Wellington Rowing Club
| Wellington Rowing Club | |
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| Location | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | wellingtonrowing |
| Notable members | |
The Wellington Rowing Club is a rowing club situated on Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. The current building, is classified as a "Category I" ("places of 'special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value'") historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The Wellington Rowing Club was first established in October 1871 as a professional club. Founded by James Stewart, a prominent sawmiller "the main reason for forming the new club was to enable ‘working men’ to take part in aquatic sports".
The most famous crew of the Wellington Rowing Club was the Dolly Varden crew. Imported in 1873, the Dolly Varden became the most famous four-oared boat in colonial New Zealand. The Dolly Varden was the first boat in New Zealand with sliding seats. In this boat the crew of H Woods (stroke), J Walker (3), William Hearn (rower) (2), M Moore (bow) won the Interprovincial Championship of New Zealand in 1876, and H Woods (stroke), J Walker (3), J McGrath (2), William Hearn (rower) (bow) won in 1877.
The Dolly Varden was later sold and by 1880 the Wellington Rowing Club (professional), as then constituted, went out of existence.
The Wellington Rowing Club was later re-established as an amateur club in July 1885 by James Stewart. 2010 marked the 125th anniversary of the amateur club.
The club's colours consist of a maroon singlet with a white horizontal band. The original colours of the club when it was established in 1885 were (salmon) pink and white. The club commemorated these origins by changing back to the original colours for the 125th season (2009/10).
The WRC building has been housed in a number of locations throughout its 125-year history. The club opened its first permanent clubhouse at the bottom of Cuba Street, Wellington on 17 December 1887. Later in 1889, due to ongoing harbour reclamations, the clubhouse was moved "some little distance seaward" to its site just north of Jervois Quay. This was the home for the club until 1931.
Built in 1894 to a design by Frederick de Jersey Clere, the building was built as a base for the Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers, a response prompted by a Defence report in 1884 that recommended strengthening Wellington's harbour defences to help prevent a possible Russian invasion.
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