Rowing, along with Sailing, has been continuously conducted at the Royal Hobart Regatta since its inception in 1838.

Originally, local and visiting whaling crews competed for valuable ‘purses’ of gold sovereigns, over a triangular course starting at Hunter Point (the site of the current grandstand), upstream to a point under Government House, then to the eastern shore Battery at Howrah Point, and return to the start at Hunter Point.

Later in the 19th Century the rowing races were conducted in eight-oared and four-oared boats with coxswains very similar in design to those still raced today. The current course is just over 1,100 metres in length, starting from a fixed toggle line attached to the abutments of the Tasman Bridge by the local Port Authority especially for our day/s of Royal Hobart racing.

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