Whanganui Rowing Club unveils shiny new plaque on heritage building

The unveiling was attended by past members of the rowing club and former students of Whanganui Collegiate School.

The Whanganui Rowing Club has unveiled a blue heritage plaque.

The New Zealand Heritage Plaque (formerly known as the Heritage Blue Plaque) is part of a project to identify and promote local built heritage, through the use of a bold blue plaque.

On Friday, March 24, the plaque was unveiled on the historic Whangaui Rowing Club building. The Heritage status of the building is Heritage New Zealand category two.

The building is now known as the Riverboat Centre and Museum. It features displays on riverboats and the riverboat Waimarie, which departs from the neighbouring wharf for regular cruises up the Whanganui River.

The Whanganui Rowing Club started in 1875 following a meeting of 30 gentlemen at Anderson’s Commercial Hotel.

The plaque is attached to the building.

Anderson advised he had plans for a boat house and would make those available, and that he would guarantee £70 of the estimated £90 required. A number of founding members were Old Boys of the Whanganui Collegiate School.

The school was the first in New Zealand to adopt rowing as a sport in 1885, with the boys using the club boats to train four times a week.

The first race between the Whanganui Rowing Club and Whanganui Collegiate School was held in March 1886 with the school winning by two lengths. The crew were C.J. Wray, H.P. Swainson, W.S. Chubbin, J.W. Swainson and O. Gardner (cox).

Whanganui architect Thomas Harvey James designed the new boatshed for the club in 1898. James was a member of the rowing club and a Collegiate Old Boy.

The style of the building is frontier, associated with small American towns, with a number of examples in Reefton.

The 1892 Whanganui Rowing Club crew.

The building was used to restore the paddle steamer Waimarie, which was relaunched on the Whanganui River on January 1 2000.

The building was extended and altered to accommodate this restoration programme, which was carried out from 1992-2000, with much of the work done by volunteers.