Men’s Eight ‘King’s Cup’ 1950 & 1951 Rowing Oar Pair

$1,150.00

Description

These oar honour boards are a little slice of Australian and International Olympic History all rolled into one.  In 1950 & 1951 the NSW Men’s Eight Rowing Team contested the King’s Cup and won two years in a row.  Their names are lettered on the honour boards.  In 1952 seven out of the eight men mentioned on these two boards, went on to compete for Australia at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where they won a bronze medal.  Australia fielded a team of 87 athletes in 1952, and the oars come complete with a folder of information that includes photographs of the NSW teams crossing the finish line in the King’s Cups and marching at the Olympics, along with all the statistics.

There was controversy involved in the selection, because in the trials held twelve months prior to the Olympics, it was the Victorian team that had won, beating NSW.  The NSW team were battling illness as a result of injections they had received for overseas travel.  The selector decided to send the NSW team to the Olympics instead of Victoria, and lucky he did, or Australia may not have won a bronze medal!

The oars have been cut down, so they could be better presented hanging on a wall.  There are metal ring loops in the back of them.  For the past few decades they had been wrapped up securely, languishing in the rafters of a boat shed in Sydney.  They look fabulous just the way they are, with a certain aged patina, but could be cleaned up and restored if you wish.

The perfect vintage find for your boat shed, coastal themed home, man cave or for the rowing enthusiast.

Please email for some more close up images if you are interested, or call in-store where they are displayed in Shop 12.