Royal Perth Yacht Club
Short name | RPYC |
---|---|
Founded | 1865 |
Location | Australia II Drive, Pelican Point, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia |
Commodore | Dr Janet Hornbuckle |
Website | Royal Perth Yacht Club |
The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a yacht club in Perth, Western Australia.[1][2] It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.[3] It is based at the Crawley Marina on Pelican Point and at the Fremantle Annexe in Challenger Harbour.
Royal Perth Yacht Club is a member of the International Council of Yacht Clubs.
Since 2000, Royal Perth Yacht Club has hosted the Sailability WA program to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in sailing activities.[4]
Early history
The Royal Perth Yacht Club can trace its origins to 1841, when a group of sailors staged a modest regatta to celebrate Foundation Day. A subsequent regatta was held in 1843, and then the First Perth Regatta was held on 18 June 1851. In 1865, this original group of pioneer sailors formalised the Perth Yacht Club.[5]
Early regattas at the club included yacht races and gig rowing races. Duck hunting was also popular at this time.
In 1865, WH Knight was elected as founding President of the Perth Yacht and Boat Club[6] and at meeting on 17 March 1870, the first sets of “Sailing Rules”[6] were framed. Royal Perth Yacht Club have an original copy of the Rule Book dated 1880 within the Club Archives. The earliest trophy, dated 1885, is displayed in the club's Wardroom Trophy Cabinet. The first Ladies Committee to be associated with the club was appointed by General Committee in 1885.[6] The first mention of Junior Members in Minutes from 1910 read – “Gentlemen over the age of 16 and under 21, not being the owner of a boat, may be accepted as a Junior Member”. There was no nomination fee and the annual subscription was One Guinea.[5]
In 1880, a jetty was built at the foot of William Street on Perth Water. In 1889, Talbot Hobbs submitted plans for a new Club House. The plans were drawn and the tender of two hundred and thirteen pounds was accepted. In the same year, the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Frederic Napier Broome, declared the Clubhouse open at a banquet to celebrate the occasion.[7]
In 1890, the club received the
In 1903, the Commissioners of the
In 1920, the clubhouse was extended and the club formed the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve in Western Australia. The club shifted to Crawley on Melville Water in 1953 when the William Street site, through siltation, became unusable.[11]
America's Cup
RPYC fielded the yacht Southern Cross in the 1974 America's Cup, the first aluminium yacht to compete in the regatta, and the yacht Australia in the 1977 America's Cup and the 1980 America's Cup.
In
Australia II innovative design by Ben Lexcen, included features such as a reduced waterline length and a short chord winged keel.[12]
Prime Minister Bob Hawke was interviewed at the celebrations on the morning of September 27, 1983 at Royal Perth Yacht Club, where he made the famous statement to journalists that "Any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum".[13]
RPYC hosted the
The entrance road to RPYC in Crawley was commemoratively renamed Australia II Drive. To mark the 30th anniversary of the America's Cup victory, the second mast of the Australia II was permanently installed by the foreshore outside the clubhouse from which the undefaced Blue ensign and Club burgee are flown.
Notable sailors and events
A number of sailors from RPYC have competed in the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. These include:
- AM - won silver at 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Australia's first Olympic medal in Sailing (12 m2 SharpieClass)
- OAM - won gold at the 2000 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- OAM - won gold at the 2000 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- OAM
- won gold at the 2000 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- won bronze at the 2008 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- won gold at the 2016 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- OAM - won gold at the 2008 Olympics (470 Class)
- OAM - won gold at the 2008 Olympics (470 Class)
- Skud 18Class)
- OAM
- won bronze at the 2008 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- won gold at the 2016 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- OAM(Sonar Class
- won bronze at the 2008 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- won gold at the 2016 Paralympics (Sonar Class)
- OAM - won gold at the 2020 Olympics (LaserClass)
In 1979, the RPYC organised the 20,000 kilometre
RPYC hosted the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, a significant qualifying event for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
See also
References
- ^ Riseley, Helen. (1999) Royal Perth Yacht Club. Maritime Heritage Association Journal, Vol. 10, no. 3, (Sept. 1999), p. 12-16
- ^ Seabrook, Jack M.(1987) Royal Perth Yacht Club history Early days (West Perth, W.A.), Vol. 9, Pt. 5 (1987), p.79-
- ^ a b c History & Timeline Royal Perth Yacht Club
- ^ "HOME - Sailability Western Australia". SportsTG. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Our History". Royal Perth Yacht Club. Royal Perth Yacht Club. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d Uren, Malcolm. Sails on the Swan, W.A. Newspapers, 1965.
- ^ "Our Timeline". Royal Perth Yacht Club. Royal Perth Yacht Club. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Royal Perth Yacht Club celebrates 150 years of sailing". www.abc.net.au. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Royal Perth Yacht Club". collections.anmm.gov.au. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Sailing on the Swan, 150 Years of the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Western Australia. 2014.
- Battye Library
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "The story behind Bob Hawke's America's Cup Jacket". The West Australian. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ The RPYC Annex - Developed for Ocean-based Facility for the America's Cup - Fishing Boat Harbour Trailitem 5
- ^ "Our History | Royal Perth Yacht Club". Royal Perth Yacht Club. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ Parmelia line honours to Endeavour Sydney Morning Herald 22 November 1979 page 8
Further reading
- Uren, Malcolm (1966). Sails on the Swan: The History of the Royal Perth Yacht Club, 1865-1965. Crawley, WA: Royal Perth Yacht Club.
- Sailing on the Swan : 150 years of the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Western Australia. Nedlands, WA: Royal Perth Yacht Club. 2014. ISBN 9780646926520.