Australian King's CupLocationPenrith Lakes, AustraliaOrganiserRowing AustraliaYears Active1878 - current CourseVenue of the Australian Rowing ChampionshipsCourse length2,000mEventsFinal event of the Annual Interstate RegattaTrophyKing's Cup since 1921Course imageThe bridge at the SIRC The King's Cup is Australia's blue riband annual rowing race for men. Since 1878 it has been contested by state representative senior heavyweight men's eights at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. Since 1973 the Australian Interstate Regatta has been conducted on the final day of the week-long annual Australian Rowing Championships. The King's Cup is the final event of the Australian Championships and the Interstate Regatta.

Early history Victoria and New South Wales commenced inter-colonial racing in eight-oared boats in 1878 when the Victorian Rowing Association invited New South Wales oarsmen from the Sydney and the Mercantile clubs to boat crews for a race on the lower Yarra River over about four miles. Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania all showed an interest in entering crews from the mid-1880s but disagreements over definitions of amateur status resulted in inconsistencies in eligibility criteria in the early decades. New South Wales held firm to a view that not just professional sportsmen and those employed around boats would be deemed non-amateurs but also all manual labourers. The other states had relaxed this view by 1899. Queensland and Tasmania first entered crews in 1885 and then Queensland raced regularly from 1890.Intercolonial racing at Guerin Foster From 1899 South Australia were racing annually. Following Federation the race became the interstate eight-oared championship with Tasmania and West Australia boating crews regularly by 1906.

The Trophy

Since 1921 the crews have competed for the King's Cup. The trophy had been won by a First Australian Imperial Force crew at the Royal Peace Regatta held in London in 1919 following the cessation of hostilities at the end of World War I and was presented to the victorious eight-oared boat by King George V. In time, and in spite of dogged resistance from the Australian War Memorial, the Victorian Rowing Association petitioned the King to express his intention for the Cup, and at his command it became the perennial trophy to be presented to the winning state representative men's eight at the annual Australian Rowing Championships.

The AIF #1 crew, all former club oarsmen who secured the King's Cup for Australia were seated as follows: Bow - Sgt. Archie A Robb (Derwent Rowing Club, Tasmania); 2 - Lieut. Fred A House (Derwent Rowing Club, Tasmania); 3 - Lieut. Thomas McGill (Leichhardt Rowing Club, NSW); 4 - Gnnr. Arthur Scott (Murray Bridge Rowing Club, SA); 5 - Lieut. Henry Hauenstein (Leichhardt Rowing Club, NSW); 6 - Maj. Sydney Middleton (Sydney Rowing Club, NSW); 7 - Gnnr. George William Mettam (West Aust Rowing Club), WA; Str - Capt. Harold Clive Disher (Melb Uni Boat Club, Vic ); Cox - Sgt. Albert Smedley (Sydney Rowing Club, NSW).

High-achievers James Tomkins rowed in Victorian King's Cup VIIIs on eighteen occasions between 1985 & 2008 for fifteen victories and three 2nd places. Mike McKay rowed sixteen times for Victoria in the King's Cup for thirteen wins and two seconds.McKay at Hall of Fame Karsten Forsterling contested the King's Cup in Victorian VIIIs on twelve occasions in the fifteen-year period from 2001 to 2015. He was in the winning crew on six occasions and placed 2nd six times. James Chapman contested the King's Cup in NSW VIIIs on twelve occasions in the thirteen years from 2003 to 2015. He was victorious on seven occasions. He rowed in crews with Samuel Loch, Matt Ryan and Fergus Pragnell to six consecutive victories between 2008 and 2013. Spencer Turrin of Sydney Rowing Club raced for NSW in ten consecutive King's Cups between 2013 and 2023 for seven victories. Josh Hicks raced for WA in nine consecutive King's Cups between 2014 and 2023, five times as stroke. David Anderson of the Leichhardt Club rowed in eight consecutive New South Wales King's Cup VIIIs from 1950 to 1957 for two victories. Phil Cayzer stroked the New South Wales King's Cup VIII on five occasions from 1948 to 1954, winning the championship in 1949, 1950 and 1951. Alan Grover coxed the New South Wales King's Cup VIII five times consecutively from 1962 to 1969 and then in 1980 for a sixth time. Michael Morgan rowed in New South Wales King's Cup VIIIs for six consecutive years from 1968 to 1973, winning the title in 1968 and 1972.

