King's Cup (rowing)


The King's Cup is Australia's blue riband annual rowing race for men. Since 1878 it has been contested by state representative senior heavyweight men's coxed eights at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. Since 1973 the Australian Interstate Regatta has been conducted on the final day of the week-long annual Australian Rowing Championships. The King's Cup is the final event of the Australian Championships and the Interstate Regatta.

Early history

Victoria and New South Wales commenced inter-colonial racing in eight-oared boats in 1878 when the Victorian Rowing Association invited New South Wales oarsmen from the Sydney and the Mercantile clubs to boat crews for a race on the lower Yarra River over about four miles. Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania all showed an interest in entering crews from the mid-1880s but disagreements over definitions of amateur status resulted in inconsistencies in eligibility criteria in the early decades. New South Wales held firm to a view that not just professional sportsmen and those employed around boats would be deemed non-amateurs but also all manual labourers. The other states had relaxed this view by 1899. Queensland and Tasmania first entered crews in 1885 and then Queensland raced regularly from 1890. From 1899 South Australia were racing annually. Following Federation the race became the interstate eight-oared championship with Tasmania and West Australia boating crews regularly by 1906.

The Trophy

Since 1921 the crews have competed for the King's Cup. The trophy had been won by a First Australian Imperial Force crew at the Royal Peace Regatta held in London in 1919 following the cessation of hostilities at the end of World War I and was presented to the victorious eight-oared boat by King George V. In time, and in spite of dogged resistance from the Australian War Memorial, the Victorian Rowing Association petitioned the King to express his intention for the Cup, and at his command it became the perennial trophy to be presented to the winning state representative men's eight at the annual Australian Rowing Championships.
The AIF #1 crew, all former club oarsmen who secured the King's Cup for Australia were seated as follows: Bow - Sgt. Archie A Robb ; 2 - Lieut. Fred A House ; 3 - Lieut. Thomas McGill ; 4 - Gnnr. Arthur Scott ; 5 - Lieut. Henry Hauenstein ; 6 - Maj. Sydney Middleton ; 7 - Gnnr. George William Mettam, WA; Str - Capt. Harold Clive Disher ; Cox - Sgt. Albert Smedley.

High-achievers

YearWinner2nd3rd
1878VictoriaNew South Wales
1879New South WalesVictoria
1880VictoriaNew South Wales
1881VictoriaNew South Wales
1882New South WalesVictoria
1883VictoriaNew South Wales
1884VictoriaNew South Wales
1885New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1886VictoriaNew South Wales
1887VictoriaNew South Wales
1888 iVictoriaNew South Wales
1888 iiVictoriaNew South Wales
1889VictoriaNew South Wales
1890VictoriaQueenslandNew South Wales
1891QueenslandNew South WalesVictoria
1892VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1893New South WalesVictoriaQueensland
1894VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1895VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1896VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1897VictoriaWestern AustraliaQueensland
1898VictoriaQueensland-
1899VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1900VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1901VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1902VictoriaSouth AustraliaQueensland
1903VictoriaQueenslandSouth Australia
1904VictoriaSouth AustraliaQueensland
1905VictoriaTasmaniaNew South Wales
1906TasmaniaVictoriaNew South Wales
1907VictoriaTasmaniaQueensland
1908New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1909TasmaniaVictoriaNew South Wales
1910New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1911New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1912VictoriaTasmaniaSouth Australia
1913South AustraliaTasmaniaWestern Australia
1914TasmaniaSouth AustraliaWestern Australia
1920South AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmania
1921Western AustraliaTasmaniaVictoria
1922South AustraliaVictoriaWestern Australia
1923South AustraliaWestern AustraliaVictoria
1924QueenslandNew South WalesSouth Australia
1925Western AustraliaTasmaniaNew South Wales
1926TasmaniaSouth AustraliaVictoria
1927Western AustraliaNew South WalesVictoria
1928Western AustraliaQueenslandTasmania
1929New South WalesWestern AustraliaVictoria
1930VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1932VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1933New South WalesQueenslandVictoria
1934New South WalesWestern AustraliaQueensland
1935New South WalesWestern AustraliaSouth Australia
1936New South WalesSouth AustraliaWestern Australia
1937South AustraliaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1938Western AustraliaNew South WalesTasmania
1939QueenslandNew South WalesSouth Australia
1946VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1947VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1948New South WalesWestern AustraliaSouth Australia
1949New South WalesWestern AustraliaVictoria
1950New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
1951New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
1952VictoriaNew South WalesTasmania
1953VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1954VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1955Western AustraliaVictoriaNew South Wales
1956VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1957VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1958VictoriaWestern AustraliaNew South Wales
1959New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
1960Western AustraliaNew South WalesVictoria
1961VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1962VictoriaWestern AustraliaTasmania
1963VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1964VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1965New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
1966VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1967New South WalesTasmaniaSouth Australia
1968New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1969VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1970VictoriaSouth AustraliaTasmania
1971VictoriaSouth AustraliaNew South Wales
1972New South WalesWestern AustraliaVictoria
1973Western AustraliaVictoriaSouth Australia
1974New South WalesSouth AustraliaWestern Australia
1975New South WalesSouth AustraliaVictoria
1976New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
1977New South WalesSouth AustraliaVictoria
1978New South WalesVictoriaTasmania
1979VictoriaSouth AustraliaNew South Wales
1980VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1981South AustraliaVictoriaQueensland
1982South AustraliaTasmaniaVictoria
1983South AustraliaVictoriaNew South Wales
1984New South WalesSouth AustraliaVictoria
1985VictoriaSouth AustraliaNew South Wales
1986VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
1987VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1988VictoriaSouth AustraliaNew South Wales
1989VictoriaWestern Australia-
1990VictoriaWestern AustraliaQueensland
1991VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1992VictoriaWestern AustraliaSouth Australia
1993VictoriaWestern AustraliaQueensland
1994VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1995VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1996VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland
1997Aust Capital TerritoryNew South WalesVictoria
1998VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
1999Western AustraliaVictoriaQueensland
2000VictoriaAustn Capital TerritoryNew South Wales
2001VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
2002VictoriaWestern AustraliaNew South Wales
2003VictoriaWestern AustraliaNew South Wales
2004New South WalesVictoriaQueensland
2005Western AustraliaVictoriaQueensland
2006VictoriaWestern AustraliaNew South Wales
2007VictoriaNew South WalesWestern Australia
2008New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
2009New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
2010New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
2011New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
2012New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
2013New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
2014New South WalesSouth AustraliaVictoria
2015VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
2016VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia
2017New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia
2018New South WalesVictoriaWestern Australia
2019New South WalesVictoriaSouth Australia