“… the first man not bred in England to win the great prize of the championship of the world who had won honour for the people of the whole of these colonies”. Words of praise from the then Premier of New South Wales, the Hon. Sir John Robertson…
In 1876, Australia didn’t exist as a nation; we were an unfederated collection of ‘colonies’, not the cohesive modern nation of today with our own history, traditions, institutions and distinctive culture. Those developments were in their infancy; with the first stirrings of nationhood being stoked by people such as the politician William Charles Wentworth, the novelist Marcus Clarke and the extraordinary feats of Trickett. In 1876, Gallipoli and the ANZAC legend were an unimagined (and unimaginable!) horror – a trial-by-fire yet to come.
Trickett’s convincing win was reported in London with a combination of shock and grudging admiration. As it turned out, his victory was the start of a Golden Age for professional sculling in Australia: the world title was held by seven Australians for 22 of the 31 years between 1876 and 1907. When Trickett returned home to Sydney it was reported that more than 25,000 people turned out at Circular Quay to welcome him home.
Trickett, wasn’t just from the ‘colonies’, he was of the ‘colonies’: a Currency Lad, born in Woolwich on the Lane Cove River in Sydney. His father was a former convict and a bootmaker and his mother was Irish. After a remarkable early rowing career in New South Wales a Sydney publican, James Punch, organised a public subscription enabling Trickett to travel to London to challenge for the World Sculling Championship title.
Trickett’s achievement was arguably an important early contribution to a separate and proud Australian identity – including the good-humoured and keenly-expressed battles against the ‘old enemy’.
To learn more about Australia’s First World Champion in any sport, visit the City of Canada Bay Museum at 1 Bent Street, Concord on Saturday, 6th July, where Lyndon Lockrey, Ned Trickett’s Great Great Grandson, will tell us more about the Life and Times of Edward Trickett. We will also be unveiling the latest acquisition to our collection. Everyone is invited. Entry Free. See Poster under coming events for more details.
Recently we received an almost complete set of the magazine “Inside History”. Unfortunately, eight of the issues were missing – Issues Nos. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 18 and 34. If any of our readers have one of these they no longer want, we would be most happy to accept the donation.
Christmas is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus although there is no evidence he was born on that day. It was declared his birthday in 440 AD. In England Christmas was originally called Yule. The old Saxon word Yule meant mid-winter. However when the Saxons were converted to Christianity the word Yule came to mean…
The armistice of 11 November 1918 was celebrated in Concord with fervour. Citizens immediately formed tin-can bands and took to the street and within twelve hours of the news of armistice the Western Suburbs Master Carriers’ Association had organised what was then the largest procession in the history of the Western Suburbs. Beginning at Concord…
The Needlework Tool Collectors Society of Australia (NTCSA) began in 1987 in Melbourne, growing from the enthusiasm and interests of two sisters, Katrina and Jenny, who gathered together their friends and fellow collectors to form the Society. When travelling interstate, they would arrange to have afternoon tea with other collectors, inviting them to join. As numbers grew, it became…
Pasta was not eaten in Australia Curry was a surname A takeaway was something to do with a mathematical problem A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower All potato chips were plain: the only choice we had was whether to put salt on or not Rice was only eaten as a rice…
Gertrude Moberly was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on New Year’s Day 1880 and grew up in Walcha, NSW, where her father was rector. She moved to Sydney in 1894 where her sister, Nora Moberly, was matron of Dulce Domum Private Hospital in Hardie Street, Neutral Bay. Moberly trained as a nurse at Royal Prince Alfred…