Club History: Read all about it!
Have you ever wondered how our Club came into existence?
Let us take you back to 14 June 1862 when it all began, in a series of articles compiled by Squadron Member John Maclurcan on the origins and early history of the Squadron – as reported in the Press of the day.
Language warning, as they say on Triple J, it’s edifying Victorian prose at its best
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Several Gentlemen meet to discuss reviving the Sydney Yacht Club
Saturday, 14th June, 1862 – Sydney Mail -
How we obtained Royal Patronage and the origins of our Club Burgee
Friday, 3rd July, 1863 – Empire (Sydney) -
A lively account of the opening harbour race, featuring some oddly familiar boat names
Saturday, 14th November, 1863 – Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle -
The scene is set for a Harbour race. They don’t write race reports like that any more!
Saturday, 30th January, 1864 – Sydney Mail -
The exciting conclusion to the ‘First Class Yacht Race’ commenced last week
Saturday, 30th January, 1864 – Sydney Mail
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Sydney welcomes HRH the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Alfred
Saturday, 1st February, 1868 – The Sydney Morning Herald -
An assassination attempt on His Royal Highness.
Saturday, 14th March, 1868 – Sydney Mail -
Opening Day 1886 ‘was celebrated with a series of evolutions in the harbour and a luncheon at Cremorne…’
Monday, 18th October, 1886 – The Sydney Morning Herald -
A challenge for the America’s Cup is under consideration
Saturday, 17th November, 1888 – The Evening News -
Meet James Milson Jnr, our first Vice Commodore. At the time of this interview, he recalled regattas from 1834!
Saturday, 30th January, 1897 – The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser -
Meet Mr. George Thornton, one of the founders of the Squadron. He rescued numerous souls in peril in the shark-infested harbour.
Saturday, 30th January, 1897 – The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser -
Henry Cary Dangar served as Commodore from 1767 to 1875. He recalls fine ‘crack’ yachts competing in a race.
Saturday, 30th January, 1897 – The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser -
Dr. Milford was the younger brother of one of the original signatories when our Club was formed and an enthusiastic yachtsman.
Saturday, 30th January, 1897 – The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser -
The first Pointscore
Thursday, 10th March, 1904 – The Sydney Morning Herald -
The Australian Cup 1911
Wednesday, 29th June, 1910 – The Daily Telegraph -
The Squadron celebrates its 50th Anniversary
Wednesday 26th June, 1912 – The Sydney Morning Herald -
A Splendid Fete at RSYS with the objective of equipping Graythwaite
Sunday, 18th July, 1915 – The Sun -
Sad news of a Squadron Member. Vale Capt. Stewart Milson.
Monday, 8th November, 1915 – The Sydney Morning Herald -
RSYS recommences racing following The Great War and Spanish Influenza
Saturday, 8th February, 1919 – The Daily Telegraph -
Remembrance Day - Honour Roll, First World War
Monday, 11th November, 1918 -
The 1919 Torres Strait Island Cruise of Stormy Petrel
A presentation by John Maclurcan
Treasures from the Archives
Every picture tells a story…
The Archives Committee have been busy identifying, documenting and digitising more of the Squadron’s historical collection, and as on an archaeological dig, some days you hit pay dirt and come up with treasures.
Foudroyant Shield
Recently, I noticed a trophy placed on the picture rail in Wudyong barely visible above the crested goods and clothing for sale and certainly not visible to the members. Rob Ridley rescued it for me and I took it up to Archives for further investigation. It was the Foudroyant Shield and what a story was behind it!
A number of plaques are mounted on it, starting in 1972, jumping to 1984, then awarded in most years until 2002. On the back was another plaque announcing it was given by the RSYS in 1972 for a team’s event for the Half Ton Class.
Read here
HMAS Adelaide in Neutral Bay
Hanging on the wall of the Archives room is an unusual photograph identified as ‘HM Submarines Virtue, Voracious, Vox, Turpin and Taurus alongside HMAS Adelaide, 23 January 1946’. The framed photograph was presented to the Squadron by Commander G. P. S. Davies OBE RN, Senior Officer Submarines Sydney 1945–46.
