Brisbane Schoolgirl Rowing Head of the River review

Head of the River latest: All Hallows’ slight favourites; the crews revealed for Saturday’s famous Brisbane Schoolgirl Rowing Association regatta.

The Brisbane Girls' Grammar School's rowing First VIII.

The time-honoured Brisbane Schoolgirl Rowing Association Head of the River Regatta will unfold on Saturday at Wyaralong Dam when crews from nine schools compete.

All Hallows’ School, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Brisbane State High School, Lourdes Hill, St Hilda’s, St Peters Lutheran College, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, Somerville House and Stuartholme School will all chase coveted silverware in what is one of the highlights of the Queensland sporting calendar.

The All Hallows’ School First VIII were in form across the season, although St Margaret’s defeated them last weekend.

All Hallows’ depth was shown last year when it drew the Aggregate Trophy with St Hilda’s and the crew is striving for more success this regatta.

The All Hallows First VIII hard at rowing.

The famous Head of the River, featuring the VIII crews, is the feature of the regatta, but no less notable will be the aggregate winners.

St Hilda’s School were tracking nicely to claim the 2023 aggregate trophy.

Over the years both treasured trophies have been shared around.

The St Hilda's School VIII crew - PIcture courtesy of Callum Whitton/ CD Visuals.

St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School, who along with Somerville House and BSHS, combined for the first schoolgirl race in 1989, feature as winners.

St Margaret’s has won the Head of the River 16 times and secured the aggregate trophy 12 times, while Somerville House has won the Head of the River six times and the aggregate trophy nine times. BSHS has twice won the Head of the River.

The St Peters Lutheran College rowing 1st VIII.

But all other schools, except Lourdes Hill, had either won the Head of the River or the aggregate trophy.

Competitive schoolgirl rowing started in 1989 when founding father Tony Elliot’s daughter Debra, a year 8 student at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, asked her dad if he could teach her to row.

The Lourdes Hill First VIII rest up after a race.

The following year, 1990, Elliot wrote to 24 girls schools asking who would be interested.

There were 14 replies and of those, 12 started rowing immediately.

And that was the start of what would become the Queensland Schoolgirl Rowing Association regattas, although schoolgirl rowing in SEQ has existed for nearly a century.

The Somerville House First VIII crew.

Past winners, Head of the Rivers (and Aggregate)

1990 Somerville House, Aggregate N/A

1991 Somerville House, Aggregate N/A

1992 Brisbane State High School, Aggregate N/A

1993 Brisbane State High School, Aggregate N/A

1994 Somerville House, Aggregate N/A

1995 Somerville House, Aggregate N/A

1996 All Hallows’ School, Aggregate St Margaret’s

1997 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

1998 Stuartholme, Aggregate Somerville House

1999 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2000 All Hallows’ School, Aggregate not awarded

2001 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2002 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2003 Somerville House, Aggregate Somerville House

2004 St Aidan’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2005 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Aidan’s

The Lourdes Hill Division 1 Year 9 Lourdes Hill College crew.

2006 Somerville House, Aggregate Brisbane Girls Grammar

2007 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Aidan’s

2008 St Peters, Aggregate St Aidan’s

2009 St Margaret’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2010 St Peters, Aggregate Somerville House

2011 St Margaret’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2012 St Margaret’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2013 St Margaret’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2014 St Margaret’s, Aggregate Somerville House

2015 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2016 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2017 St Hilda’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2018 Stuartholme, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2019 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Hilda’s

2020 Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2021 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Margaret’s

2022 St Margaret’s, Aggregate St Hilda’s School/All Hallows’

The crews feature a Stuartholme young gun, Grace Moffat, who will compete in both the Open First VIII crew, and also in the Year 10 First Quad.

There was disappointment in the Stuartholme community with Amelia Edmonds unavailable due to injury, but she has not been forgotten by her crew or by us and we delight in mentioning her here.

Birds eye view - Stuartholme preparing on the Brisbane River.

The Crews

Stuartholme Rowers: Open First VIII: Grace Bentley (cox), Molly Coventry, Grace Moffatt, Eloise Hill, Lucy Hedberg, Grace Atkins, Gemma Giblett

Year 10 First Quad: Margie Betts (cox), Olivia Totten, Grace Moffatt, Paige Van Gelder, Lily Haddad

Year 9 First Quad: Josie Fitzgerald (cox), Greta Nott, Sophie Fryer, Tyra Jensen, Jaime O’Connor

Year 8 First Quad: Olive Plawecki (cox), Poppy Coventry, Charlotte King, Petra Newham, Holly Taylor, Amelia Edmonds (injured)

The All Hallows' School First VIII in full cry.

