Melbourne Argonauts Rowing Club

Home
Australia
Albert Park, VIC
Melbourne Argonauts Rowing Club

The Melbourne Argonauts is Australia’s first LGBTIQ+ rowing club and one of only a handful of independent LGBTIQ+ rowing clubs in the world.

The Melbourne Argonauts Q***r Rowing Club was formed in 2001 and held our first Annual General Meeting on a train from Melbourne to Geelong. During that train journey the club name was suggested by club founder Meredith (Maxi) Williams and selected from a list of names which included "The Glub Glub Club", "The St Kilda Rowing Club" and the "Melbourne Blades". The name was voted on by a process of elimination and the "Melbourne Argonauts" was the last name standing. At the time there was some question as to the validity of the vote as some of the passengers on the train were not at all connected with the club and may have swayed the vote away from some other less likely starters
Our Mission

Our mission is to be a rowing club in the q***r community and a q***r club in the rowing community. We aim to provide an alternative and healthy environment where we can access the sport of rowing, to promote awareness of the q***r community in mainstream sport and to have some fun along the way! From a small group of strangers on a train the club is now an established participant in the rowing community with our own annual regatta, regular participation at local regattas, annual participation in the Head of the Yarra and representation on various governing boards and activities. We participate in the gay and le***an community as regular attendees at the Melbourne Pride March and by holding an annual Trivia Night. The Argonauts competed at the Montreal and Copenhagen Outgames and at the Chicago Gay Games. Being inspired by the heroes of ancient Greek mythology it seems almost logical that we named our first boat The Argo. Since then we have acquired a boat fleet with names variously inspired by our participation at our first Outgames (Montreal), figures of Greek mythology (Medea), literary figures and their writings (Katherine Mansfield: Truth and Risk), club personalities (Anastasia Beaverhausen) and founders (Sandy Mitchell).

21/09/2026

Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour 🇫🇷

Ahead of our Silver Anniversary Gala, we’re working through our archives and sharing some of our favourite moments from the past 25 years

Were you there when the Argos attended the Paris Gay Games in 2018?

We had 20 Argos make the trip to Paris, training through the dead of an Australian winter only to arrive and find themselves rowing in 40+ degree heat 🥵

Crews rowed at the future Olympic course at Vaires-sur-Marne, which was still under construction, coming away with an incredible haul across fours, eights, pairs and singles 🥇

Club members were very chuffed to run into founder, Maxi Williams, around the lake who later joined coxed one of the most exciting eights races held during the event

As ever, the racing was only part of it. The opening ceremony was a highlight and genuinely felt like being at an Olympics, and the week was just as much about the people, making new friends from clubs around the world, catching up with ex-Argos rowing with the London Otters, and even competing against, and sharing podiums with, other Melbourne rowers and ex-Argos - a pretty special couple of days 🫶

Were you an Argo at the time or were you there in Paris? Send us a message with your story!

And don’t forget to get your tickets to our Silver Anniversary Gala Dinner on 31 October - available here: https://events.humanitix.com/melbourne-argonauts-silver-anniversary-gala

20/09/2026

A big night for the Argos, celebrating Andy’s Top 3 placement in Male Grade Rower of the Year 💜

A great way to celebrate an even greater year that saw the Argos place Top Five in the State’s Premiership Standing and fellow Argos Jesse, Matt and Ber also making the Top 20 Male Grade Rowers of the season 🎉

A big thank you to Rowing for hosting a fabulous night - great to see the Big V bringing so many people together!

Gooooooo Argossss 💜

18/09/2026

We love Camp Camp 🌈

Weekends are great but rowing weekends are greater! We had an amazing time at Lake Eildon last weekend, with a huge group of Argos making the journey for our annual Camp Camp trip away ⛺️

We had lots of fun on the water as we dusted off the cobwebs and got ourselves ready for the upcoming season 🚣

Conditions could not have been better, with smooth water and sunshine all weekend - in summary a dream weekend for the Argos 💜

Great to see so many of our recent LTR graduates joining us, alongside Tim our special guest coach and trivia host Duo Lingho 🦜

A big thank you to everyone who made the weekend possible and oh so memorable - let’s do it all again next year 💕

14/09/2026

Our gala speakers 💜

We are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating our Silver Anniversary with two very special guest speakers

Club Patron, the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG and Member for Albert Park, Nina Taylor MP are our headline guests for the evening as we mark over two decades of community, inclusion and q***r representation

About our speakers 🎤

The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG is one of Australia’s most distinguished jurists, legal scholars, and human rights advocates, and serves as the proud Club Patron of the Melbourne Argonauts Q***r Rowing Club

Fun fact: our very best Hudson Eight is named after him 🚣

The State Member for Albert Park and Cabinet Secretary of Victoria, Nina Taylor MP is a dedicated local representative and has been a fabulous champion for our club since being elected in 2022

Join the celebrations and get your tickets today! They are selling fast so get in quick via Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/melbourne-argonauts-silver-anniversary-gala

See you there 💜

11/09/2026

New boat, who dis 💜

Ahead of our Silver Anniversary Gala, we’re working through our archives and sharing some of our favourite moments from the past 25 years

Were you there when the Argos launched two boats named after our life members, Maxi Williams and Mark Burgess?

Of course, Maxi needs no introduction to our members. As one of our club founders, her legacy will forever be the wonderful community she created after helping to set up a q***r rowing club all those years ago!

