Australian Rowing Championships, 1910

[Des_Beechey]

The Australian Rowing Championships, officially known as 'Interstate Amateur Eight-oar and Sculling Championships' were held on the Derwent in 1910. It was a big event, greeted enthusiastically by the Hobart public; all Australian states sent crews. The course was on the Derwent above Bridgewater. 'The Mercury' said that every available ferry and type of road transport was used to get spectators to the site - the road wasn't wide and sealed in 1910!

I had wondered about the postcard below, published by McVilly & Little of Hobart in 1910. A little research showed the date of the championships as 30 April, 1910. The top picture is the NSW crew, which won the championships, and the bottom picture is the Tasmanian crew, which came third. I haven't been able to work out why S.S. Westralia is shown, but I assume she transported crews and boats to Hobart - the logistics of getting everyone and their boats from all states to Hobart must have been challenging.

NSW won the Eight-oar race, but the sculling championship was won by a Hobart man, Cecil McVilly, nephew of the McVilly that published the McVilly & Little postcards. So suddenly we see why, among all the scenic and townscape views of the M&L postcards, there is a composite view of a rowing scene. I bet there is a postcard of Cecil McVilly winning his race out there somewhere, but I have not yet seen it.

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[Des_Beechey]

The Australian Rowing Championships were held on the Derwent River on 20 April, 1910. Tasmania only managed third place. The event was celebrated by the card shown in the previous post.

While cataloguing the Walch postcards, I came across the card I include now. I bet it was sent by someone associated with the Tasmanian crew who felt the indignity of the loss to someone on the winning crew. The card was not dated, but it was available from mid-1909. They certainly could grow apples.

Des Beechey

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[GraniteSA]

Apples card printed by Roder 1907

Neville