Capt William C Rivett
Capt. William Charles Rivett was one of the founders of the Australian Henley Regatta in Melbourne. He had a splendid vision of what this regatta could be and set about making it happens. He had extraordinary skills and contacts enabled this regatta to be successful from the first event and soon attracted competitors from across the land and spectators numbering 200,000.
The following obituary appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on 15th July 1912 and provides some background on his rowing endeavours both here and in the UK.
DEATH OF MR. W. C. RIVETT.
Mr William Charles Rivett at one time general manager of the Co-operative Wool and Produce Limited died at Randwick last Friday. The funeral took place at South Head Cemetery on Saturday. The service was conducted by the Rev. Willoughby Flower of St. Marks Church, The deceased who was a native of London came to Australia in 1890 under engagement to Goldsbrough Mort, Ltd., with whom he remained for some time. Afterwards he took the position of Wool Manager at Dalgety's Melbourne Office and from there he came to Sydney as General Manager of the Co-operative Wool and Produce Company. While in Melbourne he took a keen interest in rowing, and was the originator of the idea of the Henley-on-Yarra regattas, which are now such a pronounced success. As a young man in London he took part in several rowing races and was one of the crew of the London Rowing Club which won the Grand Challenge Cup in 1890. The deceased leaves a widow and one son.
Extracted by Andrew Guerin
January 2025
Source:
DEATH OF MR. W. C. RIVETT. (1912, July 15). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15338226