Mercantile Rowing Club

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Mercantile Rowing Club
LocationBoathouse Drive, Melbourne, Australia
Home water Yarra River, Melbourne
Founded19 September 1880
AffiliationsRowing Victoria
Website www.mercantile.org.au

The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games. [1]

Contents

Club history

A group of sportsmen interested in the advancement of amateur rowing met at Young and Jackson's Hotel on 19 September 1880 and the Mercantile Rowing club was born. William S Boyd was a driving influence and the club's first Captain. The club was initially named The Junior Warehouseman's Rowing Club and then changed its name in 1881. Boats and facilities were borrowed from the Greenlands boatshed next to the Prices Bridge until 1884 when the member's decided to lease land and build their own boatshed at the club's current location. [2]

The current boathouse was built in 1973, after a fire destroyed the previous shed on 6 May 1973.

Competition history & representative success

From Moscow 1980 the Mercantile club has had at least one representative in every Australian Olympic rowing squad without exception. At the 1987 Australian Rowing Championships, the Victorian Kings Cup winning VIII was crewed entirely by the Mercantile 1st grade VIII.

Club presidents

Members

1912 Aust Olympic VIII CS Cunningham selector/mgr seated right Aust Olympic VIII 1912.jpg
1912 Aust Olympic VIII CS Cunningham selector/mgr seated right

Membership of the club was male-only until 19xx, when the Club decided that it would allow women to become members.

Notable past members include:

Olympic representative members include:

World champions include:

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

YearRaces won
1988 Ladies' Challenge Plate

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References

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