Mercantile Rowing Club

Club history

Competition history & representative success

Club presidents

• W. K. Thompson 1880–89
• J. B. Whitty 1889–1903
• A. R. Blackwood 1903–1905
• Sir Stephen Morell 1905–1933, a Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
• A.L Dobbie 1933–1955
• J.G.H Sprigg 1955–1982
• Robert R Aitken M.B.E 1982–1993, coach of the Olympic bronze medallist VIII Melbourne 1956.
• David Boykett 1993–1997, an Olympic bronze medallist Melbourne 1956.
• Andrew Guerin 1997–2004, rowing historian and Olympic rowing team manager at Barcelona 1992 & Atlanta 1996.
• P Batters 2004–2010
• Malcolm Batten since 2010, a 1986 World Champion and 1988 Olympian.

  Members

• William S Boyd, founder and inaugural captain 1880–1889
• CS Cunningham, captain 1889–92 and an Olympic selector who accompanied the Australian VIII to Stockholm 1912
• Noel Donaldson, coach of the Oarsome Foursome at the time of their 1990 and 1991 World Championships and 1992 Olympic victory.
• Brian Richardson, coach of the Australian men's VIII at Barcelona 1992 and head coach at Sydney 2000.

• David Boykett, Olympic bronze medallists Melbourne 1956 and a competitor at Tokyo 1964
• Garth Manton, Brian Doyle, Harold Hewitt Olympic bronze medallists Melbourne 1956.
• David Douglas Olympic silver medallist Mexico City 1968.
• Robert Lachal, Martin Tomanovits, Graeme McCall, Anthony Walker, Richard Garrard, Simon Newcomb, Peter Gillon who competed at Tokyo 1964.
• Andrew Withers who competed in the Australian men's VIII at Moscow 1980.
• Ion Popa was in the Australian VIII which won the bronze medal at Los Angeles 1984 and competed in the VIII at Seoul 1988.
• Samuel Patten was in the Australian VIII which won the bronze medal at Los Angeles 1984, competed in a pair with Malcolm Batten at Seoul 1988 and competed in Barcelona 1992
• Susan Lee won the first Australian women's rowing medal, a bronze in the Women's 4+ at Los Angeles 1984.
• Mark Doyle competed in the men's VIII at Seoul 1988.
• Four of the various members of Australia's Oarsome Foursome — Mike McKay, James Tomkins, Andrew Cooper and Drew Ginn who staged multiple successful Olympic campaigns in pairs, fours and eights.
• Ben Dodwell who competed at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
• Peter Murphy and David Colvin of the Australian men's VIII at Barcelona 1992.
• Brett Hayman coxed the men's VIII at Atlanta 1996.
• Rebecca Joyce bronze medallist at Atlanta 1996.
• Georgina Douglas competed in a single scull at Sydney 2000.
• Katie Foulkes coxed the women's VIII at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
• Matthew Long bronze medallist at Sydney 2000.
• David Crawshay gold medallist at Beijing 2008 and a competitor at Athens 2004 and London 2012.
• Josh Dunkley-Smith and Sarah Tait silver medallists at London 2012.
• Pauline Frasca competitor at London 2012.

• Samuel Patten, Mike McKay, James Tomkins, Andrew Cooper and Drew Ginn who all won various World Championship titles as the Oarsome Foursome.
• Rebecca Joyce 1995 World Champion women's lightweight sculler.
• Brett Hayman 1997 World Champion coxing a lightweight VIII and dually in 1998 coxing a pair and a four.
• Pauline Frasca, Robyn Selby Smith, 2005 dual World Champions and Fleur Chew 2005 World Champion in the women's VIII.

  Footnotes