South Australian Schools Head of the River

A Brief History

This history is under construction

The first edition of school rowing in South Australia was contested in 1893 between two schools; St. Peter's College and Prince Alfred College. It was raced in fours on Port River, where St. Peter's won the race convincingly. This race was conducted annually for four years, with the last race in 1896.

The resumption of the SA Head of the River in 1922 was in the form of a challenge in eights between St. Peter's College and Adelaide High School. Despite being involved in the 1893-6 regattas, Prince Alfred College did not contest this race. Raced over a ½ mile, Adelaide High broke St. Peter's unbeaten streak in the schools regatta by just 3 feet.

In 1926, other races were introduced which commenced the gradual expansion of the regatta, including the introduction of Tub Fours and underage events. The regatta also was moved from Port River to Torrens Lake. 

From 1927-1931, there were two Head of the Rivers held in the same year in South Australia; one regatta was raced in April and the other in December. 

In 1932, alongside the return of just the one SA Head of the River regatta each year, the first perpetual trophy was introduced along with the Gosse Shield.

1937 saw the introduction of the Wallman Trophy, which was awarded to the winning Second Crews race. This was known as the Clinker Fours, which was previously an Old Boys' race. 1937 also saw slides introduced for Open and Under 16 Tub Fours.

By 1938, all Tub Four crews are raced on Slides (rather than Fixed).

In 1957, the Wallman Trophy for Second Crews changed from Fours to Eights.

In 1966, the Cudmore Cup was presented for the first time as a trophy for the Open Fours. It was presented by Sir Collier Cudmore (1885–1971) who rowed and was educated at St Peter’s College, University of Adelaide and Oxford University (Magdalen College).

The Chapman Cup was presented by the family of D. L. Chapman for the first time as a trophy for the Under 16 Fours in 1969. 

In 1971, the Under 14 Four was raced for the first time at the SA Head of the River in 1971. Also in 1971, the Menz Cup for Under 15 Fours was awarded by the Menz Family.

In 1972, the Ferguson Cup was awarded for the first time for Under 14 Fours. This was presented by N. C. Howard.

In 1974, King's College changed their name to Pembroke School.

In 1977, the event moved to the new West Lakes course. Further, at the conclusion of the regatta, the course was named the A M Ramsey Rowing Course.  The new distances were 1500m for First VIIIs, 1000m for Second VIIIs & U16s, 750m for U15s and 500m for U14s.

Even more momentous was the introduction of schoolgirls racing in 1978, with the introduction of the Girls Open Four (750m) and Girls Under 15 Four (350m). Also in 1978, Unley High School raced for the first time for both boys and girls in 1978. Also, multiple divisions (i.e. A, B) within a category was introduced, as seen in the Boys Under 16, 15 and 14 Fours.

By 1981, the SA Girls Head of the River expanded with the Open Second Four and Lightweight Four being introduced.

In 1987, the Under 14 Girls Four was raced for the first time. 1987 also saw Wilderness School make its debut at the SA Head of the River.

Schoolgirl Eights were introduced in 1988 and became the flagship event for the SA Girls Head of the River. The eights raced over 1000m. 

In 1989, Walford Anglican School for Girls raced for the first time at the SA Head of the River. The Girls Under 16 Four was introduced in 1989. Also, distances were adjusted for both Boys and Girls events: 750m for U14s, 1000m for U15s and 1500m for all other events.

In 1990, distances changed to 2000m for VIIIs & First IVs, 1500m for U16s & Lightweights, 1000m for U15s and 750 for U14s.

In 1991, Boys and Girls Quad Sculls were introduced in the Under 14 Category, replacing the Under 14 Four (Division A). Additionally, trophies were introduced to the SA Girls Head of the River regatta: The Florence Eaton Cup for First Eights, Diana Medlin Cup for First Fours and the Chilly Parker Cup for Lightweight Fours. Distances changed again in 1991: 1000m for U14s, 1500m for U15s and 2000m for all other events.

1993 saw additional trophies were added to the SA Girls Head of the River regatta: The Amanda Cross Cup for Under 16 Fours, Denise Collins Cup for Under 15A Fours and the Allison Smith Cup for Under 15B Fours.

The ability of all South Australian schools to participate in this regatta is a great credit to the founding schools who allowed the entry of them into their historic event. It has increased the importance of this event enormously.

Key researcher for this chapter has been Alex Purnell.