T Meyer

Elswick Rowing Club (VIC)

1860 – Melbourne Regatta Grand Challenge Cup, stroke – First
1860 – Melbourne Regatta Senior Gigs, bow – First
1861 – Melbourne Regatta Grand Challenge Cup, stroke – First

Elswick Challenge Cup

The first amateur regatta to be conducted in Australia was the Melbourne Regatta in 1860. The founder of this regatta was 2010 inductee Prof Martin Irving. The Grand Challenge Cup for senior fours was the biggest amateur race in the land at that stage. The Elswick Rowing Club won the race in 1860, 1861 and 1862, thus winning the Challenge Cup outright. The three crews comprised four oarsmen who won the trophy at least twice each. They were the first Victorian amateur champions.

Andrew Guerin 2015

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, errors may exist. Please send advice of any errors or inaccuracies by email to:

Also your comments, suggestions and photos are sought to enhance this site.

The idea for this history originated from the Olympic Rowing and World Senior Rowing Championship histories written by Andrew Guerin and Margot Foster in 1991, 1992 & 1993 for the Australian team handbooks. Andrew Guerin developed and extended these histories to the current format in 2004 for publication in 2004 and then expanded the site.

Steve Roll has been an invaluable contributor to the website in locating errors and finding Christian names of rowers. His superb work is acknowledged.

© Andrew Guerin – 2004
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Disclaimer: Whilst extensive efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied, the editors take no responsibility for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from inaccuracies contained in this work.