As for Mark, his dedication to the club is still felt by members today - even after moving home to New Zealand. Learning to row with the Argonauts, he went from strength to strength during his time at the club and even became a grade three coach 🥳

Wondering where the boats are now? Come down to our Silver Anniversary Gala and see for yourself! We will have some of our fleet on display upstairs. Tickets available from https://events.humanitix.com/melbourne-argonauts-silver-anniversary-gala

(Spoiler alert - the answer is yes! We continue to train and race both boats, with the Burgess winning a Saltwater race just last weekend and the Maxi winning six races in the last winter sculling series 🥇🥇🥇)

09/09/2026

Announcing our gala MCs 🎤

We are thrilled to announce that Brian Barry and Ber Bamberg will be hosting our Silver Anniversary Gala, bringing their glamour, wit, and energy to the stage 🥳

They join our incredible guest speakers—including Club Patron the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG and Nina Taylor MP—to celebrate 25 years of the Argos community and its legacy 🤗

About our hosts:

Brian Barry is a former Argonaut. He hosted the club’s annual fundraiser Trivia night for many years (appearing in the guise of Agnetha from ABBA, Dolly Parton, Wonder Woman, The Queen and a nun). He’s looking forward to co-MC’ing this event as himself!

Brian owes the club an important debt as it led to his becoming a Dad when two of the women in the club asked him to be their donor! Talk about putting your oar in!

Ber is a current Argonaut and hosts Ber’s Erg Clerb every Monday morning. You might recognise him as the winner of the Q***rlympics dance off at the Midsumma Carnival or from *checks notes* the most recent season of Australian’s Married at First Sight

Tickets are selling fast. Grab yours today and join us for the q***rest night of the year!

https://events.humanitix.com/melbourne-argonauts-silver-anniversary-gala

07/09/2026

Welcome to our newest Argos 💜

A massive congratulations to our latest LTR group who wrapped up their four week program last week 🥳

From learning the basics on Day One to a friendly race piece last night, they’ve grown up so quickly 🥹 So great to see so much enthusiasm for rowing and the club too!

A big thank you to the coaches, coxes and members that made the sessions possible - couldn’t have done it without you (a massive shout out to Y Rowing Club for lending us an eight as well!)

Our next LTR runs early next year - look out for announced dates on our socials and website 🌈

Can’t wait to see you all the sheds 💜

06/09/2026

We’re backkkkk 🥳

This weekend saw the start of the regatta season with two Argos crews racing in the Saltwater Challenge 💪

There was wind, more wind, and then some torrential rain (see video) but all athletes persevered with some fantastic results across the board 🥹

A big congrats to Oskar, James, Matt, Sam and Alan for taking the MC4X+ win but also (checks notes) recording the Argos best time for the course at 17.46 minutes 😳

A huge shout out to Essendon Rowing Club for hosting us all and for some 10/10 commentary - your volunteers totally nailed the event and we can’t wait to race this again next year 🥳

Goooo Argos 💜💜💜

26/08/2026

Another year, another OutGames 💜

Ahead of our Silver Anniversary Gala, we’re working through our archives and sharing some of our favourite moments from the past 25 years

Were you there when the Argos attended the Antwerp OutGames? After successes in Montreal and Copenhagen, there was no hesitation in finding members to represent Australia in Antwerp with a fabulous contingent reaching Belgium in August 2013

Of course, medals and competitions were won during the games but the highlight was a post regatta row fit for a queen – right through the canals of the medieval city Ghent 👑

This included rowing through a castle in the centre of town with our expert coxswain, Ian Symmons, navigating the crew through darkness before light appeared and the boat arrived inside the castle keep 🏰

And the closing party? You bet we were there, with members dressing for the occasion as our very own Argos boy band (complete with custom Argos leggings by Rufskin!)

Were you an Argo at the time or were you there at in Antwerp? Send us a message with your story – we’d love to hear from you!

23/08/2026

Argos conquer Copenhagen 🇩🇰

Ahead of our Silver Anniversary Gala, we’re working through our archives and sharing some of our favourite moments from the past 25 years

Were you there when the Argos attended the Copenhagen OutGames?

Following success at the inaugural Montreal OutGames three years earlier, a large contingent of members journeyed to Copenhagen in 2009, proudly donning the Argos zootie for Australia

Success came early, with the Argos winning a medal on day one of racing despite some confusion at the finish line (a premature call of “easy oar” meant giving up the silver medal for bronze!). Consolation came in the form of a social row through the Copenhagen canals – a stunning way to end the regatta!

The main racing was at Lake Bagsvaerd and was made possible by the national Danish rowing team who lent their sheds and rowers for the event. Crews sometimes included rowers from around the world, lending itself to a very unique challenge: deciding what language to call commands in on the way to the start line!

The regatta also brought together Argos alumni living in London who came over and rowed to more bronze medal winning glory. Once an Argo always an Argo!

Were you an Argo at the time or were you there at in Copenhagen? Send us a message with your story – we’d love to hear from you 💜

Address

34 Lakeside Drive
Albert Park, VIC
3206

Website

http://www.melbourneargonauts.com.au/contact

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Melbourne Argonauts Rowing Club posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Melbourne Argonauts Rowing Club:

Want your business to be the top-listed Gym/sports Facility in Albert Park?