History of Australian University Championships Rowing

The Lady Margaret Cup for Women's Fours, Australian University Championships

Lady Margaret Cup

In 1967 at Brisbane, an unofficial women's four race was conducted in which Newcastle University easily defeated Queensland University. The Australian University Sports Association sanctioned the women's competition in 1968.

The 1967 winning crew was bow: A Pullen. 2: N Neilands, 3: Janette Fraser, Str: Beverley Donald, Cch: Will O'Reilly.

This event commenced in 1968 and the trophy was donated by Professor Godfrey Tanner, Professor of Classics University of Newcastle. Ten years later, the women's eight event was named in honour of Professor Tanner.

The trphy is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort who was the mother of Harry Tudor who defeated King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. After her son became King Henry VII, she devoted herself to many pious endowments, including God's House, now Christ College in Cambridge.

Bishop John Fisher of Rochester, who was beheaded years later by Henry VIII, was her chief adviser and persuaded her to withdraw from a great new monastic foundation for Westminster which she planned to build with her son, King Henry, and instead to take over the 13th Century Hospital of St John, Cambridge for another college. The closing of the hospital had not yet been settled when King Henry died in 1509, and her grandson, Henry VIII became King. Lady Margaret died three months after her son and bishop fisher, as her executor, carried out the trust and in 1511 transformed the hospital into the college of St John the evangelist.

Inter college on the Cam began in the 1830's and because the Cox of another crew was killed by the bow of a St John's boat in a bumping race, St John's Boat Club was forbidden to compete. It thereupon reformed itself as the Lady Margaret Boat Club, and has the scarlet blazers, scarves and rowing singlets, which are the most vivid feature of regattas on the Cam.

Australian Universities' Women's Four Championship
Year	Winner	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
1968	Sydney	Newcastle	Queensland	Western Australia
1969	Sydney	Newcastle	Western Australia
1970	Melbourne	Sydney	Other placings unknown
1971	Sydney	Other placings unknown
1972	Declared no contest
1973	Newcastle	Other placings unknown
1974	Western Australia	LaTrobe	Tasmania
1975	Tasmania	Other placings unknown
1976	Western Australia	Other placings unknown
1977	Western Australia	Other placings unknown
1978	Melbourne	Western Australia	LaTrobe	Queensland	ANU	Sydney
1979	La Trobe	Melbourne	Other placings unknown
1980	Melbourne	Other placings unknown
1981	Western Australia	Melbourne	Sydney	ANU	Monash
1982	Melbourne	Sydney	Monash	Deakin	NSW
1983	Melbourne	ANU	Queensland
1984	Melbourne	Deakin	Sydney	LaTrobe	University of NSW	Monash
1985	Melbourne	University of WA	LaTrobe
1986	Melbourne	Monash	Queensland	Sydney
1987	New South Wales	Queensland	Monash	Australian National University	Melbourne
1988	Melbourne	ANU	Queensland
1989	Melbourne	LaTrobe	Sydney	ANU
1990	Sydney	LaTrobe	Adelaide	Melbourne	Queensland	Newcastle
1991	Australian National University	Melbourne	Queensland
1992	Sydney	New South Wales	Monash
1993	Adelaide			New South Wales
1994	Adelaide	New South Wales	Sydney
1995	Monash
1996	UTS
1997	UTS	Monash	Western Australia	Melbourne	Queensland	Adelaide
1998	Monash	Ballarat	Melbourne
1999
2000	Sydney	UWA	RMIT	ANU	UTS	Melbourne
2001	Canberra	ANU	UWA	Melbourne	NSW	Sydney
2002	Sydney	Western Australia	Melbourne	Adelaide	Ballarat	New South Wales
2003	Sydney	Western Australia	Melbourne	UTS	Monash	ADFA
2004	Victoria	Tasmania-Hobart	UTS	Western Australia	Melbourne	Newcastle
2005	UTS	Melbourne	Sydney	Adelaide	Newcastle	Macquarie
2006	Deakin	Melbourne	Sydney	UTS	Macquarie	Uni NSW
2007	Melbourne	Western Australia	Sydney	South Australia	Queensland	New South Wales
2008	Melbourne	Sydney	ADFA	Canberra	Monash	Macquarie
2009	Melbourne	Queensland	Sydney	Adelaide	New South Wales	South Australia
2010	Western Australia	Sydney	Adelaide	Curtin	Newcastle	Monash
2011	Melbourne	Western Australia	Adelaide	Sydney	ANU	Monash
2012	Sydney	South Australia	Adelaide	ANU	Western Australia	Newcastle
2013	Melbourne	Newcastle	ANU	South Australia	Sydney	La Trobe
2014	UTS	Melbourne	Sydney	Queensland	Monash	ANU
2015	UTS	Sydney	Adelaide	Melbourne	Queensland	ANU
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

top of page

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
These contents of this history are copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. However given that the purpose of the history is to assist rowers and rowing clubs, written permission is not required for non-commercial usage by rowers and rowing clubs provided acknowledgement is made.

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.

The Lady Margaret Cup for Women's Fours, Australian University Championships

Australian University Championships

Full results by year