Australians at 1961 Henley Royal Regatta

Mosman Rowing Club (VIC) - Stuart Mackenzie

Round 1 - Given a bye

Round 2 - Defeated J R Buzeman of Thames Rowing Club  by 1/2 length. The margin doesn't tell the story of the race. Mackenzie lead by two lengths early and then allowed his opponent to catch up before putting spurts to deny a change of lead.

Semi-final - Defeated Ian Tutty of Haberfield again by a small margin and again by allowing Tutty to remain  within a small margin. See below for details.

Mackenzie had written to Mosman asking to represent that Club at Henley and this was readily accepted. The centennial history of Mosman Rowing club added: MacKenzie was intending to race for his fifth straight diamond sculls at Henley, and said he would row in Mosman colours. He duly won, but the following year rowed for Leander Rowing Club, and won again. No athlete has even gone close to MacKenzie's record of six diamond scull wins. Things soured for the great sculler when he refused to come home from Europe to row selection trials for the 1962 Commonwealth Games. Having selected MacKenzie sight unseen for Rome only to have him unfit, the national panel insisted he race in Australia. Instead Mackenzie offered to row for England. They declined. 

Mackenzie in 1961 in Mosman colours
Photo by Joop van Bilsen for Anefo/ Anefo - http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a9d911b8-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6830904

Haberfield Rowing Club (NSW) - Ian Tutty

Round 1 - Given a bye

Round 2 - Easily defeated G Beech of London Rowing Club

Semi-final - Met Stuart Mackenzie who officially won by only 1/3 length but that was not the full story. Mackenzie led by 2 lengths at 1/4 mile and he kept Tutty at bay for the rest of the race. 

Harry Gordon in his essay on Mackenzie reported on the racing as follows. 

In his semi-final of the big race at Henley, against fellow-Aus­tralian Ian Tutty, Mackenzie rowed such a strange race that many critics were still doubtful about his fitness. Apparently playing cat and mouse, he continually baulked Tutty-and at one stage slowed up suddenly after taking his water, so that Tutty almost collided with his shell. For this he was cautioned by officials. He won by only a third of a length-and afterwards Tutty was most upset, which is not unusual for Mackenzie' s opponents. "If it had happened in Australia", he said, "Mackenzie would have been disqualified. He had me beaten, but he just wanted to show off" 

Next day Mackenzie outclassed the Russian Oleg Tjurin, who had replaced Ivanov as Russia's number one, to win the final and equal Lowndes' 78-year-old record of five straight Diamond Sculls victories.