Notable Rowing Achievements
GROWTH AND SUCCESS
Over the years, Nagambie Rowing Club has produced many successful rowers and made significant contributions to rowing in Victoria and Australia.
King's Cup
Wally Heath - 1905
Wally Heath rowed in the winning Victorian champion 8+ crew at the 1905 King's Cup held at Parramatta River in Sydney (pictured second from the left in front row below). Wally and Frank Catlin were also Victorian Pair Oared winners. Many other Nagambie Rowing Club members have rowed in King's Cup crews but, to this day, Wally Heath remains the only Nagambie Rowing Club rower to have won a King’s Cup.
In 1920 Val Sullivan also rowed in the Victorian Kings Cup Crew.
In 1908 Nagambie won the senior eight, senior four and senior pair at the Henley Regatta in Melbourne. The Newspapers estimated a crowd of 300,000 lined the 3mile course to spectate.
In 1909 Nagambie Rowing Clubs’s Wally Heath, Frank Catlin, CW Welsh and Tom Vickers (coxed by Alex Carter) broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest 3 miles rowed in history (13 mins, 2.4 seconds)
The Club had many successes winning the Victorian elite Premiership in 1919, 1934 and 1935, and in these seasons had members in the Victorian Interstate Eight (Kings Cup Crew).
In 1934 Nagambie won the Victorian Eight Oared Championship by 8 boat lengths, six of this crew rowed in the Victorian Kings Cup Crew, plus the Coach Martin Sinnett and Cox. The Club also won the State Four Oared title by 12 boat lengths in the same year.
In 1935 Nagambie won the Victorian Four and Pair oared titles and three members rowed in the 1935 Victorian Kings Cup Crew, the four again won by over 10 boat lengths.
One of the Club's most notable members was Alf Lodding, who became a Victorian representative oarsman and later an Olympic coach. He represented Victoria in two King’s Cup races. He was in the crew of 2 x Champion fours in Victoria – winning by 10 lengths both times. He won numerous other races and was described as the best ‘stylish’ rower in Victoria, by the Melbourne Newspapers. His legacy helped establish Nagambie as a hub for rowing excellence.
In 1964, the club achieved a major milestone when local rowers Neil Lodding, Bruce Richardson, and cox Wayne Gammon were selected as the Australian Olympic coxed pair. This achievement put Nagambie on the map in the rowing world and inspired future generations of rowers.
