Historical information

"As with most items in the AP-SMRC collection, the ‘chain of ownership’ is not formally recorded for this item. The image is not unique, but is one of a set that was produced for each of the men represented in the photographs, with perhaps additional copies for the SMRC. Lance Gallagher, speaking with Ms (Grace) Blake and the consultant (Mrs Margaret Birtley) on 8 June 2014, recalled the photograph well and confirmed on 17 July 2014 that he has a personal copy."
2014 Significance Assessment, p28.

Significance

"This item comprises two photographs mounted together with a caption that identifies the men depicted as being a South Melbourne Rowing Club (SMRC) crew and coach. Representing Victoria, this crew won the first Championship for Lightweight Fours at an Interstate Regatta. The race was contested on the Nepean River, NSW, on 3 May 1958. The photograph of the crew was taken on the Yarra River, Victoria, prior to the Regatta and was used for publicity in the Regatta program.16 The victory was significant to SMRC because the oarsmen and coaches (although not the coxswain) were members of that club. The item is a memento of the club’s success, through its crew, at an elite and national level.
The Lightweight Four Championship event’s first hosting at Penrith on the Nepean River resulted in a perpetual trophy being donated by that local municipal council.
The race for the Lightweight Championship Four continues to this day as a featured event at the annual Interstate Regatta. The Penrith Cup lends its name to this prestigious event. It is unusual for Interstate race crews to be drawn entirely from a single club; more typically, the state representative crews are selected as composites. The selection of an all-SMRC crew for this inaugural race between representative Lightweight Four crews testifies to the exceptional standards at SMRC during this period.
The item is of historic significance because it provides pictorial evidence of the crew and the club’s success in a national competition and in a category of event that was being contested at the Interstate Regatta for the very first time. It also carries social significance through the captioning that credits the victory as being the club’s rather than the state’s, and thus reflects the pride of the SMRC in the achievements of its oarsmen and coaches."
2014 Statement of Significance, p30

Physical description

Unframed photograph of the crew which won the inaugural interstate men’s lightweight coxed four in Penrith, 1958.

Inscriptions & markings

Lightweight Championship of Australia / Won by / South Melbourne Rowing Club / May 6th, 1958
Coach W. Graham / Lance Gallagher Stroke / George Taylor No. 3 / Harry Stevens No. 2 / Bob Tanner Bow / Eddie Jones Cox / South Melbourne state crew ??? This event became the Penrith Cup.

Subjects

References