The New Zealand Sculling Championship was the professional

Single Scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

s Championship of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

held between 1881 and the 1930s. The Championship declined following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and with the onset of

the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s.

History

1881-1891

On 1 February 1881 Albert White of

Mercury Bay Mercury Bay is a large V-shaped bay on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. It was named by the English navigator Captain James Cook during his exploratory expeditions. It was first named ''Te-Whangan ...

offered to scull any person in New Zealand for the professional Championship of the country and for either £100 or £200. Apparently, this was the first time anybody had wanted to race for the title, even though the NZ Amateur Championship did not commence until 1888. PH Duncan of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

was having some thoughts of taking him up. Additionally

William Hearn William Hearn may refer to: * William Hearn (legal academic) (1826–1888), Australian university professor and politician * William Hearn (umpire) (1849–1904), English cricketer and Test umpire * William Hearn (rower) (1850–?), New Zealand scu ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand also wanted a chance but could not raise the £100 and so offered £50. He suggested that the three of them put up £50 each and have the races in Wellington as it was the most central, with the winner taking the lot. Towards the end of the month it was reported that White and Duncan were to row at Taurauga for a £100 a side. White would allow £25 in expenses from the stake in the event of Duncan losing. The race was run early May 1881 with White the winner. On 9 July 1881 the match between Hearn and White took place on Port Nicholson Harbour, Wellington. Hearn easily won the match and crossed the line eight lengths ahead. The time was 27m.29s and the course was stated to be about three and a half miles long. Charles Amos Messenger

On 26 March 1882 another race was held at Wellington for the Championship with Hearn rowing Charles A. Messenger from Victoria for a £100 a side. National titles were not necessarily held by citizens of the country concerned. Hearn was in the lead the whole time and won by about twenty lengths in a time of 24m.29s which was a New Zealand record. On 1 January 1885 Hearn and Harrington raced for the Championship; this time at Riverton. A considerable amount of betting took place with the Champion being more favoured. The course was straight and again over the distance of three and a half miles. The stake was also again for a £100 a side. Harrington rowed close to the shore and struck an underwater snag, which punctured his boat and caused him to retire. Hearn continued in leisurely manner and won in a time of thirty minutes. On 12 April 1887 the race was a bit different from most other championship races. Normally a 'match race' was run, a race between two men. This championship was held as part of the Riverton Regatta and there were five starters. Hearn won by two lengths in 23m.30s. The course was stated to be about three and a quarter miles long. On 5 February 1890 Charles Stephenson of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, who had recently defeated Joseph Kemp 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 ...

, challenged Hearn in September 1889 to a championship match. The race was run on Wellington Harbour for £100 a side. Stephenson won by three lengths in a time of 22m.22.75s. Hearn had been sick with

boils A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...

the week before the race which may have affected the result. He was by this time nearly forty years old and retired after this match. On 11 May 1891 Stephenson rowed Tom Sullivan, another New Zealander, on the Parramatta River for the title. Stephenson started well and got a good lead but then he somewhat collapsed. Sullivan took his chance and passed the opposition and stayed in front to the end easily winning by six lengths and in a time of 23m.33s. Sullivan later headed to the United States and England. He won the Championship of England but he does not seem to have ever defended his New Zealand title.

1906-1930

On 26 December 1906 William Webb beat

Jim Stanbury James Stanbury (25 February 1868 – 11 December 1945) was a world champion sculler. Stanbury was born on Mullet Island on the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales and was the successor of John McLean in the rowing championship of the world. In ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the ex-world champion, on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

. In August 1907 Webb won 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 as World Champion he declines any challenges for the New Zealand Title as he did not wish to risk a loss for a lesser title. George Whelch challenged but declined so assumed the title by forfeit. In December 1908 Webb lost World Title. On 13 April 1909 Whelch races William Fogwell of Australia on the

Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...

Harbour. The stake this time was £200 a side. Whelch won by about twenty lengths in a time of approximately twenty and a half minutes. Whelch later challenged

Richard Arnst Richard Arnst or Dick Arnst (28 November 1883 – 7 December 1953), born Jacob Diedrich Arnst, was a New Zealand rower and cyclist. He won the Single Sculls World Championship six times during the early part of the 20th century. Early life Ric ...

for the World Title. On 17 April 1911 Whelch and Fogwell had a re-match again at Akaroa. The challenger performed much better than in the previous encounter and Fogwell crossed the line two lengths to the good in a time of 20m.01s. National titles were not necessarily held by citizens of the country concerned. In March 1914 a title match had been arranged between Fogwell and New Zealander

Pat Hannan James Patrick Hannan (24 August 1884 – 1957) was the last of six New Zealand oarsman who attempted to win the World Sculling Championship title. Hannan, known as Pat or Paddy, was born in Wellington in 1886 but was later a resident of Blenhei ...

which was to be rowed in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. For unknown reasons the match was declared off and that Fogwell said he would hand the Title over to Hannan who then claimed to be Champion. This was apparently disputed by Webb. In April 1915 Hannan said that he was willing to row William Webb for the title and for £200 a side. The race was run in September on the Whanganui River with Webb the winner. The

then put any title matches on hold. Webb retired as the undefeated New Zealand Champion. A match between Fogwell and Hannan was held on 20 November 1920 on the

Wairau River The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for from the Spenser Mountains (a northern range of the Southern Alps), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in ...

, near Blenheim. Fogwell was stated to be the holder of the Championship but it was not clear how he obtained it. Hannan won but in a return match scheduled the following month he had to forfeit because of injury and Fogwell became the holder. In October 1922 Pat Hannan beat Fred "Jumbo" Wells on the Wairau River for the NZ Championship. The next match appears to have been between Pat Hannan and James Mason and was held on the Whanganui River on 27 November 1926. Hannan won by four lengths. In July 1930 Hannan retired but shortly before had handed over his NZ title to Mason. It is unclear if the title was ever competed for again. Professional rowing in general had declined after the war although it was still an important sport. The Depression further eroded any professional interest and eventually it was replaced by the amateur code.

References

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

, Volume XVIII, Issue 5993, 1 February 1881, Page 8 *

Wanganui Herald ''The Wanganui Herald'', originally published as ''The Evening Herald'', was a daily newspaper in Wanganui published from 1867 to 1986 when it was replaced by a community newspaper of the same name. John Ballance arrived in Wanganui in August 1 ...

4 Mar 1881, 9 July 1881, 14 July 1881, 27 Mar 1882, 27 Aug 1891, *

West Coast Times West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

23 Mar 1881, 31 Dec 1884 * The Evening Post 28 June 1881, 21 Oct 1884, 12 Apr 1887, 28 Jan 1890, 12 Mar 1890, 13 Apr 1909, 15 &18 Apr 1911, 22 Nov 1926. * Te Aroha News 17 Jan 1885 *

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduction ...

6 Feb 1890 * North Otago Times 12 May 1891 *

The Marlborough Express The ''Marlborough Express'' is a newspaper serving the Marlborough area of New Zealand. Its headquarters are in Blenheim and has been published there since 1866. Ownership The ''Marlborough Express'' was set up by the printer, journalist and ed ...

4 Feb 1890. {{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand Sculling Championship Rowing competitions in New Zealand Rowing in New Zealand