1912 Ballarat Head of the Lake

The following record of this year comes from the booklet 100 Years of the Head of the Lake published by The Courier in 2012.

The first Year of the Head of the Lake Regatta - 1912 - was shrouded 1n controversy. Not only was the first event called a no-race, it was also the year that Ballarat High School was banned from entering teams.

The inaugural Head of the Lake was marred by a collision between Grammar and St Patrick's College boats and declared a no-race by officials. But it was the barring of the Ballarat Agricultural High School - now Ballarat High - from entering teams that was most controversial.

When the Ballarat Public Schools' Association was formed in 1912. its three founding member schools. Ballarat College (Clarendon). St Patrick's College and Ballarat Grammar excluded Ballarat High from the association.
While reasons for the school's exclusion still remain conjecture. BHS leaders at the time believed it may have been its large enrolment of students compared to Grammar. St Patrick's and College.

Ballarat High School was so annoyed with the boycott, the issue was taken to State Parliament to be overturned. On behalf of the school, MLA for Grenville, D McGrath asked the Minister for Public Instruction, A Billson, about it in the Legislative Assembly on October l, 1912.

In a responding letter. the minister wrote: "I have learned with regret that in a country with democratic institutions such as Victoria, action has been taken by the denominational secondary schools of Ballarat to exclude the boys of Ballarat Agricultural High School from participating in the organized secondary school sports of the district.

“It is pointed out that the same condition of things exists in connection with the Public Schools Association of Melbourne at the present time and I repeat with all the emphasis I possibly can that they have excluded the boys of our own Continuation School of the Melbourne High School. I hope sincerely that better counsels will prevail and that we shall not have this exclusion continued for any length of time"

In a City of Ballarat mayoral report 1912-13, the Ballarat Agricultural High School stated "In the matter of sport the school is still under boycott. Whatever contests in sport have taken place have been against schools from other places. In these contests the school has been fairly successful."

Ballarat High did not become a member of the association until 1943 when tennis and athletics matches were played. In 1944. the school began competing in cricket. football and rowing. Just three years later, Ballarat High won its first Head of the Lake.