Head of the River (Western Australia)


The Head of the River rowing regatta in Western Australia is an annual rowing event held at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre in Champion Lakes. There are two separate events. The boys regatta held in autumn, and the girls regatta held in winter.

Boys regatta

The Head of the River regatta is the last rowing event of the Public Schools Association calendar. The boys regatta held in early autumn is contested between the seven PSA boys schools: Aquinas College, Christ Church Grammar School, Guildford Grammar School, Hale School, Scotch College, Trinity College, and Wesley College.
The boys regatta for Head of the River was first held in 1899 between CBC Perth, The Church of England Grammar School, The Alexander Scotch College, and The High School.
Originally, the race for Head of the River was held between coxed fours from each school and the winning crew was awarded the Challenge Cup. When the PSA formed in 1905 rowing was one of the five inaugural sports of the competition and the Challenge Cup was awarded as a PSA trophy. In 1938 the Challenge Cup changed to the current race format between the first coxed eights from each school. Over the years the number of rowing events increased. In 1982 the Hamer Cup was introduced and awarded annually to the school which scored the most points for placings in each event at the regatta.
The course has changed many times. The regatta was originally held on the Swan River ending near the Narrows. When Perth won the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the regatta moved to the 6 lane Canning River course. In 1969 the event returned to the wider course on the Swan River at the base of Kings Park near the Narrows Bridge. Since 2009 the event has been held at the purpose built rowing course at Champion Lakes, Kelmscott. Records have tumbled since the venue change with records set in 2009 and 2010. The current record time for the 2000m event is 5 minutes 48.2 seconds.
The winner of the Challenge Cup in 2019 was the Christ Church Grammar School first VIII. Trinity scored the most points during the regatta to win the Hamer Cup.

Challenge Cup

1st IV winners 1899-1937 & 1st VIII winners 1938-present
YearWinner
1899The High School
1900CBC Perth
1901The Alexander Scotch College
1902The Church of England Grammar School
1903The Alexander Scotch College
1904The Alexander Scotch College
1905The High School
1906The Alexander Scotch College
1907The Alexander Scotch College
1908Scotch
1909CBC Perth
1910CBC Perth
1911CBC Perth
1912CBC Perth
1913Scotch
1914The High School
1915CBC Perth
1916CBC Perth
1917CBC Perth
1918The High School
1919The High School
1920Scotch
1921CBC Perth
1922The High School
1923CBC Perth
1924Guildford
1925The High School
1926CBC Perth
1927CBC Perth
1928CBC Perth
1929CBC Perth
1930CBC Perth
1931CBC Perth
1932Scotch
1933Hale
1934Scotch
1935Scotch
1936Scotch
1937Scotch
1938Scotch
1939Hale
1940Scotch
1941Scotch
1942Aquinas
1943Aquinas
1944Hale
1945Hale
1946Aquinas
1947Hale
1948Aquinas
1949Aquinas
1950Hale
1951Hale
1952Hale
1953Hale
1954Hale
1955Hale
1956Hale
1957Scotch
1958Christ Church
1959Christ Church
1960Scotch
1961Christ Church
1962Guildford
1963Christ Church
1964Christ Church
1965Aquinas
1966Aquinas
1967Christ Church / Scotch
1968Scotch
1969Aquinas
1970Aquinas
1971Hale
1972Aquinas
1973Aquinas
1974Aquinas
1975Aquinas
1976Aquinas
1977Aquinas
1978Scotch
1979Christ Church
1980Aquinas
1981Christ Church
1982Aquinas
1983Hale
1984Scotch
1985Scotch
1986Christ Church
1987Aquinas
1988Guildford
1989Aquinas
1990Scotch
1991Hale
1992Christ Church
1993Guildford
1994Aquinas
1995Aquinas
1996Trinity
1997Aquinas
1998Aquinas
1999Trinity
2000Hale
2001Wesley
2002Christ Church
2003Christ Church
2004Trinity
2005Christ Church
2006Christ Church
2007Trinity
2008Christ Church
2009Trinity
2010Trinity
2011Christ Church
2012Christ Church
2013Trinity
2014Christ Church
2015Scotch
2016Trinity
2017Guildford
2018Hale
2019Christ Church

NB: † Denotes no race

Challenge Cup tally

WinsSchool
37Aquinas
25Scotch
24Hale
19Christ Church
8Trinity
6Guildford
1Wesley

Overall points
YearWinner
1982Scotch
1983Aquinas
1984Scotch
1985Aquinas
1986Aquinas
1987Aquinas
1988Aquinas
1989Aquinas
1990Aquinas
1991Aquinas
1992Guildford
1993Aquinas
1994Aquinas
1995Aquinas
1996Aquinas
1997Aquinas
1998Aquinas
1999Aquinas
2000Hale
2001Guildford/Hale
2002Trinity
2003Trinity
2004Trinity
2005Christ Church
2006Scotch
2007Trinity
2008Trinity
2009Scotch
2010Trinity
2011Trinity
2012Trinity
2013Guildford
2014Scotch
2015Trinity
2016Trinity
2017Trinity
2018Christ Church
2019Trinity

Hamer Cup tally

WinsSchool
16Aquinas
12Trinity
5Scotch
3Guildford
2Hale
2Christ Church
0Wesley

Girls regatta

In the winter season several private Perth girls schools in the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association race for the title.

1st VIII winners

YearWinner2nd3rd
1999St Hilda'sPLCMLC
2000St Hilda'sPenrhosPLC
2001MLCPerth CollegePLC
2002MLCPenrhosPLC
2003MLC
2004MLCSt Hilda'sMLC
2005PenrhosMLCPerth College
2006MLCPerth CollegePenrhos
2007Perth CollegePLCMLC
2008Perth CollegeSt Hilda'sMLC
2009MLCPenrhosPerth College
2010MLCPenrhosPerth College
2011MLCPerth CollegeSt Hilda's
2012PLCMLC
2013PLCMLC
2014MLCPLCSt Hilda's
2015PLCMLCPerth College
2016PLCMLCSt Hilda's
2017PLCMLCSt Hilda's
2018PLCMLCSt Hilda's

Overall points score

YearWinner2nd3rd
2005PenrhosPerth CollegeSt Hilda's
2006Perth CollegePenrhosSt Hilda's
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014PLCPerth CollegeSt Hilda's
2015PLCMLCPerth College
2016PLCPerth CollegeMLC
2017PLCPerth CollegeMLC
2018PLCMLCPerth College