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australian rowers profiles and history

John D Hudson

Mosman Rowing Club then Leichhardt Rowing Club (NSW)

John was bound to commence rowing at school given his physique and also his pedigree - his father rowed in three Shore first crews and was Captain of Boats in 1928 when the school first won every race at the Head of the River regatta. Interestingly, John matched the Captain of Boats honour in 1958, as did his son at Melbourne Grammar School in 1988 and his grand-daughter at the Fahan School in 2022 - no pressure on subsequent generations! Also, his daughter captained Glenorchy Rowing Club and won the inaugural 2022 Australian Coastal Championship Masters Mixed Double. 

Late in 1958, and whilst still at school, Dr Eric Longley invited John to take a 15 minute ergometre test on one of the old Professor Cotton machines at Mosman. He then rowed under Dr Longley's scrutiny with Mick Allen in a tub pair which didn't please Mick, then resting from the Empire Games. His worth was correctly assessed and was placed straight into the senior eight. 

His star was on the rise and noticed by the State selectors in his first year out of school, going straight into the State crew in 1959. This crew won the King's Cup, the last to be raced over three miles. Not surprisingly, this race is highly rated by John as one of his most memorable. They won by four lengths in Perth in a "splendidly controlled" race in which "you could hear the boat sing" and "they could have continued" beyond the three miles. It sounds like a magic row.

Economics at St Andrew's College, Sydney University beckoned in that year and so did an Intervarsity race in the eight. Finding economics "dull and misleading, it was the pre-behavioural era, where theoretic perfect world analysis prevailed", a switch to Commerce at UNSW followed. Contemporaneously, he undertook a three-year marketing cadetship with Unilever Australia. 

In the Olympic year of 1960, Mosman turned the tables and won the State Eight Championship with John in the six seat. The stern five, cox and coach all went into the NSW crew which finished second in the King's Cup. The combination of the NSW crew's 'banana' shaped boat resulting in the rudder not always maintaining contact with the water and the failure of the coxswain's cox box, all led to NSW steering an erratic course. Despite reeling in Victoria, WA had done too much early to be beaten.

With WA becoming the Olympic Eight, the crew focused on the Olympic test races. He raced the coxless four test race in a coxed boat carrying compensating weights for the missing coxswain, and steering with a foot out of the stretcher tied to rudder strings - they covered more than the required 2000m. Despite winning that race, they also competed in the coxed four race which was more competitive and their Olympic selection was for the coxed boat. Although not yet 20 years old and in the stroke seat, he benefitted from the extensive experience of Lionel Robberds in the coxswain seat. His respect for Lionel is as strong today as it was then. The crew raced well in the Olympic Games and was the only Australian crew to qualify for the finals. The conflicts of historical training for 3 mile racing as opposed to the international 2000m racing, the lack of international experience and advances in equipment technology all showed. The move from 3 mile racing to 2000m racing in Australia was made permanent as a result in 1960.

1960 Olympic Coxed Four
Bow: Maxwell Annett, 2: Graeme Allan, 3: Peter Waddington, Str: John D Hudson, Cox: Lionel P Robberds

A growing respect for the Leichhardt approach to racing and a disagreement with a manager at Mosman, led John to move to Leichhardt Rowing Club. It was not long before he was its Captain. He raced there in 1963 and 1964 with great success. Two more NSW King's Cup crew selections were rewards for this racing. 

Work opportunities arose and rowing had to take a back seat until his son started rowing. John really enjoyed his subsequent coaching but pressure of work and family were too great for this to become serious.

His working life is as interesting as his stellar rowing career. His studies were terminated by requirement to assist in a family printing business. He is clearly very entrepreneurial creating success with new business commencements in cellulose conversion and inbound tourism (Australian events and experiences).

"My rowing observations, training in marketing with Unilever and work in experiential events, coalesced into a focus on motivation in business (incentives)."  Long-term associations with large corporate clients in Victoria necessitated a move from Sydney to Melbourne. Two of his incentive-based marketing campaigns have been awarded as world's best, and he was founding President of the Australian Incentive Association, now subsumed into the Australian Marketing Institute. John has also spent a good deal of time speaking on business incentives and training practitioners in the USA and Europe, and in promoting business tourism to Australia.

Despite all of this he remains a self-deprecating and engaging person. Further he shows no signs of wanting to retire despite advancing years. He is a very interesting individual. 

Known rowing record

1956 - GPS Head of the River, Shore: Yaralla Cup (then for First Fours) 2 seat - 1st 

1957 - GPS Head of the River, Shore First VIII, four seat – 3rd 

1958 - NSW Championships, Junior Eight, six seat - 1st

1958 - GPS Head of the River, Shore First VIII, six seat – 2nd

1958 - Captain of Boats, Shore

1959 - NSW Champion Senior Eight (Mosman), six seat - 2nd

1959 - Interstate Championships, NSW Kings Cup, two seat - 1st

1959 - University  Championship Sydney University Men's Eight, six seat – 2nd 

1960 - NSW Championships, Men's Eight (Mosman), six seat – 1st

1960 - Interstate Championships, NSW Kings Cup crew, six seat – 2nd

1960 - Australian Olympic Test Race (Nepean) Coxless Four (Mosman/Leichhardt composite), stroke seat – 1st

1960  -Australian Olympic Test Race (Lake Wendouree) Coxed Four (Mosman/Leichhardt composite), stroke seat – 1st

1960 - Olympic Games, Men's Coxed Four, stroke seat – 5th 

1963 - Interstate Championships, NSW Kings Cup crew, six seat – 2nd 

1964 - Interstate Championships, NSW Kings Cup crew, six seat – 2nd 

1964 - Australian Olympic Test Race, Men's Coxless Four, bow seat – 2nd 

1964 - Captain of Leichhardt Rowing Club

Three years of coaching entry and lower level rowers at Melbourne Grammar School.

Sources

Andrew Guerin
June 2021 (updated May 2023)

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