All Hallows’ School First VIII

Phoebe Cannon, Nell Murphy, Claudia Munn, Grace Valentine, Gabrielle Ryan, Danielle Watt, Edie Russell, Abbey Collins, Bridget Oberthur (Coxen)

The Year 8 Rowing Firsts take a break.

Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School

First VIII: Bow: Georgia Mackay, 2 Seat: Sophie Crane, 3 Seat: Ella Valery, 4 Seat: Harper Hammer, 5 Seat: Georgia Petersen, 6 Seat: Astrid Thomas, 7 Seat: Astrid Coates, Stroke: Chloe Chambers, Cox: Isabel Skarott

Year 10 Firsts: Bow: Cate Ward, 2 Seat: Pia Hatzipetrou, 3 Seat: Holly Clarke, Stroke: Evie Sayer, Cox: Ruby Robinson

Year 9 Firsts: Bow: Millie Bender, 2 Seat Willa Dunbar, 3 Seat: Emma Bond, Stroke: Holly Fleming, Cox: Anna Goslin

Year 8 Firsts: Bow: Ruby Pennell, 2 Seat: Saskia Schmidt, 3 Seat: Macy Hammer, Stroke: Olivia Yuen, Cox: Maddie Knight

Lourdes Hill Division 1 Year 8 crew.

Lourdes Hill College

Open 1st VIII: Mollie Macdonald, Elodie Lee, Olivia Brandon, Paris Reid, Georgia Sharp, Milena Willcox, Bethany Harvest, Cianna Becker, Cox: Sienna Slennett-Roberts

Year 8 Division 1: Lily Nolan, Lucinda Staley, Kaitlyn Smith, Ruby-Lee Ross, Cox: Eloise Davey

Year 9 Division 1: Bridie Dumigan, Matilda Dammers, Grace McLucas, Isabel Stokes, Cox: Samara Ryall

The Lourdes Hill First VIII rest up after a race.

Year 10 Division 1: Carmen Eccleston, Sarah Rakich, Aniella Staley, Kalani Thurgate, Cox: Bridgette Trembath

A glorious sunrise shot of the Somerville House First VIII.

Somerville House B: Savannah Weeks, 2: Lila Meredith, 3: Felicity Bishop, 4: Madeline Wauchope, 5: Lily Slatter, 6: Madelyn Milne, 7: Kate Bradford, 8: Anna Bradford, C: Cate Cairns

St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School First VIII: Bow: Millie Campbell, Alice O’Toole, Gabby Sypher, Ava Mulholland, Ella Welsh, Grace Turnbull, Georgia Montague, Stroke: Jemima Rice, Jillian Cooke (cox).

The St Margaret's crew rose to beat All Hallows' School in the final event before the Head of the River.

St Peters Lutheran College

Bow: Megan Brook, 2: Niamh Searls, 3: Poppy Yarski, 4: Mackenzie Burley, 5: Jessica MacOwan, 6: Laura Kenny, 7: Robyn Matthews, 8: Tiare Rayner, Cox: Olivia Axelsen.

St Hilda’s School

First VIII: Cox Maeka Free, STROKE Grace Champion, 7 Cyra Bender, 6 Eva

Pinkerton, 5 Lucy Corish, 4 Piper Holtsbaum, 3 Zoe Maher, 2 Alexi McCarthy, BOW Emily Holz

Year 10 1st QUAD: Cox Sydney Prendergast-Burtenshaw, Stroke Sarah Smith, 3 Lila Jolly, 2 Ella McDermott, BOW Erica Mahon

The St Hilda's School VIII crew - PIcture courtesy of Callum Whitton/ CD Visuals.

Year 9 1st QUAD: Cox Clementine Henderson, stroke Dalia Ferraro, 3 Sara McCarthy, 2 Isabella Karathanasopoulos, 1 Nikita Rogers

Year 8 1st QUAD: Cox Tyra MacMillan, stroke May Summons, 3 Lahni Nolan, 2 Sienna Lea’aetoa, 1 Isla Hawkins