Cairns Aquatic Club 1935 Easter Regatta visitor's complimentary ticket issued to Patrick Cotter

Maker Cairns Aquatic Club

Date1935

Object number00028918

NameTicket

MediumInk on card

DimensionsOverall: 60 x 92 mm, 0.002 kg

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Patricia Lowing

Terms

Cairns

DescriptionThis ticket from the Cairns Aquatic Club Easter Regatta is a visitor's complimentary pass. It allowed the visitor to be present at the welcome dance, regatta dance, farewell dance, smoke concert for gentlemen and excursion to Green Island. It belonged to Patrick Edward Cotter. Sailing regattas were always accompanied by a number of social and leisure activities.HistoryThe Cairns Aquatic Club was first formed in 1908 by a group of businessmen to take advantage of the sport of sailing in the region. The club purchased a rice mill site as their meeting headquarters and made a number of offices. The club uses 16- footers and 18- footers for their recreational sailing. The 18-footer skiff is designed to reach extreme speeds and provide an exciting and attractive sport for spectators to watch. This was the aim of the vessels when they were first designed in the late 19th century. The origins of the sport are attributed to Mark Foy and a group of businessmen who were the founding members of the Sydney Flying Yacht Squadron, reported to have been established on 19 October 1891 in the 'Sydney Morning Herald'. The club advocated for sailing to be open to all types of vessels and sailors. Their first competitive race is believed to have been held on Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1892. SignificanceThis ticket demonstrates the social and recreational nature of regattas held in Australia. For many people their interest focused more on the social events than the sport itself.