Jason Reid (left) and Graeme "Grader" Howells are organising an event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of club rowing in Whanganui. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Jason Reid (left) and Graeme "Grader" Howells are organising an event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of club rowing in Whanganui. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
This year marks 150 years since organised rowing began in Whanganui, with celebrations planned to mark the milestone.
Fin Ocheduszko-Brown reports.
The Wanganui Rowing Club was established on December 22, 1875, after a council meeting at the still-standing Commercial Hotel.
It was one of the earliest such clubs inNew Zealand, with the first being Canterbury Rowing Club, which was founded in Christchurch in 1861.
It was also a founding member of the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association, set up in 1887.
The celebration event’s organisers Graeme “Grader” Howells and Jason Reid said the river and affiliation with Whanganui High School (WHS) in 1961 were the key reasons the club had been going for so long.
“The main thing that’s kept it going has got to be the schools; once the schools got involved, they’ve been the main source of recruitment,” Reid said.
The minutes from the council meeting at the Commercial Hotel in 1875 for the establishment of the Wanganui Rowing Club. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Reid was a part of the wave of WHS rowers that came through during the early 70s, an era Howells said was the most successful period for the club.
“They won three titles here on the Whanganui River in 1972. Not premier titles, as we know them today, but that was a pretty big deal in those days,” he said.
“The club had a very good run with school kids.”
The affiliation runs strong today, with more than 30 students having registered for the season ahead.
One of the club’s rowers, Jake Newton, has been invited to tour four of the Ivy League universities in the US for a chance at a scholarship.
Reid said more kids like Newton are coming through the system.
One of the earliest photographed crews for the Wanganui Rowing Club, which was established in 1875. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
The 150th anniversary celebrations will run throughout Labour Weekend, with food and drinks at the Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club on October 24.
Those who have registered can go for a morning paddle down the river on October 25, followed by a formal dinner at the Whanganui Racecourse for speeches and drinks.
The Rigtec Engineering Billy Webb Challenge is being held at the Union Boat Club the following day from 9am.
Former WHS and club rower Nikki Mills (nee Payne) will be a guest speaker at the event.
Mills was the first Kiwi woman to win a rowing medal at the Olympics, clinching bronze in Seoul in 1988.
Also attending will be the only Kiwi rower to win gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals, former Nga Tawa Diocesan School for Girls and club rower Kerri Williams (nee Gowler).
Williams is one of six Kiwi Olympians to achieve this feat.
More than 95 people have registered for the celebrations so far, with some travelling from Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Howells said a lot of attendees are from the glory days of the 60s and 70s, as well as those who witnessed the amalgamation.
“We’re really excited about organising this event, we are optimistic that it will rejuvenate the enthusiasm in the club to the extent that we can look forward to another 150 years,” Howells said.
