The Petone Rowing Club (PRC) is a non-profit organisation, located on the Petone foreshore, in the harbour of

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. Formed in the year 1900, the club has a long-standing history of developing champion rowers, with a proud history filled with local, regional, national, international, and Olympic achievements. The club is governed by a member elected committee. The committee controls all aspects of the club. The most notable club champions, who have represented New Zealand at international rowing regattas such as the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

, and

Olympics 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 ...

include

Des Lock Desmond John Lock (born 2 October 1949) is a New Zealand rower. Lock was born in 1949 in Batu Gajah, Malaysia. He was a member of Petone Rowing Club. He represented New Zealand at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the coxless four in a team with Bob ...

, Ian Boserio,

Pat Abbott Buell Patrick Abbott (January 18, 1912 – 1984) was an American professional golfer. Abbott was born in Pasadena, California. In 1936, he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links, beating Claude Rippy 4 & 3. In 1938, he lost the U.S. Amateur to ...

, Tim Logan and

Viv Haar Vivian Tainui "Viv" Haar (born 27 August 1952) is a rower from New Zealand. Haar was born in 1952 in Taumarunui, New Zealand. He was a member of the Petone Rowing Club. He represented New Zealand in the coxed fours at the 1976 Summer Olympics ...

History

International achievements

Petone club members have consistently been selected as New Zealand representatives since 1950. Jack McCarten was the first person to be selected, he represented New Zealand at 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 ...

. Numerous more have been selected since then. In the 1970s the PRC enjoyed the greatest successes, in 1974 Des Lock represented New Zealand at the

, Bill Vine represented New Zealand as the New Zealand Colts Manager, and a young Viv Harr represented New Zealand as a New Zealand Colt. In the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champions ...

the selection of a Petone club member was repeated by Ian Boserio. Ruby Willis was selected for the

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 December of the year in which he reaches the age of 1 ...

held in Rio in 2015. Petone club members have completed at the

Henley 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 three ...

. Many Petone rowers hold world records for time trails at indoor racing events that are held all over the world, including Izzy Ahearn who in 2016 obtained the world indoor rowing record across a marathon distance for girls aged between 15 and 16.

National achievements

Petone Rowing Club was named Rowing New Zealand's club of the year in 2014.

Uniform

When the club was first formed the uniform was very different from the one we see today. It consisted of white trousers, a white cap with red buttons, a white singlet with a broad red sash, and a

boater hat __NOTOC__ A boater (also straw boater, basher, skimmer, The English Panama, cady, katie, canotier, somer, sennit hat, or in Japan, can-can hat, suruken) is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and ear ...

with a red band. By the 1960s the uniform had changed to gold singlets and black shorts. Currently the Petone uniform is fluorescent yellow singlets and black shorts.

Roll of Honour

World War I 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

World War II 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 ...

both had huge effects on most societies around the world. Petone Rowing Club was not excluded from this. Twenty one men fought in World War I from Petone rowing club. Four of these men lost their lives. Sixty-two men fought in World War II and seven of them lost their lives.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site
Rowing clubs in New Zealand Sport in Lower Hutt