1950 SATIS Head of the River
Saturday, April 29 - Tamar River
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The 1950 Head of the River was initially cancelled in March of that year because of the threat of polio. However, restrictions on school sports were lifted and the regatta went ahead on Saturday, April 29 of that year.
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First Four:
The 1950 Head of the River was rowed on the Tamar, racing over 1⅛ miles from the Cattle Jetty to Royal Park. 6 crews contested the title race in 1950:
- The Friends’ School
- Hutchins School
- Launceston Church Grammar School
- Scotch College
- St. Patrick’s College, and
- St. Virgil’s College
The Mercury reported that the regatta day was met with ideal conditions with more than 2,500 avid supporters watching. In the First Four race, Hutchins were ahead from the start to 300 yards to go, however, a crew member caught a crab to which they lost a length. Friends' capitalised on this error and to win by ¾ length with St. Virgil’s in 2nd and Hutchins 3rd. It was The Friends’ School's second win in a row in which they had never achieved this feat before.
Second Four:
Over a ½ mile, there were the 6 schools competing for the Second Four title:
- The Friends’ School
- Hutchins School
- Launceston Church Grammar School
- Scotch College
- St. Patrick’s College, and
- St. Virgil’s College
The Advocate noted that like the First Four, The Friends’ School won the Second Four by a 1¼ lengths.
(There was no Third Four race in 1950)
First Four:
The Mercury wrote this account of the 1950 title race:
“Hutchins jumped away at the start to a half-length lead, and held it for all but the last 300 yards. Scotch College lost two lengths at the start, its rudder being entangled with the starting rope. Scotch was well over on the western shore at the start,as it drew No. 6 position, and when the crews were about to be sent away the rudder of the boat fouled the line. The coxswain put up his hand, but dropped it when the rudder was cleared. Just as the race started, however, Scotch fouled the line again, and lost a valuable two lengths. Hutchins, on the eastern shore, was out in front from the start, and in Nos. 4 and 5 position, on the western shore, Friends' and St. Virgil's also drew away from the three Northern crews. The race soon resolved itself into two divisions, with the Southern crews, which had had much more training, in the leading division. About 300 yards from the finish, Hutchins, still leading, met with misfortune, when a boy in the bow end of the boat "crabbed." Hutchins stopped rowing for five strokes, and lost more than a length. This was sufficient to let the strongly-finishing Friends' and St. Virgil's crews take the lead, and these two crews fought out a gruelling finish. Not more than three-quarters of a length separated the three Southern crews all the way. St. Patrick's College put up its best performance since it rowed three successive thirds in 1920-21-22, and it is the first time in the history of the head-of-the-river that St. Patrick's College has ever headed Grammar School.”
The Friends' School winning the 1950 Head of the River by ¾'s of a length over St. Virgil's
(Source: The Mercury, 1 May 1950)
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The Friends' School after winning the 1950 Golden Fleece Cup
(Source: The Mercury, 1 May 1950)
Second Four:
The Advocate wrote the following about the junior race:
“The Southerners proved too strong for Grammar, over the last stages and won by a length and a quarter. St. Virgil's cut Hutchins out of third placing over the last 50 yards.”
Organising Committee:
Tasmanian Rowing Association
Officials:
(Unknown)
First Four
Golden Fleece Cup
1⅛ miles
No Time Taken
Margins: ¾, 1 length
1st The Friends’ School – Bow: N. Bryce, 2: R. Noble, 3: G. McFarlane, Str: P. Thyne, Cox: S. Lester
2nd St. Virgil’s College – Bow: G. Hughes, 2: J. Fitzgerald, 3: J. Munro, Str: M. Counsel, Cox: J. Crawford
3rd Hutchins School – Bow: J. W. Cooper, 2: D. E. Kirby, 3: K. A. Webster, Str: R. S. Valentine, Cox: M. G. Darcey
4th St. Patrick’s College – (crew unknown)
5th Launceston Church Grammar – (crew unknown)
6th Scotch College – (crew unknown)
Second Four
½ mile
No Time Taken
Margins: 1¼, 2 lengths
1st The Friends’ School – Bow: W. Eldridge, 2: B. Jackson, 3: D. Dudgeon, Str: K. Burns, Cox: N. Salter
2nd Launceston Church Grammar – (crew unknown)
3rd St. Virgil’s College – (crew unknown)
4th Hutchins School – Bow: I. R. McIntosh, 2: B. D. Purvis, 3: G. L. Salmon, Str: H. M. Thompson, Cox: P. Parsons
5th St. Patrick’s College – (crew unknown)
6th Scotch College – (crew unknown)
Sources
FRIENDS SCHOOL RETAINS HEAD OF RIVER TITLE (1950, 1 May), The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: 1860 – 1954), p. 9, Retrieved 4 June 2020, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26700119
FRIENDS WIN ITS SECOND HEAD-OF-RIVER TITLE (1950, 1 May), Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: 1890 – 1954), p. 3, Retrieved 4 June 2020, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69217411
“HEAD OF RIVER” CANCELLED (1950, 16 March), The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: 1860 – 1954), p. 24, Retrieved 4 June 2020, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26696007
Hutchins School Magazine, June 1950