Winners

+ Results Year Winner 2nd 3rd 1878 Victoria New South Wales 1879 New South Wales Victoria 1880 Victoria New South Wales 1881 Victoria New South Wales 1882 New South Wales Victoria 1883 Victoria New South Wales 1884 Victoria New South Wales 1885 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1886 Victoria New South Wales 1887 Victoria New South Wales 1888 i Victoria New South Wales 1888 ii Victoria New South Wales 1889 Victoria New South Wales 1890 Victoria Queensland New South Wales 1891 QueenslandNew South Wales Victoria 1892 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1893 New South Wales Victoria Queensland 1894 VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland 1895 VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland 1896 VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland 1897 VictoriaWestern AustraliaQueensland 1898 VictoriaQueensland 1899 VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia 1900 VictoriaNew South WalesQueensland 1901 VictoriaNew South WalesSouth Australia 1902 VictoriaSouth AustraliaQueensland 1903 VictoriaQueenslandSouth Australia 1904VictoriaSouth AustraliaQueensland 1905VictoriaTasmaniaNew South Wales 1906 TasmaniaVictoriaNew South Wales 1907VictoriaTasmaniaQueensland 1908 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1909TasmaniaVictoriaNew South Wales 1910 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1911 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1912 Victoria Tasmania South Australia 1913 South Australia Tasmania Western Australia 1914 Tasmania South Australia Western Australia 1920 South Australia Western AustraliaTasmania 1921 Western AustraliaTasmania Victoria 1922 South Australia Victoria Western Australia 1923 South Australia Western Australia Victoria 1924Queensland New South Wales South Australia 1925Western AustraliaTasmania New South Wales 1926 Tasmania South Australia Victoria 1927 Western Australia New South Wales Victoria 1928 Western Australia QueenslandTasmania 1929 New South Wales Western Australia Victoria 1930 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1932 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1933 New South WalesQueensland Victoria 1934 New South Wales Western Australia Queensland 1935 New South Wales Western Australia South Australia 1936 New South Wales South Australia Western Australia 1937 South Australia New South Wales Western Australia 1938 Western AustraliaNew South Wales Tasmania 1939 Queensland New South Wales South Australia 1946 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1947 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1948 New South Wales Western Australia South Australia 1949 New South Wales Western Australia Victoria 1950 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 1951 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 1952 Victoria New South Wales Tasmania 1953 Victoria New South WalesWestern Australia 1954 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1955 Western Australia Victoria New South Wales 1956 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1957 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1958 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales 1959 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 1960 Western Australia New South Wales Victoria 1961 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1962 Victoria Western Australia Tasmania 1963 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1964 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1965 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 1966 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 1967 New South Wales Tasmania South Australia 1968 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1969 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 1970 Victoria South Australia Tasmania 1971 Victoria South Australia New South Wales 1972 New South Wales Western Australia Victoria 1973 Western Australia Victoria South Australia 1974 New South Wales South Australia Western Australia 1975 New South Wales South Australia Victoria 1976 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 1977 New South Wales South Australia Victoria 1978 New South Wales Victoria Tasmania 1979 Victoria South Australia New South Wales 1980 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 1981 South Australia Victoria Queensland 1982 South Australia Tasmania Victoria 1983 South Australia Victoria New South Wales 1984 New South WalesSouth Australia Victoria 1985 Victoria South Australia New South Wales 1986 Victoria New South WalesSouth Australia 1987 Victoria New South WalesQueensland 1988 Victoria South Australia New South Wales 1989 Victoria Western Australia 1990 Victoria Western Australia Queensland 1991 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1992 Victoria Western Australia South Australia 1993 Victoria Western Australia Queensland 1994 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1995 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1996 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 1997 Aust Capital Territory New South Wales Victoria 1998 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 1999 Western Australia Victoria Queensland 2000 Victoria Austn Capital Territory New South Wales 2001 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 2002 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales 2003 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales 2004 New South Wales Victoria Queensland 2005 Western Australia Victoria Queensland 2006 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales 2007 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia 2008 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 2009 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 2010 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2011 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2012 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2013 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2014 New South WalesSouth Australia Victoria 2015 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 2016 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 2017 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2018 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 2019 New South Wales Victoria South Australia 2020 - Did not race - 2021 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 2022 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia 2023 New South Wales Victoria Queensland 2024 Victoria New South Wales South Australia 2025 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 2026 Queensland Victoria South Australia

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