Douglas William Bowden (24 Nov 1906 – 20 April 1996) was an Australian rowing coxswain. He was twice a national champion and an Australian representative who won a silver medal at the 1938 Commonwealth Games.

Early life and rowing career

Born in Glebe in Sydney, Bowden's father died when he was seven and he left school aged 14 to take employment with the brewery

Tooth and Co. Tooth and Co was the major brewer of beer in New South Wales, Australia. The company owned a large brewery on Broadway in Sydney from 1835 until 1985, known as the Kent Brewery. It was historically one of Australia's oldest companies, having be ...

His early club coxing was from the Glebe Rowing Club where he was later in life honoured with a life membership. He next joined the

North Shore Rowing Club North Shore Rowing Club is the oldest sporting club on the north side of Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia formed in 1879. It has occupied its current site on the Lane Cove River at Yacht Bay, Longueville since 1933. The club has a focus on mas ...

in Sydney where he was both a coxswain and coach and had competitive and representative success. He coached the club's eight to victory in the 1937 Henley-on-Yarra in Melbourne. Bowden first made state selection in the 1935 New South Wales men's eight which contested and won the

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

at the 1935 Interstate Regatta. He was the manager and the coxswain of that crew. In 1936 he again steered the New South Wales eight to another King's Cup victory. He was in the stern of the 1937 New South Wales eight which placed second at Murray Bridge in South Australia to the South Australian eight in that year's King's Cup. In 1938 he was the coach of the New South Wales eight when they placed second to West Australia in the King's Cup. Then along with four of that crew he was selected in the Australian men's eight for the 1938 Commonwealth Games. That eight with Bowden as coxswain took the silver medal behind the British crew. After a some years' absence from competition due to

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bowden contested the New South Wales 1947 state title for eights in a

crew of which he was cox and coach.

Rowing administrator and coach

In 1939 Bowden was the manager of the New South Wales men's eight for the Interstate Regatta. After the war he was again the manager of the New South Wales men's eight for the Interstate Regatta in 1950. He was on the Regatta Committee for the 1952 Interstate Regatta held on the

Nepean River Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...

. From 1969 till 1977 Bowden was a rowing coach of the senior crews at

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill , motto_translation = Strive Strive for better things , established = , type = Independent single-sex secondary day and boarding school , educational_authority = New South Wales Department of Educati ...

's boatshed where his son had been educated in the 1950s. Doug Bowden was a co-coach of the school's first and second VIIIs and established an impressive record. At the

AAGPS The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) is a sporting association of boys' schools in New South Wales, Australia that contest sporting events among themselves. The AAGPS was formed on 30 March 1892, and ...

Head of the River the school's first VIII placed second in 1970 and 1972 and won in 1971 and 1973. In 1973 the school's 2nd VIII was also victorious.St Joseph's College Magazine 1973. He was esteemed as an honorary Old Boy of the College.

War service, professional and personal life

Bowden enlisted in the

2nd AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in April 1942. He saw action in the Papua New Guinea on the

Kokoda Trail The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese ...

. On his discharge at war's end in September 1945 he was a private posted to the Queensland Line of Communication Area. Pre and post

Bowden had a 50 year career with

By the 1950s his role was as a management supervisor of the many hotels owned by the brewery throughout NSW and the ACT. Bowden's longstanding marriage was to Isabel who pre-deceased him. They had two children, Lois and Peter and lived in Pymble, Sydney. Doug Bowden died aged 90 in 1996 following a series of strokes.Cerise & Blue (SJC OBU Magazine) May 1996 vol 38 #2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Douglas Australian male rowers Coxswains (rowing) Sportsmen from New South Wales Rowers from Sydney Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing 1906 births 1996 deaths Rowers at the 1938 British Empire Games 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games