Commercial Rowing Club

🙌 Our first ever ‘Giving Day’ to the CRC Future Fund.
 
More than a fundraiser, our Big Give is a shared moment of purpose, bringing together athletes, families, past members and friends to invest in the future of our great club 🩵💙
 
All past and present members are encouraged to donate $50 or $100, or more if you choose.
 
🗓️ Saturday 6 June
⏰ 24 hours only

⭐️ Donations received will be matched by our generous Big Givers!
 
➡️ More info on our website
 

It was 1936.  

A young Lionel Hetherington had joined CRC and soon after, won his first race in the Novice pair. His love affair with rowing was born.

The following year, Lionel won in the Novice 4, Trial 4, Maiden 4 and Junior 4 categories and became an active CRC committee member.

He served as secretary 1938-40 and represented CRC on the Brisbane District Rowing Association. By now, he was winning the Open Mens 4.

During this time, Lionel met Joyce on the dance floor at our famous O’Connor boat house and they began stepping out together 🥰

Unfortunately, Lionel’s beloved rowing life was disrupted as he joined the Australian Imperial Force to fight WWII.

He managed to marry Joyce in 1943 and they had a daughter in 1944.

In 1946, he was back on the CRC committee but tendered his resignation at the end of that year - life had got very busy!

Earlier this year, Lionel’s daughter, Margaret contacted us from England for information about Lionel’s time at CRC to tell Jack...

Jack is Lionel and Joyce’s great grandson, and has just been invited into the Great Britain rowing program after pulling the best erg score of any schoolboy tested! 🇬🇧

We wish him great success 🩵💙

She picked up an oar for the first time at 44. Now in her 70s, she's a national champion - and she's changing lives on the other side of the world! 🚣‍♀️

Meet Barb Hall - one of CRC's most extraordinary members.

By day (and most pre-dawn mornings), she's at the shed with our women's masters squad, training hard and competing harder. In 2021 she took gold in the G1x at the National Regatta in Adelaide. In 2017 her crew started last at the Head of the Yarra.... and passed 11 boats to win!

But rowing is only part of Barb's story.

Since 2013, she has travelled to Uganda and Bangladesh up to three times a year, performing free surgery for women living with debilitating conditions, and training local gynaecologists to continue the work long after she leaves. Every patient is treated at no cost, funded by the HADA and DAK foundations.

Swipe to meet the woman behind the oar. ➡️

🙌 It’s our first ever ‘Giving Day’ to the CRC Future Fund.

More than a fundraiser, our Big Give is a shared moment of purpose, bringing together our athletes, families, past members and friends to invest in the future of our great club 🩵💙

💰We ask all members past and present to donate $50 or $100, or more if you choose.

🗓️ Saturday 6 June
⏰ 24 hours only!

4 teams will vie for top honour:
⭐️ Masters women (super-efficient)
⭐️ Masters men (strong finishers)
⭐️ Youth athletes (dark horses)
⭐️ Past members & friends (the surprise package)

Donations received will be matched by our generous Big Givers! 🤩

➡️ Info on our website

For many, the NSW Masters Championships, held in Penrith last weekend, was the choice short-course finale in lieu of the Australian Masters Championships in Perth.

The weather conditions were near perfect and provided our masters ladies the opportunity to race against unfamiliar and highly competitive athletes from the southern states.

The training paid off and a fresh haul of medals was the reward 💪

CRC crews:
🥈x 1
🥉x 3

Composite crews:
🥇x 1
🥈x 1
🥉x 1

Well done ladies!🩵💙

💙 CRC gives back :: Youth Week 2026

When one of our own puts the call out, Commercial Rowing Club answers.

CRC member Lisa Dwan reached out to our Masters ladies to support a self-care workshop hosted by PCYC Napranum for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls in Far North Queensland - and our ladies didn't hesitate for a second.

Together they donated close to five boxes of makeup, sending a little glitter and gloss north to Napranum as part of Youth Week 2026. The girls got creative, expressed themselves, built confidence and had an absolute blast doing it.

A heartfelt thank you to Lisa for leading the charge, to our wonderful Masters ladies for rallying so quickly, and to PCYC Napranum for creating such a meaningful space for young women in their community.

This is what community looks like. 💙

Napranum Pcyc

Are you ready, CRC?

⏰ 24 hours only!

🗓️ Saturday 6 June

It was 1995.

The destination was Poznan in Poland for the Junior World Rowing Championships. 🇵🇱

Under coach Robin Bakker’s guidance, the young Rob Mill had done all the hard work and was ready to compete in the single scull.

Robin was also well equipped for the event having mastered how to say “two beers” in Polish. 🍻

As it turned out, beer was possibly the safest thing to consume in Poznan where “people were dropping like flies!”

“You’d get your meal ticket to eat at the course and reserve your spot in the ambulance”, Robin said.

Australia had to scratch the Men’s 8+, the Women’s 8+ and the Men’s 2x! 🤢

Thankfully, Rob Mill was not affected, and in a field of 34 competitors, he won his heat and had a heroic row in his semi to make the final.

“With 2 wins by a young sculler who had rowed well and given every ounce, I was really pleased and proud to have been there”, Robin said. 🩵💙

They say the strongest friendships are forged in fire 🔥

For HP athletes, Alex Cook and Will Dalgliesh, this couldn’t be more true. 

They first met as rivals in LM1X at the 2026 Qld Champs and both made podium at just 17yo.

When they raced against each other again in U23 LM1x A final at the NSW Champs, they knew bigger things lay ahead.

At ARC 2026, they raced together for the first time in LM2x. 

The water was terrible and the competition were faster, older and more experienced 2x scullers. But they trusted each other and when the starter buzzed, they didn’t hold back 💪

It was a dominant race and they executed the plan perfectly - loose, direct, stay long, keep the rate high and win the middle k. 

With 500m to go, they saw a boat one length up - Will made the call and they powered through to finish first over the line🥇

“We were both super surprised and happy with the win because we put everything into it!”

“This wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing coach, Jacinta Edmunds, who’s expertise and adaptability in those crazy conditions allowed us to thrive” 🩵💙

The grapevine is alive and buzzing amongst our female rowers – they’re always ready!

⏰ 24 hours only…

🗓️ Saturday 6 June.