History of Rowing in the ACT

Celebrating 60 years

13. Daramalan College

Daramalan College has proud rowing history being one of the first schools in Canberra to row on Lake Burley Griffin, competing in numerous ACT Schools Head of the Lake, alongside Telopea Park High School, Watson High School, Lyneham High School, St Edmunds College and Canberra Grammar School. Back in the day the friendly rivalry between Daramalan and St Edmunds was always a highlight on Regatta Day.

Daramalan in the early days was very successful specifically with the School Boy IV event which was coached for several years by Brian Martyn. Brian was very important to the success of Daramalan and in 1973 he was elected to Life Membership of the Rowing ACT. Other important contributors to Daramalan Rowing have been Kevin Mongan, a supporter and BRO, Paul Rowe, a committed and successful coach and more recently Mike Brady, a coach and administrator who has been integral in continuing the Daramalan rowing story.

Daramalan’s involvement in rowing, like many clubs waxed and waned over the years, but the College never lost its connection to the sport, and the college can happily say that rowing has been and continues to be a regular part of college life. Generations of students have worn the red and black on the water, and the program is now one of the longest-running school rowing programs in the ACT.

Daramalan Rowing focuses on giving students the chance to enjoy the sport, learn to work as a team, build strong friendships and be competitive on the water. The current rowing facility was built in 1997 after many years of fundraising. Prior to this, the college shared a shed with Black Mountain Rowing Club on Black Mountain Peninsula.

Over the years many of our rowers have gone on to represent the College and the ACT at National school competitions and Australia Championships, NSW Championships and of course the ACT Head of the Lake and ACT Schools Championships. For our students, it’s not only about results, but also the early mornings, the friendships, and the memories that last well beyond school.

Today, Daramalan Rowing is still going strong, and we’re excited to keep sharing the sport with new generations of students.

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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.