Speaking generally of University form in Australia, it is far inferior to that of a good college eight. Nor is the reason far to seek. There is no such recruiting ground as, for instance, Eton or Radley, not to mention other rowing schools, nor are there the opportunities for making oars such as the college clubs at the two great Universities present, with the successive stages of the Torpids and Lent races, the May and Summer Eights, Henley, and the Trial Eights. Coaching, as in England, from the tow path or a fast steam-launch, is practically impossible, and the number of those who have a scientific knowledge of oarsmanship, and, what is rarer still, the gift of imparting it to a crew, individually and collectively, is small indeed. Coaching in Australia is done from the stern, or from another boat, or by an occasional view from the bank, sometimes from a launch seldom fast enough to keep up, or range abeam. Pair-oar tubbing is of course utilized. Sydney University rowing is, however, far superior to non-University oarsmanship. The men sit up, use their backs and legs well, understand the knee work at the end of the slide, and do not rush their recovery. They are somewhat deficient in fore and aft swing,
have a tendency to sky the feather, and rarely catch their water at the first. Melbourne rowing is wanting in body work, and conspicuous for absence of length. The men apparently are taught to discard on slides every approach to fixed-seat form, instead of to retain as much as possible. Thanks to a strong Oxford inspiration in Adelaide, and a belief in fixed-seat form as the foundation of good rowing on slides, an Adelaide school or University crew is conspicuous for length, reach, and swing. The pace of the eights is far behind English standard.
Boatbuilding in Australia.
It was the opinion of Hanlan that in the matter of boats and sculls he had never been so well served as by Donnelly and Sullivan of Sydney, a judgment as regards sculls endorsed by Beach and Searle. Chris. Nielsen, the sculler, has brought out a boat which he claims to be faster than the ordinary wager boat, with, against, or without tide, in rough water or smooth. The dimensions for an 11½ stone man are—length, 23 ft.; beam, 16 ins.; depth, 7 ins.; for'ard, 6 ins.; aft, 5½ ins.; full lines throughout; height of seat from heel plates, 7 ins.;
height of work from seat, 5¾ ins.; needs no fin, steers well, very light off hand; weight without fittings, 14 lbs. Riggers are bicycle tubing fittings, ordinary Davis gate; Colonial cedar, pine, and hickory timbers. The Australian-built boats are probably, so far as lines, general design, and workmanship, quite equal to the best English craft. For pairs, fours, and eights the Melbourne builders, Fuller, Edwards, and Greenland, are of the first class. They use a skeleton frame for the slides, built with angle pieces. This has all the rigidity of Clasper's more solid style, is lighter and stronger, and when the boat is being emptied allows the free escape of water. A Colonial eight is certainly lighter than those sent to Australia by Clasper or Rough. Probably the English builders have overestimated the weight of Australian eight-oar crews, which do not scale anything approaching a 'Varsity eight. Seating down the middle is generally preferred, which the present writer thinks has everything in its favour. The great drawback from which local builders suffer is the want of seasoned cedar. From this cause their boats do not last as long as English ones.
Times.
I am not disposed to place much reliance on time as a test of a crew or a sculler, as conditions can never be so identical as to make comparison a safe guide. Still a certain interest attaches to records. It is contended that the Parramatta is a fifth slower than the Thames. The best trial with the tide that I know of is for a mile, 5 mins. 20 secs. with a four; 4 mins. 47 secs. with an eight. Over the whole course, 3 miles 330 yards, an eight has put up 17 mins. 12 secs., one mile of which was compassed in 4 mins. 52 secs. On the Yarra the Victorian Eight of 1889 is said to have rowed two measured miles in 10 mins. 2 secs. At Brisbane, in 1895, the Sydney International Eight, with a strong stream, compassed three miles in 15 mins., but the distance is doubted. On the Nepean course, 3 miles 440 yards, Sullivan beat Bubear in 19 mins. 15 secs., no current.