G R Howard (Roy) Gill
Commercial Rowing Club (QLD)
Roy Gill was an excellent oarsman pre WWI and a key boat race official and administrator, but is perhaps best known as the long standing Councillor for Queensland on Rowing Australia, then the Australian Amateur Rowing Council.
Jack Pritchard in his book Rowing in Queensland reports:
At the A.A.R.C. Annual General Meeting held in Perth on April 22, 1971, Roy Gill announced that this would be his last meeting as delegate for Queensland. The President of the A.A.RC. said "Roy Gill was the grand old gentleman of rowing in Australia, and that for all but one year he was the last of the original members of Council still attending meetings which dated back to 1925. No man could have given more to rowing in their lifetime than Roy Gill".
And later:
Roy Gill was the initial delegate when Queensland joined the A.A.R.C. in 1926, one year after its formation in 1925. He served in this capacity until 1930 and again from 1964 until 1972. D.T. Beatson served from 1930 to 1932, R.T. Delaney from 1932 to 1934, F.L. Poulgrain from 1934 to 1946, J.J. Delahunty from 1946 to 1951 and R.O. Longmore from 1951 to 1963. Roy Gill was Chairman of the Q.R.A. from 1920 until 1929, an Honorary Life Member prior to 1930 and President from 1958 until 1971.
He died late in 1974 and brough to an end his long association with Commercial RC, Queensland and Australian rowing. He was noted as a genteman of the old school whose loss would be keenly felt by all who had contact with him.
Record
1909 - Interstate Championships, men's Eight four seat - Fourth
1912 - Queensland Champion Eight, two seat - First
1920 - QRA timekeeper
1920-29 - QRA Chairman
1926 for various periods until 1971 when he retired - Queensland Councillor on Rowing Australia (then AARC)
1924 - Elected Honorary Life Member QRA
1936 for many years - Umpire at Q.R.A regattas
1946-56 - Vice-President of QRA
1956-71 - President QRA
Andrew Guerin
January 2023