Opening Day Poem
Tucked into a package of memorabilia passed to Archives was a poem. It had clearly come from a book because at the bottom of the page was the number 42, but we know not what the book is. Our Archives sleuth got on the case and was able to identify that it describes Opening Day on the 21st of November, 1865.
Albert Ross Farewell
In March 1913, Mr. James Albert Ross and his wife took a world tour. This is a testimonial, beautifully crafted with wit and humour, by his crew and friends to commemorate his departure. The top left image depicts Mr. Ross at the helm of Thelma, which was wrecked just before he went overseas.
Iolanthe rounding Bradley’s Head
This photo was taken in the late 1880s. Using the angle of the wind and the yacht names, our Archives detectives searched through newspaper articles from that decade – and found some answers in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser of 1888.
The Varuna Cup
In 1986, a Cup was presented to the Club to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the yacht Varuna, owned by John Musgrove, who had owned the boat for almost all of her life.
Read the story here
R.H. Goddard's History of Yachting in NSW
A slim book was discovered in the Library titled “EARLY YACHTING Record of a Great Sport” by R.H. Goddard.
Read the story here
Hunt's Yachting Magazine
Two volumes of Hunt’s Yachting Magazine have been found, donated, and we think signed, by our first Commodore, William Walker, at the time of his resignation in April, 1867. The volumes are for 1853 and 1863.
Read the story here
Anyone for tennis?
“Carabella”, like many estates of the time, contained tennis courts. There are two newspaper references within the first six months of the Club taking occupancy of the premises. They also describe a new type of entertainment, ‘A Squadron Afternoon’ which became an item of interest in the social pages of the day.
Billiards at the Club
100 years ago it was mandatory at a Gentleman’s Club to have a Billiard Room. Billiards was a serious competitive sport. While there is evidence that there was dedicated space for this purpose as early as 1904, it was sometime later that the space was refurbished.
Pictured is a photo of the newly refurbished Billiard Room which the History Committee have dated to this period.
Read the story here – and a recent postscript
Milson and the mysterious German
In one yellowing envelope marked ‘Old Photos’ there was a series of intriguing sepia prints…
Pictured is one-time Commodore Alfred Milson. But what of handsome German Otto Bauer, giving no hint of the intrigue that would soon follow him…
EW Tawse Tankard
A mysterious box revealed a heavily tarnished silver tankard engraved with the date 22nd Oct, 1918. In 2021 we delved into the story behind the tankard. In 2022 it was reunited with its family in the UK. How wonderful to bring the tale full circle!
Interstate Challenges including the Sayonara Cup
The Interstate Challenges at the turn of the last century subsequently became known as the Sayonara Cup. These were big news stories in the press of the day, and have been researched and collated by Squadron Member John Maclurcan.
The first Interstate Challenge 1904
Wednesday, 15th July, 1903 – The Daily Telegraph read here
The second Interstate Challenge (a long story, broken for you into four chapters)
Part 1 – ‘The Lead up’
13th October, 1906 – The Sydney Morning Herald read here
Part 2 – ‘La Carabine Cup’
5th January, 1907 – The Sydney Morning Herald read here
Part 3 – ‘The Sayonara Cup'
Thursday, 17th January, 1907 – The Australian Star read here
Part 4 – ‘The Controversy’
Friday, 18th January, 1907 – The Melbourne Age read here
The 1908 Challenge
Thursday, 28th March, 1907 – The Sydney Morning Herald read here
The 1909 Challenge
Friday, 30th October, 1908 – The Sydney Morning Herald read here
The 1910 Challenge
Wednesday, 9th March, 1910 – Referee read here
Interstate Challenge 1911
Thursday, 28th July, 1910 – Evening News read here
Interstate Challenge 1912
Wednesday, 2nd August, 1911 – The Sydney Morning Herald read here
With the advent of The Great War, the Sayonara Cup was not resumed until 1928.
Interstate Challenge 1923
Wednesday, February, 1923 - The Albert and Forster Cups read here
