Portrait of rowers and onlookers outside Gardner's boatshed, Sydney
Date1930s
Object number00042419
NamePhotograph
MediumSilver gelatin, paper
Dimensions83 x 107 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from the Trixie Whaling Estate
DescriptionA group of rowers is shown outside Gardner's boat shed. The 14 members of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) rowing Club are shown in uniform with two other women and one man, possibly their coaches. From the balcony a group of ten onlookers watch the proceedings wearing coats and hats.HistoryWomen's amateur rowing in New South Wales dates back to 1909 when Alice Bentley formed a women's swimming and rowing club at Rushcutters Bay. As conditions proved too rough for regular rowing the club moved to Kemp's boatshed at Abbotsford (now Sydney High School Boathouse) and the Western Suburbs Ladies Rowing Club was formed. By the 1920s the club was renamed Sydney Ladies Rowing Club, and then the Sydney Women's Rowing Club. This was the sole amateur women's rowing club in New South Wales until 1929 when the YWCA Rowing Club was formed followed by the Balmain and Abbotsford clubs. In 1920 an Interstate Women's race was contested in conjunction with the King's Cup and the Australian Women's Rowing Council was formed.
The 1920s and 30s were big decades for women rowers as more women joined the workforce and women's team sports became popular. The 'lady rowers' of the early part of the century eventually emerged as popular women's teams in the 1920s and 30s. This period saw a boom in women's rowing through the formation of amateur associations, the successful staging of national sporting events and the increased coverage of women's sport in the national press.
SignificanceThis photograph of the YWCA Rowing Club is important in documenting the activities of this and other clubs in the years prior to WWII.
