Andrew B (Banjo) Paterson
Sydney Rowing Club (NSW)
Famous Australian storyteller and poet 'Banjo' Paterson was a rower. Whilst a keen sportsperson of many sports, Banjo was particularly interested in rowing from an early age.
The excellent biography of Paterson by Grantlee Kieza hints that this interest may have been peaked by watching the professional scullers on the Parramatta River whilst he was in Sydney as a schoolboy. Kieza described the scene as follows: The Bush did not have a monopoly on heroes, though, and back in Sydney Barty [Banjo] and Jack [Banjo's cousin] were intrigued by the ironmen of the water: the scullers, rowing like pistons on the championship course right in front of Emily Barton's [Banjo's grandmother] doorstep. Twenty-five to thirty men could be seen on any fine morning cutting through the water like torpedoes, and to the Paterson cousins the scullers were as mighty as gladiators. And later: In 1875, Barty and Jack both contributed more than £1 each towards a new boat for the Grammar School, and the next year - when Barty was twelve - they were thrilled when Ned Trickett, the son of a convict from the nearby harbourside suburb of Greenwich, became Australia's first world champion in any sport.
Keiza also added as follows: Sydney had all Manner of distractions for Banjo. Over the years he was a keen rower on the Parramatta River for the Sydney Rowing Club at Abbotsford, across the river from Rockend, and at Balmain closer to the city. His debilitated right arm contributed to him finishing third out of three starters in the Sydney Rowing Club's maiden double sculls of 1884,41 but he remained a fan of the sport all his life.
Alan L May in his history of Sydney Rowing Club published in 1970 confirmed his rowing endeavours: At the Sydney Rowing Club regatta in 1984, Andrew Barton Paterson commenced a short-lived and unsuccessful rowing career. Rowing with H R Lysaght, he finished third out of three starts in the maiden double sculls. The famous poet did, nevertheless, retain his association with the club for some 20 years and many of his articles entitled “On the River”, reveal his keen interest in rowing and sculling.
Extracted by Andrew Guerin
December 2024
Sources:
- Sydney Rows by Alan May published by Sydney Rowing Club in 1970.
- Banjo by Grantlee Kieza published by Harper Collins in 2018, pages 84-86 and 138