Australian King's Cup | |
Location | Penrith Lakes, Australia |
Organiser | Rowing Australia |
Years Active | 1878 - current |
Course | Venue of the Australian Rowing Championships |
Course length | 2,000m |
Events | Final event of the Annual Interstate Regatta |
Trophy | King's Cup since 1921 |
Course image | |
The bridge at the SIRC |
The King's Cup is Australia's blue riband annual rowing race for men. Since 1878 it has been contested by state representative senior heavyweight men's eights at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. Since 1973 the Australian Interstate Regatta has been conducted on the final day of the week-long annual Australian Rowing Championships. The King's Cup is the final event of the Australian Championships and the Interstate Regatta.
Victoria and New South Wales commenced inter-colonial racing in eight-oared boats in 1878 when the Victorian Rowing Association invited New South Wales oarsmen from the Sydney and the Mercantile clubs to boat crews for a race on the lower Yarra River over about four miles. [1] Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania all showed an interest in entering crews from the mid-1880s but disagreements over definitions of amateur status resulted in inconsistencies in eligibility criteria in the early decades. New South Wales held firm to a view that not just professional sportsmen and those employed around boats would be deemed non-amateurs but also all manual labourers. The other states had relaxed this view by 1899. [2] Queensland and Tasmania first entered crews in 1885 and then Queensland raced regularly from 1890. [3] From 1899 South Australia were racing annually. Following Federation the race became the interstate eight-oared championship with Tasmania and West Australia boating crews regularly by 1906.
Since 1921 the crews have competed for the King's Cup. The trophy had been won by a First Australian Imperial Force crew at the Royal Peace Regatta held in London in 1919 following the cessation of hostilities at the end of World War I and was presented to the victorious eight-oared boat by King George V. In time, and in spite of dogged resistance from the Australian War Memorial, the Victorian Rowing Association petitioned the King to express his intention for the Cup, and at his command it became the perennial trophy to be presented to the winning state representative men's eight at the annual Australian Rowing Championships.
The AIF #1 crew, all former club oarsmen who secured the King's Cup for Australia were seated as follows: Bow - Sgt. Archie A Robb (Derwent Rowing Club, Tasmania); 2 - Lieut. Fred A House (Derwent Rowing Club, Tasmania); 3 - Lieut. Thomas McGill (Leichhardt Rowing Club, NSW); 4 - Gnnr. Arthur Scott (Murray Bridge Rowing Club, SA); 5 - Lieut. Henry Hauenstein (Leichhardt Rowing Club, NSW); 6 - Maj. Sydney Middleton (Sydney Rowing Club, NSW); 7 - Gnnr. George William Mettam (West Aust Rowing Club), WA; Str - Capt. Harold Clive Disher (Melb Uni Boat Club, Vic ); Cox - Sgt. Albert Smedley (Sydney Rowing Club, NSW).
Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
---|---|---|---|
1878 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1879 | New South Wales | Victoria | |
1880 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1881 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1882 | New South Wales | Victoria | |
1883 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1884 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1885 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1886 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1887 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1888 i | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1888 ii | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1889 | Victoria | New South Wales | |
1890 | Victoria | Queensland | New South Wales |
1891 | Queensland | New South Wales | Victoria |
1892 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1893 | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland |
1894 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1895 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1896 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1897 | Victoria | Western Australia | Queensland |
1898 | Victoria | Queensland | |
1899 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1900 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1901 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1902 | Victoria | South Australia | Queensland |
1903 | Victoria | Queensland | South Australia |
1904 | Victoria | South Australia | Queensland |
1905 | Victoria | Tasmania | New South Wales |
1906 | Tasmania | Victoria | New South Wales |
1907 | Victoria | Tasmania | Queensland |
1908 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1909 | Tasmania | Victoria | New South Wales |
1910 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1911 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1912 | Victoria | Tasmania | South Australia |
1913 | South Australia | Tasmania | Western Australia |
1914 | Tasmania | South Australia | Western Australia |
1920 | South Australia | Western Australia | Tasmania |
1921 | Western Australia | Tasmania | Victoria |
1922 | South Australia | Victoria | Western Australia |
1923 | South Australia | Western Australia | Victoria |
1924 | Queensland | New South Wales | South Australia |
1925 | Western Australia | Tasmania | New South Wales |
1926 | Tasmania | South Australia | Victoria |
1927 | Western Australia | New South Wales | Victoria |
1928 | Western Australia | Queensland | Tasmania |
1929 | New South Wales | Western Australia | Victoria |
1930 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1932 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1933 | New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria |
1934 | New South Wales | Western Australia | Queensland |
1935 | New South Wales | Western Australia | South Australia |
1936 | New South Wales | South Australia | Western Australia |
1937 | South Australia | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1938 | Western Australia | New South Wales | Tasmania |
1939 | Queensland | New South Wales | South Australia |
1946 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1947 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1948 | New South Wales | Western Australia | South Australia |
1949 | New South Wales | Western Australia | Victoria |
1950 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
1951 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
1952 | Victoria | New South Wales | Tasmania |
1953 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1954 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1955 | Western Australia | Victoria | New South Wales |
1956 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1957 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1958 | Victoria | Western Australia | New South Wales |
1959 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
1960 | Western Australia | New South Wales | Victoria |
1961 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1962 | Victoria | Western Australia | Tasmania |
1963 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1964 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1965 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
1966 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1967 | New South Wales | Tasmania | South Australia |
1968 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1969 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1970 | Victoria | South Australia | Tasmania |
1971 | Victoria | South Australia | New South Wales |
1972 | New South Wales | Western Australia | Victoria |
1973 | Western Australia | Victoria | South Australia |
1974 | New South Wales | South Australia | Western Australia |
1975 | New South Wales | South Australia | Victoria |
1976 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
1977 | New South Wales | South Australia | Victoria |
1978 | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania |
1979 | Victoria | South Australia | New South Wales |
1980 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1981 | South Australia | Victoria | Queensland |
1982 | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria |
1983 | South Australia | Victoria | New South Wales |
1984 | New South Wales | South Australia | Victoria |
1985 | Victoria | South Australia | New South Wales |
1986 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
1987 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1988 | Victoria | South Australia | New South Wales |
1989 | Victoria | Western Australia | |
1990 | Victoria | Western Australia | Queensland |
1991 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1992 | Victoria | Western Australia | South Australia |
1993 | Victoria | Western Australia | Queensland |
1994 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1995 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1996 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
1997 | Aust Capital Territory | New South Wales | Victoria |
1998 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
1999 | Western Australia | Victoria | Queensland |
2000 | Victoria | Austn Capital Territory | New South Wales |
2001 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
2002 | Victoria | Western Australia | New South Wales |
2003 | Victoria | Western Australia | New South Wales |
2004 | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland |
2005 | Western Australia | Victoria | Queensland |
2006 | Victoria | Western Australia | New South Wales |
2007 | Victoria | New South Wales | Western Australia |
2008 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
2009 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
2010 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2011 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2012 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2013 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2014 | New South Wales | South Australia | Victoria |
2015 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
2016 | Victoria | New South Wales | South Australia |
2017 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2018 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
2019 | New South Wales | Victoria | South Australia |
2020 | - | Did not race | - |
2021 | Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland |
2022 | New South Wales | Victoria | Western Australia |
2023 | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland |
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