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Twenty-Sixth Anniversary Hobart Regatta program
Twenty-Sixth Anniversary Hobart Regatta program

Twenty-Sixth Anniversary Hobart Regatta program

Date1865
Object number00048310
NameSilk program
MediumSilk, ink
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Royal Hobart Regatta Association
DescriptionThis silk program with red ribbon trim was produced for the 26th Anniversary Regatta held on 5 December 1865. The regatta was organised by the Hobart Regatta Association and commemorates the sighting of the west coast of Van Diemen's Land by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. The program details various rowing and sailing events as well as a novelty duck hunt. It is type set in two columns and was printed at the Mercury steam press office in Hobart. HistoryThe Hobart Regatta was inaugurated in 1838 a year after the Sydney event. It became a symbol of the colony's independent regional identity. Far more than just sporting event, the regatta would celebrate the local anniversary of Abel Tasman's 'discovery' of the island in 1642, demonstrate the unity and patronage of civil and military elites, promote whaling and other free-settler enterprises, and even remove the colony's convict stain. The day was a public holiday and free food and beer was given to settlers who came to watch the aquatic competition. By the early 1900s boat races competed with novelty entertainments, such as the greasy-pole pillow fights, comic stunts, fancy costumes, bearded ladies and snake charmers. Tasmanians still passionately claim the supremacy of their regatta tradition and regional identity. The Hobart Regatta continues to be held annually on the Derwent River and today is held over three days. SignificanceRegattas were central to competitive boating in the 19th century and functioned as a social and sporting event, as well as a marker of official anniversaries in a public aquatic spectacle. Civic leaders, politicians and merchants offered patronage and sponsorship.