The Shellharbour City Rowing club will be remembering history on Saturday when they hold their inaugural "Bill Beach Head", which is an event honouring William "Bill" Beach, a champion Australian sculler and a Dapto local, who learnt to row on Lake Illawarra in the 19th century when professional sculling was an international sport.
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The event will aim to celebrate the life of Beach, whilst also trying to bring the sport back to the Illawarra in a big way. Event organisers are expecting 13 crews and 72 athletes to compete.
Beach had an illustrious rowing career, which included the title of undefeated World Sculling Champion from 1884 to 1887. The Bill Beach Head event will be a 12 kilometre time trial around Lake Illawarra.
Rowing club member Kevin Wall told the Mercury he was proud the event was about to get underway. He said it was crucial to remember the history in order for the sport to grow locally.
"I remember saying to the committee we have to grow the sport and remember him and that will hopefully grow the sport," he said.
"The event has been in the planning stages for a while now. In the last couple of years the Rowing club has made strides and we've held a couple of championships. Holding this event is a massive step forward for us in growing the sport in the Illawarra."
In 1884, Beach "astonished the world" by defeating Canadian Edward Hanlan in the World Professional Sculling Championships on the Parramatta River.
Beach was a well-known figure in the Illawarra, with the undefeated world champion involved in local rugby union and cricket clubs, as well as a featuring as a local councillor.
Wall said he hopes the event becomes a yearly occasion.
"It's really all about getting the name out there and growing the sport," he said.
"If we set this event up once, then [hopefully] it will be there every year. Everyone involved with the Club is delighted that this event is going ahead."
The race will start in Oak Flats with a 12-kilometre time-trial and will go up around Gooseberry Island in Wollongong. Beach used to be a custodian of the Island in the 1800s.
Wall added the Rowing Club had been making strides in recent times and this event was a testament to the hard work that has been put into building the organisation.
"In the last two years we've added a lot of good people and we've got people of all different age groups involved," he said.
"Even recently we've had a Tokyo Olympic medalist asking me if they could come down and row with us. The Lake is quite simply an unused asset of the area so it needs to be utilised."
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