Walter Neville Howell OAM (born 17 December 1929) is an Australian former representative and Olympic medal winning

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 ...

. He 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 vari ...

, racing at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the men's eight and at 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 ...

in the Men's coxed pair.Howell profile at Australian Rowing History
/ref> He won a gold medal at the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games in the Men's eight and represented in the Australian eight at the inaugural 1962 World Rowing Championships.

Club and state rowing

He was born in the

state of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...

and initially rowed from the Preston Rowing Club in Melbourne before moving to the Banks Rowing Club from 1951. Howell first made state selection for Victoria in 1951 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 Australian Interstate Regatta. He then rowed in every Victorian

crew from 1951 to 1962 except '58 and '61. In those ten crews he enjoyed six victories, three silver and one bronze medal finish.

International representative rowing

In 1956 for the

Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

the winning Kings Cup Victorian eight was selected as the Australian men's eight excepting for the 3 seat – Benfield from New South Wales. Howell rowed in the six seat in the thrilling final where the Australian eight took it to the US and Canadian crews and came away with a bronze medal.Howell at World Rowing
/ref> Four years later for the Rome 1960 Olympics he was selected with his Banks crew-mate Paul Guest and their 13 year old coxswain Ian Johnston to race Australia's coxed pair. They were eliminated in the repechage. The Banks RC men's senior eight were Victorian champions in 1962 and six of the oarsmen in that crew made up the 1962 Victorian

eight which was also victorious at the Interstate Regatta. That entire 1962 Victorian King's Cup crew was selected as the Australian eight to contest the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. T ...

. Howell stroked that boat to a gold medal victory at those games in Perth. That same crew was encouraged to represent Australia at the inaugural FISA World Championships, the 1962 World Championships in Lucerne. They financed their trip themselves, made it through to the final and finished in overall fifth place.1962 World Championships at Australian Rowing History
/ref>

Community contribution and leadership

After retirement from first-class rowing Howell lived and worked in the Ngambie and Bendigo region of northern Victoria. His community commendations noted in 2020 when Howell was awarded his Medal in the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

are set ought in Andrew Guerin's profile on Howell as in the Australian Rowing History and include the following: * Rowing clubman: Ngambie Rowing Club President; Bendigo Rowing Club President, Coach and Life Member; Banks Rowing Club Committee man and Life Member. *

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

: Bendigo South, member 1964-83 smf officeholder; Committee man for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards; District Governor's Representative. * Sportsmen's Asscn of Australia : Bendigo Branch, Member 1965-1981 and President 1974-77. * Rowing Victoria Hall of Fame : inducted 2015. * School Councillor : Kangaroo Flat Technical School; Golden Square Secondary College. * Committee member : Anti-Cancer Council Bendigo ; Victorian Olympic Council Fundraising Committee.

References

profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Walter 1929 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Rowers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from Victoria (state)