The Australian Sculling Championship (Professional) Title was first recognised in the early 1850s. George Mulhall was the first champion due to his dominance in heavy boats. From 1858 when racing was held on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

, Richard Green became the Champion. He was later the first international contestant for the

World Sculling Championship The World Sculling Championship (1863–1957), evolved from the Championship of the Thames for professional scullers. Only the sport of boxing claims an older Championship of the World. It is notable that Jack Broughton, the "Father of Boxing", t ...

and that race was held on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in 1863. Thus began a long association of Australian Champions who were either contestants in, or actual holders of, the World Title. From 1866 William Hickey was the Champion, a position he held until being disposed by Michael Rush in 1873. In turn the title was held by

Edward Trickett Edward "Ned" Trickett (12 September 1851 – 28 November 1916) was an Australian rower. He was the first Australian to be recognised as a world champion in any sport, after winning the World Sculling Championship in 1876, a title he held until ...

and Elias C. Laycock. Trickett won the World Title in 1876, and held it until 1880, and from then on any Australian holders of that title were generally considered to be the Australian Champion as well. These people were: For the rest of the time the Title was in existence it became a more identifiable entity mostly, but not totally, separated from the World Title. The holders were: Only the holders are listed here but there were a much greater number of contests as matches were run on the challenge system. One man would challenge the holder for the title and for money. As with the world Title there was less interest in the Australian Tile after the Second World War. In general, professional sculling declined in popularity and eventually the Title lapsed as scullers and the public became less interested in such races. Amateur honours such as Olympic selection were much more attractive.

References

* "Sculling and Skulduggery" by Stuart Ripley, Australia, 2009.
World rowing history - professional racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Sculling Championship Rowing in Australia Rowing competitions in Australia National championships in Australia