The Ginger Beer Boys - The Fathers of Geelong Rowing.

     The Barwon Rowing Club is Geelong's oldest rowing club; it was established in 1870 but it's foundation was built upon a solid history of earlier clubs and rowers.

    In 1856, four young boys worked together in a local aerated waters and cordial factory located near the shores of Corio Bay in Geelong.They were employed as watermen, rowing the company's supplies and products from ship to shore. Somehow, at about the age of fifteen, they found themselves a boat, banded together in a four and launched themselves into competitive rowing, and into history. At that time there was no formal rowing club in Geelong, but they rowed together for at least six years and were known throughout the town as the "Ginger Beer" boys. Their first competitive outing may have been at the Geelong Regatta of 1857, where in the Tradesmen's Four Oared race a boat by the name of Blue Bonnet, crewed by "mere boys", came first.

Corio Bay 1856

     With no regatta held the following year, their next opportunity for competition came with the Geelong Regatta in March 1859. In a Clement Blunt built gig, the Native Youth, 35 ft. long and the first locally built boat to compete against Melbourne boats, a crew of Tom Kelly, George Graham, John McKinnon and W. Freer won the Four Oared gig race for Amateurs. On passing the flagship, the Native Youth had a strong lead, and were pulling in a style seldom witnessed in an amateur's race. A few days later, it was reported by The Argus, that the Ginger Beer boys, a crew described as "mere lads", had been issued a challenge by the two losing crews, who had attributed their loss to the Native Youth being a much superior boat, and asked to race again once they had time to procure an equally good boat for themselves. The boys replied that they could not afford to spend another six weeks in training and exercise, but if there were any fanciful superiority in their boat they would let either of the other crews have the Native Youth and take their boat in exchange; that they would, after that, take their own boat again, and pull against the other for £50, and whoever did it in the quickest time should be the winner. The challenge was not accepted.

    By October of 1859 two more Blunt boats were seen rowing regularly on the bay; the Native Lass and his most successful boat, the Young Australian, and the Ginger Beer boys were in training for the next Geelong Regatta, to be held at the end of February. The Native Lass, manned by the "native youths" of Graham, Kelly, Freer and McKinnon, came third in the Four Oared race to the winning Young Australian. The next scheduled race was the Four Oared Amateur in gigs, but this race was a failure, on account of the several crews grumbling against each other about a steersman of one boat being an amateur, and the stroke oar of another being a Yarra waterman. After a deal of unsatisfactory altercation one of the crews put an end to the squabble by rowing home. But such was the Geelong rowers belief in the superiority of Blunt's boats, that two crews set themselves for the forthcoming Melbourne Regatta; their first venture into metropolitan competition.

    Held over two days in early May 1860, the regatta course was a sinuous two miles on the Yarra River, from Prince's Bridge to the Cremorne Pleasure Gardens in Richmond, with two almost complete right angle turns. The second day, Saturday 5th May, attracted 2000 spectators, including the Governor-General of Victoria and the Attorney General, and was the first serious effort to establish rowing as a sport in Victoria. Despite early attempts, rowing had been held back by a lack of first class boats and insufficient training by crews.

    The Geelong rowers entered two races - the Junior Four Oared and the Waterman's Race in Four Oared Gigs. The junior crew of Thomas Neil, S. Bleasby, E. Fielding and D. McCallum, with John King as cox, won by almost two lengths in the Young Australian, despite being fouled by a Richmond crew at the start. The winners had to row their very best from end to end and were occasionally very closely pressed. A protest was lodged on the grounds that some of them were above the age of eighteen. A Commissioner of the Supreme Court, who happened to be present, took their affidavits to that effect and they subsequently received their prize - silver oars and rudder to the value of £10.

    In the Waterman's race, the same boat with a crew of George Graham, W. Ryan, T. Amos and John McKinnon took on a Yarra crew and won by three lengths. The Waterman's Four Oared Race in Gigs was admirably contested for the first ¾ of a mile when the superior condition and stroke of the Geelong crew gave a commanding lead. Their style of rowing was universally praised by all the connoisseurs present. From the start to the goal the winners rowed in that finished style only to be obtained by dint of hard practise.

    Leaning forward well over their toes and finishing a long stroke right home to their breasts, the pulled with an almost "oneness" of motion. The long stroke of George Graham who pulled No. 3 was much admired.

Melbourne Regatta 1860. Perhaps the Ginger Beer boys approaching a sharp turn on their way to a win.
Picture source - Melbourne Punch.

    These were the first races won by Geelong crews on a Melbourne course and much of the credit went to the locally built boats. The Melbourne press described them as "a picture of what racing boats should be" and that the Melbourne rowing men and boat builders could take little credit for their efforts.

    In reporting the results the Geelong Advertiser showed unusual restraint - Without going into a hysteria of silly boast, we have much pleasure in congratulating Geelong upon having pulled a very creditable oar at the Melbourne Regatta. The crews and boat returned home that evening by the steamer Citizen, hopefully to an hysterical crowd of supporters.

