Peter Gillon (11 August 1939 – 6 December 2018) was an Australian representative

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

who competed at two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. He competed at the 1960 Rome and

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

in the men's coxless four.

Club and state rowing

Gillon was educated at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. Th ...

, Melbourne where he took up rowing. His senior club rowing was from the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club and later the

Mercantile Rowing Club The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games. Club history A group o ...

in Melbourne.Gillon Profile at Austn Rowing History
/ref> The strength of Victorian rowing in the early 1960s was such that Gillon had already rowed at two Olympic Games before he was able to earn a seat in the Victorian state representative men's senior eight contesting 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 Interstate Regattas within the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. That selection came in 1965 when he rowed in the two seat of the Victorian eight to a second placing in the King's Cup behind NSW. He contested national title events at

first held in 1962 and thereafter every second year. He won silver in a coxed four at the 1962 Australian Championships and gold in Mercantile colours in a coxless four which he stroked in 1964.

International representative rowing

For the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

a Victorian

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

was selected as the 7th and last priority boat and wholly on the basis of self-funding. Gillon was picked in the three seat of that crew with the others coming from various Melbourne clubs -

Peter Guest Peter John Guest (born 14 February 1938) is an Australian former representative rower. He competed in the men's coxless four event at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Early rowing Guest was educated at Wesley College in Melbourne where he took up r ...

Brian Vear Brian Vear (16 November 1937The Banks Rowing Club obituary has a date of birth of 25 January 1937, Sports-reference has 16 November 1937 - 18 February 2008) was an Australian representative rower who competed at two Olympic Games. In later life ...

and

Kim Jelbart Kim Jelbart (4 May 1937 – 10 April 2024) was an Australian representative rower. He competed in the men's coxless four event at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Rowing pedigree Jelbart's father Ron represented Victoria in the single scull in 1930 ...

. The lack of coaching support provided to the team by the Australian Olympic Federation proved to be an issue. The four was eliminated at the repechage stage and there was no B final. For the

, the Austarlian 1964 national champion Mercantile coxless four was selected in-toto as Australia's coxless four entrants with Gillon at stroke. They placed 4th in their heat and 4th in the repechage, to be eliminated at that point, missing the B final and an overall regatta placing.

Professional career

Peter Gillon later became a

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

in Melbourne, as

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Gillon Group.

References

External links

Profile
at Australian Olympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillon, Peter 1939 births 2018 deaths Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Australian real estate businesspeople Place of birth missing People educated at Xavier College