110th Anniversary of Peppermint Grove Boat Shed (1914 - 2024)

2024 marks 110 years since the Scotch College Boat Shed opened on Friday, 27 November 1914 at Freshwater Bay, Peppermint Grove.

The total cost for this to be built was 447 pounds. Since 1910, rowing crews trained in Freshwater Bay, and with the introduction of Eights into schools’ competitions in 1912, the need for a rowing shed was becoming more apparent. Thus, a bazaar was held to raise funds for the construction.

Eventually, the Council helped out, with the firm of Hobbs, Smith & Forbes commissioning to construct the shed. This new addition to the school was opened by then Governor of Western Australia, Sir Harry Barron, with a great deal of splendour.

Headmaster, P. C. Anderson addressed the attending audience, “I am a great believer in rowing as a sport for schoolboys. Friendships are formed on the water which are more lasting than any others”. Anderson also triumphed at the 1913 win by Scotch College in the Head of the River, stroked by Bill Hewby, stating this victory as ‘dirty and fast’.

In 1916, a Red Cross afternoon tea was set up at the Boat Shed, in aid of raising funds for the war effort.

The evolution of the Boat Shed’s use started out with the four in 1915. During the 1930s, there were an estimated 60 boys rowing from the Boat Shed, 110 in the 1970s, and as of 2014, 200 boys partaking in the water sport.

The original Federation vernacular style Boat Shed was made from mostly Jarrah wood, with main internal beams being Oregon. This was built up of a main boat room, measuring 66 by 20 ft, to house the one racing eight and two fours. Additionally, a large dressing room with showers, a lean-to for the ‘pleasure boat’ used for training, and 56 by 10 ft of staging were all implemented to the overall design.

1976 saw another boat bay added to the south side, thus doubling how much the Boat Shed stores. Significantly, it is one of only two Boat Sheds erected on the foreshore during the Roads Board era.

A display will be made for this anniversary in Memorial Hall to visit.