Making Australian Rowing History, One Sweep at a Time.

Rowing has earned a significant place in the landscape of Australian sporting history. From being the first sport to have an Australian World Champion (Ned Trickett, 1876) to the famous “hour of power” at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Originally, rowing boats were used for transport on the rivers of Melbourne and Sydney in the early 1800’s. However, rowing quickly gained popularity both as a recreational pursuit and as a competitive sport.

The first rowing clubs were established in the East; Melbourne University Boat Club in 1859 and Sydney Rowing Club in 1870. One of Australia’s oldest rowing clubs and the first in Western Australia, the WA Rowing Club, was founded in 1868. It is also one of the last remaining floating boathouses in the world.

As rowing grew in popularity across Australia, organised competitions began to emerge. Inter-club races and regattas became regular fixtures on the sporting calendar. The Henley-on-Yarra Regatta, first held in 1904, became one of the country’s most prestigious rowing events. Modelled after the famed Henley Royal Regatta in England, it attracted top rowers from around the country.

Australia's success in rowing began to garner international attention in the early 20th century when Aussie rowers started competing in overseas events, including the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. But our first Olympic rowing medal came in 1928 when Bobby Pearce won gold in the Single Sculls in Paris.

Western Australia’s first gold is credited to Annabelle McIntyre as part of the Coxless Fours in Tokyo.

Now, we look to Paris 2024.

A handful of WA athletes pushed their case for Olympic selection at the 2024 Australian Rowing Championships, recently held in Sydney.

The Australian team will likely be finalised just weeks before the athletes head to Paris, however hopes are high for WA representation with Bronwyn Cox, Jacqui Swick, Giorgia Patten, Jack Cleary, Alex Rossi and Josh Hicks all earning at least one first-place finish in an Open category throughout the regatta.

McIntyre did not compete at the regatta but also remains in the frame for Olympic selection.

Meanwhile, emerging athletes within the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) Rowing Program are positioning themselves favourably for future Olympic debuts, including VenuesWest Brand Ambassador Gen Hart and fellow WAIS Scholar Rebecca Pretorius.

They both competed at the regatta in the Under 23 and Open categories, each winning four out of their respective six and five events across the week.

The pair also recently secured their place in the Women’s Under 23 Coxless Four for the Under 23 World Championships at St Catharine’s in Canada from August 18-24.

Rowing Australia said the Under 23 selections formed part of their strategy to develop its talent pool for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With this in mind, we are likely to see Hart and Pretorius contributing to the rich Olympic history of Australian rowing.

Caitlin McManus-Barrett and Isabella Scammell of Sydney Rowing Club form the rest of the four that will compete in Canada, with the NSW duo relocating to WA to train with Hart and Pretorius in preparation for the event.

The remaining names to watch from the WAIS rowing program are Alexander Rossi, Ben Scott, Alex Baroni, Josh Hantke, Clare Netherway, Johnson Daubney, Myles McQuillan and Emma Wilson.