Roger Berkeley Fitzhardinge (23 March 1879 – 9 January 1965) was an Australian rower. He was a dual Australian champion who stroked an Australian crew which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

at the

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 ...

in 1912 and the Australian men's eight at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Club and state rowing

Fitzhardinge competed for the Sydney Rowing Club and later served a term as the club's vice-president.Fitzhardinge Profile at Australian Rowing History
/ref> He was selected to stroke New South Wales eights which contested the Australian interstate men's eight events at the Interstate Regattas in 1903, 1904, 1908 and 1911. Those New South Wales crews with Fitzhardinge at stroke were victorious in 1908 and 1911. For the three years from 1909 to 1911 he was the selector of the New South Wales men's eight. In 1913 and 1923 he was New South Wales state selector. In 1932 he was an Assistant coach of the St Joseph's College Hunters Hill first VIII in their victory in that year's GPS Head of the River.

International representative rowing

An Australian eight was selected in 1912 to compete at the

and the Stockholm Olympics. It was a co-operative venture between the NSW and the Victorian Rowing Associations, there being no Australian governing body at the time. Much of the funding for the trip came from the Victorian Rowing Association and the families of the two Victorian crew members Simon Fraser and

Harry Ross-Soden Harry Ross-Soden (17 May 1886 – 29 June 1944) was an Australian rower who competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics. University rowing Born in St Kilda, Melbourne Ross-Soden attended Melbourne Grammar School where he took up rowing. He rowed in t ...

. The Australian eight needed to nominate at

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location * Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England ** Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...

as a club entrant and raced as the Sydney Rowing Club from which five of the crew and coxswain were drawn. Fraser, Ross-Soden and the Leichhardt man Henry Hauenstein joined the Sydney Club to legitimise the entry. Fitzhardinge was the

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at Henley when the eight progressed through their match races and beat the Leander Club in the final to take the 1912

. Onto Sweden for the

and with

Keith Heritage Keith Heritage MC (1882 – 26 July 1916) was an Australian national champion and representative rower and a 1st AIF officer who fell on the Western Front in WWI. He is credited with being the first Australian to volunteer for the AIF at the o ...

changed out for the UK resident Australian Hugh Ward, Fitzhardinge again stroked the Australian eight. They beat a Swedish crew in the first round then in the quarter-final they were knocked-out by same

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...

eight they'd triumphed over at Henley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzhardinge, Roger 1879 births Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australasia Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics 1965 deaths Rowers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales