History The inaugral meeting of the Glenorchy Rowing Club was held at nearby Rosetta High School, on the 14th of April, 1971. A steering committee was formed consisting of:
J.S Stephenson (President)
L.J.E Cross (Secretary)
M. Leamy
B. Palmer
D. Ebsworth
A decision was made to approach the Glenorchy City Council for permission to use the old Montrose Bay Yacht Club building. Approval was given for a 5 year period and the building was purchased from the Montrose Bay Yacht Club for $325.00.Numerous repairs to the building had to be undertaken in order to bring it up to standard. Voluntary labour, as well as donations from the community and members, saw the Club come into operation. The official opening was held on the 6th February, 1972 by the Mayor of Glenorchy, Alderman Ken Lowrie MLC.
Equipment was initially borrowed, but a sponsorship and fundraising programme saw the acquisition of the following:Trustees for the Club were Messrs J. Beakley, G. Walters, M. Cresswell, R. Dickenson and J. Stephenson.
- 2 regular fours;
- 2 racing fours;
- 1 eight;
- 1 boat trailer;
- blades; and,
- 1 runabout.
The initial coaching team consisted of Ivan Moy and Dr. B. Palmer.The first Annual General Meeting was held on the 3rd May, 1972 and the following were elected to the committee:
Patron K. Lowrie
President M. Cresswell
Vice President G.E. Walters
Captain D. Harris
Vice Captain B.Law
Secretary J. Tabour
Treasurer G. Hyndes
Committee A. Quinn, V. Brockman, A. Griggs, M.LeamyThe Club continued to operate in these premises until being informed that the premises needed to be evacuated and demolished by June 1978 for the reclamation of the area to make way for the Brooker Highway.
and Dr. B. Palmer.
In 1975, the Mayor of Glenorchy, Alderman D. Fall, chaired a public meeting at Rosetta High School. A steering committee was formed to investigate the building of a Community Recreational Centre. This project lapsed when all Commonwealth funding was frozen.
In 1977, the Club inspected other areas of the foreshore from Prince of Wales Bay to Austins Ferry with the view to find more suitable water and selected an area in Windamere Bay, Claremont. However, in consultation with the Glenorchy City Council, it was decided that the Club would be rebuilt at Montrose Bay. This piece of land was owned by Savings Bank of Tasmania, the Education Department and Neale Edwards.After the subsequent sale of the old Club facilities ($325.00), all the equipment had to be stored. A holding committee was formed on the 10th July, 1978. Boats were stored at various sites, including Cresswell's, Neale Edwards, the Royal Showgrounds, Websters Wool Shed, the Sheridan Factory and the Buckingham Rowing Club. It became a logistical nightmare to keep up with the storage of equipment. In 1980, a committee meeting was held with the Trustees to consider the future of the Glenorchy Rowing Club.It was experiencing a decline in rower numbers as well as not having a suitable site to row from.
With the availability of funds from the Commonwealth Employment Programme, the present Club building was built. It was officially opened in 1985.Since this momentous occasion, the Club has flourished. The Club appointed Paul Harvey as Head Coach and his involvement up until 1998 has seen many of our rowers succeed in gaining both National and State representation. Numerous National and State titles have been won by GRC rowers.
It must be noted that the three current patrons, John Beakley OAM, Merv Cresswell OAM and Athol Quinn have been members of the Club since its inception in 1971. John Beakley has been Patron since 1973 and has maintained his interest in all GRC matters. All three have been instumental in keeping a continued intrest in GRC and their hard work, in conjuction with many others in the past, has seen Glenorchy Rowing Club become a competitive force within the rowing community. The Glenorchy City Council has also been a very co-operative partner in the venture. They currently own the building, with a leasing arrangement in place for the rowing club.
Glenorchy Rowing Club has also made close liason with the neighbouring high schools and numerous school crews boated from the facilities - Rosetta High School, Claremont High School, New Town High School, Cosgrove High School, St Virgils College, Hobart Matriculation College, Dominic College and Guilford Young College.
The Club colours are:
