Talk: The Life and Times of Edward Trickett

Edward Trickett was born at Greenwich, on the Lane Cove River, and learned to scull on Sydney Harbour. By 1874, he was gaining a reputation as a rower and at the Regatta of 1875 he won the light skiffs race and was now the best sculler in the colony of NSW.

In 1876, he travelled to England, where he defeated the two-times champion, Englishman Joseph Sadler, for the World Sculling Championship. The course for the race was from Putney to Mortlake on the River Thames, a distance of nearly four and a quarter miles. A very large crowd was on hand, both on the banks and in boats, to witness the race. Trickett thus became the first Australian World Champion in any sport. This started a Golden Age for Australian professional sculling.

Upon his return to Sydney, 25,000 people greeted him and he was wined and dined all around the state. He was the first Australian to be recognised as a world champion in any sport, a title he held until 1880, when he was beaten by Canadian Ned Hanlan.

The world title was held by seven Australians for 22 of the 31 years between 1876 and 1907. Many of these sculling races were held on the Parramatta River between Drummoyne and Ryde Bridge.