History
FOUNDING AND EARLY YEARS
The Nagambie Rowing Club was establised in 1891, shortly after the construction of the Goulburn Weir in the region. The Goulburn Weir was Australia's first major irrigation diversion structure, raising the level of the Goulburn River to support irrigation and resulted in the formation of Lake Nagambie, providing an ideal location for a range of recreational water sports, including rowing.
Nagambie Rowing Club’s founding coincided with a period of growing interest in the sport of rowing, with many clubs being established in the late 1800's. In its early years, the club quickly became an integral part of the Nagambie community and hosted its first regatta in 1893 under President, John Gordon (MLA).
THE BUCKLEY PARK BOAT HOUSE
The original Boat House at Buckley Park was constructed in the early 1900s by Mr McNeill for under 800 pounds. In 1916 all but the top two inches of this Boat House were submerged in one of Nagambie’s worst known floods to date.
In 1930 Mr G Buckley donated the 4.75 acre "Buckley Park" to Trustees representing the Nagambie Rowing Club, and wished the Park to be used for Rowing and Swimming. In 1932, Mr Thos Blayney gifted a further 4 acres of land (on the other side of the creek) to the Club. The Club later agreed to gift the entire parcel of land back to the local Council.
In 1945 Sam Gugger converted the riggers on all the Nagambie Rowing Club boats from gig rigger to swivel, and in 1950 he placed 2 large doors on the front of the Boat House.
In 1976 another devastating flood threatened the Boat House. Neil Lodding and Pat McNamara removed the boats from the shed as the waters rose, to minimise the losses.
In 1978 the Club rebuilt the Boat House and created a Clubrooms upstairs with mainly voluntary labour during construction, and a ladies committee helped the fit out upstairs. A bank loan (raised with personal guarantees from club members, Neil + Jeff Lodding, Patrick McNamara, Sgt. Bill Hager and Lawrie Melbourne) enabled this rebuild.
THE MODERN ERA
In 1995 Nagambie Rowing Club purchased the ‘Valley Hotel’. Patrick McNamara was instrumental in the negotiations for the purchase of the hotel, and for securing significant funding from a major brewer that enabled the purchase. Since relocating operations from the Buckley Park Boat House, the club’s commercial aspect has gone from strength to strength, enabling further development and renovations at both venues.
In 1996 Patrick McNamara asked Justice Frederico, President of Rowing Victoria, to support an application to construct a 2,000 metre Olympic Rowing Course. The CEO of Rowing Australia, David Schier, was recruited to Project Manage the construction. The final budget was $3 million. A third was contributed by Strathbogie Commissioners, a third by the Dept Arts, Sport and Tourism (led by Minister Hon. P McNamara) and a third by the Nagambie Rowing Club and its corporate partners (incl Tattersalls). Victoria successfully bid to host the Australian National Rowing Championships and Interstate Regatta in 1998 on Lake Nagambie.
In 2000 Patrick McNamara was elected President of Rowing Australia, stepping down in 2009. National Rowing Championships were rotated between the only three courses that meet National standards, Nagambie, Lake Barrington (Tas) and Penrith Sydney Olympic Course. Nagambie hosted the event as recently as 2022.
In 2001 the Associated Public Schools transferred their Heads of the River Regatta from Geelong to Nagambie. This Regatta has attracted up to 17,000 spectators, the largest crowd to a sporting event outside of Melbourne or Geelong.