Donald Redden Palmer (1927 – 1 November 1980) was an Australian representative rower. He was a three time national champion and competed in the men's coxless pair event at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Club and state rowing

Palmer's senior club rowing was from Sydney Rowing Club.Palmer at Australian Rowing History
/ref> His first state selection for New South Wales was into the 1949 men's senior eight to contest the King's Cup at the Australian annual Interstate Regatta, however he was the reserve for that crew and did not row. Palmer did make four further New South Wales King's Cup appearances with podium finishes every time. In 1950 (gold), in 1951 (gold), in 1952 (silver), and in 1954 (silver). . In 1953 with Ernie Chapman he was selected for New South Wales to race the coxless pair Interstate Championship. They won the title. En route to the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

the Australian men's sweep squad selected an eight which raced as Sydney Rowing Club entrants in the Grand Challenge Cup at the 1952

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. Palmer was in the two seat of that Sydney crew which made the final and finished as runners up to Leander.

International representative rowing

The Australian men's eight selected for the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

was the winning 1949 New South Wales King's cup crew in which Palmer was a reserve. He was also selected as a reserve for the Empire Games eight. For the

the 1951 New South Wales King's Cup crew was selected as the Australian men's eight. By the time of final seat selections Palmer at three and

Vic Middleton Victor Ronald Middleton (born 21 September 1928) is an Australian former representative rower. He was twice a national champion and competed in the men's coxless pair event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Club and state rowing Middleton's senio ...

in the two seat had been replaced by Ernie Chapman and

Don Anderson Sir Donald George Anderson (1 March 191730 November 1975) was a senior Australian public servant. He was Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation from January 1956 until September 1973. Life and career Anderson was born to parents ...

who'd been reserves in the NSW eight. Palmer and Middleton rowed a men's coxless pair in Helsinki. They won their heat, were second in their semi-final but the system of the time then put them into a second repechage where they were knocked out.1952 Helsinki at Australian Rowing History
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Don 1927 births 1980 deaths Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowers from Sydney 20th-century Australian people Sportsmen from New South Wales