As you enter the Barwon Rowing Club, you ascend the stairs between walls lined with old honor boards and photographs of past Barwon River floods and the club's boat shed. But the eagle eyed amongst you may wonder why there is also an aerial photograph of the finish of the 1930 Head of River race. The answer lies with a member of the Geelong Grammar School crew.

The sixty-third race was held on Saturday 10th May at 3 p.m., in mild and pleasant weather and with a large crowd, estimated as at least 40,000, lining the south bank and eagerly awaiting the final between Melbourne Grammar, Wesley College and Geelong Grammar. Since the 1929 race the rowing course had been straightened and cleared of weeds, making it the best mile course in Victoria. Motorists were encouraged to park along the south bank, from the starting to finishing lines for a fee of two shillings, with further parking areas on the south to the east of the bridge, in front of the Belmont Common aerodrome, and on the northern bank in the reserve at the foot of Yarra Street. Pedestrians were warned not to linger on the Moorabool Street Bridge in an effort to watch the race for free. For the price of one shilling, the purchase of the official programme gained entry to the north bank, west of the bridge. The coaches of all competing schools had lodged a protest with the Director of Civil Aviation against planes being allowed to fly over the river during the race and the headmasters viewed the prospect with alarm.

The race got off to a clean start and at the quarter mile Melbourne Grammar appeared to be leading Wesley by a canvas, with Geelong Grammar close up on them both. Then a shot from the umpire's launch stopped the race. Unseen by the majority of spectators, Geelong Grammar on the north station had clashed oars with Wesley in the centre lane. The race was stopped, Geelong Grammar disqualified and Wesley and Melbourne Grammar instructed to row back to the start. Old boys and supporters on the banks were puzzled to see Geelong Grammar rowing alone down the length of the course, slowly through the bridge and back to their boathouse. According to the umpire, Mr. T. Crosthwaite, "Geelong Grammar not only left its own course but actually clashed with Wesley so seriously as to prevent both crews from rowing. It would obviously have been unfair to Wesley to have allowed the race to continue". In the rerun, Melbourne Grammar was victorious over Wesley by ¾ length.

The incident cast a gloom over the victory celebrations. The sympathies of the whole crowd went out to the Geelong boys, whose months of hard work had gone for nought. In trying to avoid the dead water on the north bank their cox had kept too far out. But it wasn't the cox, D. L. Green: the fault lay with 7 seat, one John G. Gorton. Years later Gorton could still feel the pain he caused and experienced during the Head of River race in 1930. Gorton's oar dislodged from its rowlock at the start of the final; and, as the cox failed in his struggle to hold his line, the Geelong Grammar School boat came in sharply, collided with Wesley, and was disqualified. This is the same Sir John Grey Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971.

And so we return to the stairs at Barwon Rowing Club and the photograph that captures the final few metres of the race. The Barwon connections are many: the coach of the winning crew, W. N. "Wally" Ricketts, began his rowing career as a coxswain with the club in 1910; the coach of the Geelong Grammar crew, William H. Pincott commenced his rowing career in 1899 with Barwon and had been President, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain and Coach of the club, and was a Vice-President until 1937; the coach of the Geelong College crew, beaten in the heats by Melbourne Grammar, was Barwon member and champion sculler, C. J. Collyer; the starter of the race was Barwon member H. Speed; even the umpire T. Crosthwaite may have been related to the Barwon member of 1888, B. Crosthwaite.

But why the photo on the wall? The race is notorious for the only disqualification, the Barwon connections are many, but the answer lies in 2 seat of the Geelong Grammar crew, Ronald Errol White. Although still a schoolboy, Roland had joined Barwon to participate in the sport he loved, being unable to get a seat in the school's crews. That is, until he rowed 4 seat in the club's winning Maiden Eight at the Barwon Regatta in February and promptly found himself promoted to the school's first eight. Ronald rowed for a number of years, later in the winning crew of the H. F. Richardson Cup in 1932 and from 1933 in successful Maiden Four crews. He was also a Barwon committee member from 1932 to 1934.

Four generations of the White family have been valuable members of the Barwon Rowing Club: Ronald's father, Errol, though not a rower, was a Vice-President from 1930 to 1940. Ronald's son, Peter, joined the Club in 1963, rowed until the late 1970s, and is still a Barwon member, Coach and Vice-President. His grandson, Andrew, has rowed for the last six years with the Club.

SOURCES:

• Australian Rowing History website http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/school-rowing/vic/aps-head-of-river/1930.

• The Geelong Advertiser, The Age, The Argus, The Weekly Times. 1930.

• Ian Hancock. John Gorton - He Did It His Way.

• Peter White.