History of I Zingari Rowing Club (VIC)

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This Victorian club was formed in Melbourne, probably in 1875. It was a foundation club of the Victorian Rowing Association when the association was formed in 1876. However the club did not survive long. The last reference to this club as a race winning club is in 1877.

The name I Zingari provides some hints as to its nature and membership. The I Zingari Australia (cricket club) website, provides some interesting background.

I Zingari which translates from Italian as "The Gypsies" is one of the worlds oldest cricket clubs, founded in England in 1845, as an amateur wondering club' intent on spreading the game far and wide. I Zingari Australia, was founded in Sydney in 1888 and was given permission to use the name and colours of the English club three years later. It is the oldest social cricket club in New South Wales. The Colours of IZ are Black, Red and Gold and it has become commonly acknowledged that "Out of darkness, through fire, into light" is the foundation upon which the Colours of IZ are built. It is said to be most important that the Colours should always be worn showing the Gold at the top.

At a slightly later time, a similarly named rowing club in Adelaide was formed. However, the name was short lived as it was changed to the present Adelaide Rowing Club.

It is unclear as why rowing clubs in Australia were formed under this name. It is likely that these rowing clubs were comprised of members not connected by domicile or trade or profession, as were members of other rowing clubs, hence the Gypsy name connection. But the notion of a Gypsy style rowing club is incompatible with a sport requiring equipment and boathouse and so probably the reason for the change of name of the South Australian club and the short-lived nature of the Victorian club.

It is also likely that the membership comprised those who could afford the luxury of recreation and sought the rowing company of others similarly placed. This was probably another reason why it was short-lived. It was probably the idea of a couple of friends who used it during their rowing careers. Some of this Victorian club's better known members were:

J M Christie, famous Melbourne detective and sportsman
L W Bell of intercolonial rowing fame and who spent most of his rowing career with Melbourne Rowing Club. He was probably a founder of the club
J F Eddington of intercolonial rowing fame and who spent most of his rowing career with the Ballarat Rowing Club. He was probably a founder of the club

Sources:

I Zingari Cricket Club Australia website extracted 3rd April 2026 - www.izingari.com.au
Adelaide Rowing Club - The First 100 Seasons by R W Richardson published by Adelaide Rowing Club 1982
John Lang, The Victorian Oarsman, published by Massina & Coy, 1919

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, errors may exist. Please send advice of any errors or inaccuracies by email to:

Also your comments, suggestions and photos are sought to enhance this site.

The idea for this history originated from the Olympic Rowing and World Senior Rowing Championship histories written by Andrew Guerin and Margot Foster in 1991, 1992 & 1993 for the Australian team handbooks. Andrew Guerin developed and extended these histories to the current format in 2004 for publication in 2004 and then expanded the site.

Steve Roll has been an invaluable contributor to the website in locating errors and finding Christian names of rowers. His superb work is acknowledged.

© Andrew Guerin – 2004
These contents of this history are copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. However given that the purpose of the history is to assist rowers and rowing clubs, written permission is not required for non-commercial usage by rowers and rowing clubs provided acknowledgement is made.

Disclaimer: Whilst extensive efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied, the editors take no responsibility for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from inaccuracies contained in this work.