, Australians quickly developed a love for sport. A predominance of settlement on the coastline and up the rivers meant that most colonists were near the water, and swimming, yachting and rowing all flourished.”6209 Author Alan N. Jacobsen: “On the basis of its being the site of the first English settlement, it is reasonable to assume that the first rowing races in Australia involving Europeans took place in Sydney. The record shows that races between ship’s gigs were organised in the early years of the 19th Century between crews made up mainly from visiting sailing vessels. “By 1830, organised rowing competition was under way in Tasmania. Whaling was the prime industry, and hunting the whales developed the rowing skills, and boats and rowers alike had to be tough and strong.”6210 The first Hobart Anniversary Regatta was held in 1838. By 1851, Melbourne had a population of 76,000, and “the need for punts and ferries on the Yarra River, which divided the spreading Melbourne Town into North and South, built up a group of ‘watermen’ who organised contests among themselves for their profit and the entertainment of the public.”6211 The sport grew exponentially, to a large extent following patterns and precedents set in the mother country. In 1858, two men squared off for £400 and the title of Australian Champion in the first ever race on the “champion course”6212 on Sydney’s Parramatta River.6213 In 1859, the Melbourne University Boat Club was formed. In 1860, the Melbourne Amateur Regatta was founded. In 1863, the Intercolonial6214 Four- Oared Race for Amateur Rowers was contested between crews from Victoria and New South Wales. By early in the 20th Century, this regatta would develop into the Australian Interstate Eight-Oared Champ- ionship or King’s Cup. In 1868, the first Head-of-the-River was held in Melbourne, and in 1870 the first Inter-University boat race was held between 6211 Ibid, p. 34 6212 just upriver from Sydney Harbor. 6213 E.G. Blackmore, Australian Rowing, Isthmian Rowing, p. 257 6214 The British colonies on the continent of 6209 Bennett, pp. 9, 11-2 6210 Jacobsen, pp. 33-4 Australia gradually became the States of Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the island Tasmania, the latter four being the site of the majority of rowing during the 19th Century. Major Australian cities include Brisbane in Queensland, Sydney in New South Wales, Melbourne in Victoria and Hobart in Tasmania. 1731