    At the 1861 Melbourne Regatta John McKinnon, George Graham, Tom Kelly and Robert Green came second to a Yarra crew in the Waterman's Four Oared and then a year later at the same regatta George Graham stroked a crew in the Young Australian to a two lengths win in the Junior Four. Of the Ginger Beer boys, only George Graham continued rowing, joining the city's first rowing club, the Geelong Rowing Club, on its formation in August 1862. 

    Inspired by their efforts, eleven rowing clubs with 145 members began in Geelong over the next decade, but by the end of 1869 all had been disbanded. Only George Graham and John Arthur, a founding member of Barwon, kept the sport alive, occasionally seen in their gig rowing solitarily across Corio Bay towards Limeburner's Point.

STEVE'S PAIR - Safe in the Arms of Barwon.

A wooden pair has been hanging in the Barwon Rowing Club's shed for as long as our oldest members can remember. Always known as "Fairbairn's boat", it has survived onslaughts of paper planes from young coxswains and barrages of bread rolls from more rowdy rowers, the demolition of the old shed, its refurbishment and transfer to pride of place in our new club rooms.

 

Picture source: Barwon Rowing Club

It once belonged to one of the earliest members of the club. Stephen (Steve) Fairbairn was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1862 and educated at Geelong Grammar School between 1874 and 1880. Whilst at school he was taught to row by J.L. Cuthbertson, a teacher at the school and by the Captain of Barwon, Edward Nicholls. The boys were offered free membership by Barwon from 1871 until 1874 when the school formed its own boat club. The school did not have a boathouse on the river until 1877 and so used Barwon Rowing Club's shed and fleet. In 1879 Steve joined Barwon and rowed stroke in the Barwon Rowing Club Senior Eight at the Colac Regatta.  In 1881-84 he read law at Jesus College, Cambridge. He rowed in the Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race in the Cambridge crews of 1882, 1883 (both defeated by Oxford), 1886 and 1887 (both victorious), in college crews at the Head of the Cam four times, and in crews which won the Grand Challenge Cup (the blue ribbon of amateur rowing in England), the Stewards', and the Whyfold at Henley Regatta..

Fairbairn returned to Australia between 1884-85 and was then to and fro from England to Australia during 1887-1904, pursuing his family's pastoral interests in Victoria and in Western Queensland at Beaconsfield, originally one the largest sheep stations in Australia.

Picture source: Peter Mallory. The Sport of Rowing - A Comprehensive History. Volume 1. 2011

On a trip to England beginning in 1897 he competed at Henley-on-Thames Regatta and was captain of Thames Rowing Club. In 1898 he was runner up in the Silver Goblets (coxless pairs) at Henley Regatta in a boat built by boat builders, Brewer Swaddle and Co. of Putney, England. This boat was adapted as either a coxless pair or a double sculling boat, being fitted so that that either bow or stern could steer.

  

In 1899 Steve returned to Australia, arriving in Brisbane by steamship with his wife, two young sons, two maids and the boat. In October he travelled to Melbourne, taking the boat with him, where he took extensive exercise  on the Yarra River in his highly finished craft. In November Steve was appointed coach of the Queensland crew for the Intercolonial Eights Championship in Melbourne and had a fortnight's supervision of the crew before the race where Queensland finished last. Before his return to Beaconsfield in the middle of 1900 by rail, he donated the boat to his old club, Barwon. The club President, in acknowledging the gift, spoke of the great interest that Steve had always maintained in the club, and appointed him as the club's first Honorary Life Member.

In 1904 Steve returned to Cambridge where he made his name as one of the most influential of rowing coaches and introduced a new style of rowing, known as Fairbairnism, placing an emphasis on movement - "a perfect loose and easy elastic action" - above strict restrictive conventions on body placement. He died in Cambridge in 1938.

A few months ago, three intrepid gentlemen, John Guiney of Belgrove Hire and Barwon members Gary Giles and Chic Chandley, braved the heights to photograph inside the boat, providing the vital clue to proving its provenance.

Picture Source: Barwon Rowing Club.

The club's thanks go to:

Hear the Boat Sing historians Tim Koch, Peter Mallory, Tom Weil, William "Bill" O'Chee, Goran Buckhorn and Bill Miller.

Michael Kemp. Vintage Wooden Rowing Shells Australia."One of the oldest and most important shells remaining in Australia".

Rob Gardner, Sean Drew, Sam Elliott and Alan Chalmers for stripping back the old varnish.

Tom Prime for restoration of the boat and storage until the new shed was built.

Rob Gardner, Sean Drew, Alan Chalmers and Peter White for hanging the boat in the new shed.

 

Picture source: Barwon Rowing Club

 For 118 years past and present members of the club have cared for the boat. Thanks to their committment, we are now able to confirm not only that the boat belonged to the great Steve Fairbairn but that it is one of the oldest and most important wooden shells remaining in Australia.