Wellington Rowing Club's 125th this weekend!

Several hundred people – including a boatload of Olympic rowers and medal-winners – will be on hand this weekend to celebrate the 125th anniversary of one of the Capital’s greatest sporting organisations – the Wellington Rowing Club.

About 200 people have officially registered for the anniversary dinner on Saturday night and hundreds more for the launch, on the same day, of a book celebrating the history of the club.

However a highlight for the public – weather permitting – will be Sunday when a flotilla of skiffs and crews from a number of local rowing clubs, accompanied by waka ama and craft from the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, will cross the inner-harbour and be welcomed by a water-cannon salute from the harbour’s tugs.

Olympians expected to take part in the weekend’s festivities include Dick Joyce (Gold '68 and '72), Ross Collinge (Gold '68, Silver '72), Peter Delaney (Tokyo '64), John Hunter (Gold '72), John Clark ('72), Alec McLean (Bronze '76) and hopefully Simon Dickie (Gold '68 and '72, bronze '76).

Michael Grace, one of the organisers of the event – and the author of the club history – The Dolly Varden Legacy – says the weekend will be a “huge celebration for a club that is inextricably linked with the city”.

Michael says the Wellington Rowing Club is not the oldest in the region – its next-door neighbours and great rivals, the Star Boating Club, was established in 1866 The original WRC was established in 1871 as a professional club (members rowed for money), but was then re-established in 1885 as an amateur club.

The WRC was one of the 11 clubs which formed the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association (now Rowing NZ) in 1887.

Referring to the unusual name for the newly-published club history, Michael says the Dolly Varden was the name given to a rowing four – the first such boat in NZ with sliding seats. “It may sound strange but before that it was fixed seat stuff - like a dinghy…”

The crew of the Dolly Varden became the most famous rowing crew in colonial New Zealand. The crew and boat belonged to the original WRC (est. 1871). They won the Interprovincial Championships in 1876 and 1877 - basically the national champs of their day.

The club also rowed in salmon pink tops with white knickerbockers - and when the club was re-established in 1885 they continued to use the same colours. With a nod to history the WRC club colours were this year changed from maroon and white to the original pink and white.

One of the crew members of the Dolly Varden was James Walker. His farm was basically all the area that is now Mana (north of the Paremata Bridge). He named the farm Dolly Varden after his famous boat. All that area used to be called Dolly Varden (including the railway station up until the 1950s) however that name was later dropped in favour of Mana.