The North Shore Rowing Club, located on the Lane Cove River in Longueville, is in mourning after John James, one of the club’s greats, passed away recently.
John James was born in September 1937. He rowed for more than 66 years in England and Australia. John won a silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, rowing for England.
However, John became a true-blue Aussie and won gold for Australia at many international. World Masters Rowing Championships – the most recent being in September 2024 in Brandenberg Germany.
Until the day John passed away, he was an active member of the club.
Not only are the North Shore Rowing Club paying tribute to a much loved member, but the Drummoyne Rowing Club posted the following on their Instagram Page:
“Vale John James OAM, who has passed away at the age of 87.
He had rowed all his life and contributed to the local and global rowing community like few others.
… John has been a member of North Shore Rowing Club since 1976 where he was a competitor, mentor and coach (amongst other roles)…
In September this year, they won a gold medal at the World Rowing Masters in Brandenburg, Germany. Graham said to us that he and John agreed, it had been the perfect row, and it was their last. Our thoughts are with John’s family and his NSRC community.”
John’s first attempt at rowing was as a four-year-old. He rowed across a lake and got to the other side but couldn’t return. Who would have thought that a boy who could not row back to the other side would row for his school, for London University, and Great Britain?
John was a competitor, coach, and mentor and has held positions in club, state, and national rowing organisations.
His passing was also posted on the NSW Rowing’s Website:
“Rowing mourns the passing of John James OAM, a beloved figure in the NSW rowing community and North Shore Rowing Club. John’s achievements, from competing at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (GB) to winning gold at the 2024 World Rowing Masters, were remarkable, yet it was his dedication to mentoring others that set him apart.
Generously sharing his time and expertise, John coached countless rowers through the club’s Learn to Row programs, inspiring many from the early morning stillness of the Lane Cove River. His legacy of commitment, both on the water and as a committee member, leaves a mark on our sport. Our heartfelt condolences go to his children, grandchildren, club mates and all who knew and admired him.”
The following is an extract from an Article on John James on the Australian Rowing History Website written by Sue Wannan
“In the early 1960s, while attending London School of Economics, a college of London University, he was a stroke of the eight which won the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, the first time London University had ever won. The same year he went to the European Championships in Prague in a coxed four. “We didn’t do well, but it was my first taste of international representation.”
By 1964, John, now an articled clerk working full time for a London accounting firm, was involved with The Tideway Scullers, these days said to be Britain’s leading sculling club. Tideway Scullers, then in its infancy, was proving its theory that scullers make better rowers by having its eights (including John James) dominate the Thames Head of the River for several years.
“I still believe scullers make better rowers. If you’re a boat mover, you’re a boat mover. There’s too much emphasis on ergs and strength above the ability to move the boat.”
In the same year John was selected for Great Britain’s Olympic rowing team. The final crew for the coxless four was settled only two months before the Tokyo races and never had the opportunity to race together before the Olympics. “We had no idea how fast we were.”
Olympic rowing had its surprises. Like finding a hole in their boat when they unloaded it in Japan (they filled and polished it; John is still a good filler and polisher.) And at a point two-thirds of the way through the semi-final when John noticed that the three seat’s gate was open. “We just rowed very smoothly.”
Bad weather forced the Olympic final to be postponed for two hours. “We thought this was probably a slight advantage. If the East Europeans were on drugs, their timing would now be off.” The Danes won, Great Britain second, USA third. West Germany who’d won the European Championships two months earlier, came 4th.
One month after returning from the Olympics, John sat and passed his final accountancy examinations. But it was time for a change. In 1969 he emigrated to Australia and in 1976 joined North Shore Rowing Club. For the next 20 years he was a weekend rower and a sailor in Lasers and offshore races.
“I competed at one North Shore regatta and nearly killed myself. It’s difficult not to row hard even if you’re unfit. One of the race officials saw me on the pontoon afterwards, looking ashen faced and slightly stricken, and shook his head: ‘You bloody fool’”.
However, the promise of rowing in the 1997 World Masters rowing in Adelaide with an English mate who’d said “only if you’re fit” got him back into training. Today it’s a rare masters regatta he doesn’t leave with medals.
But he also devotes time and energy to his sport. He’s boat master at North Shore, has been on the Competition Committee at NSW Rowing and is still a NSW representative on Rowing Australia’s Masters Commission. He also coaches, as he has done since he was a schoolboy.
“Coaching helps you to work out your own technique. Seeing what they do wrong helps you to correct yourself. Coaching makes you think about rowing.
“Rowing is a thinking sport every bit as much as a physical one. I take great delight in taking a length off somebody by reading the changing conditions as we go round a corner more quickly than they do.
“I also believe in technique over brute force. I have to – I’m not six foot six and 100kg with the strength of a gorilla and so have to rely on technique and guile.”
What do you like about rowing? “Communing with nature – early morning or late afternoon, seeing trees and birds, and nice calm water is enormously satisfying. It’s every bit as good as a religious experience.”
ITC met John James in 2016 when he was showing locals around the North Shore Rowing Club’s open day.
ITC next came across John James when he was awarded an OAM in 2021 for his services to rowing.
The following roles were listed in his citation.
North Shore Rowing Club
- Treasurer, 2000-2019.
- Member, since 1975.
- Life Member, 2007.
Rowing Australia
- New South Wales Delegate, Masters Commission, 2003-2011.
- Commissioner, Masters Commission, 2003-2011.
- Member, Organising Committee, Australian Masters Championship Regattas, 2004 and 2008.
Rowing New South Wales
- Commissioner, Competition Commission Masters Sub-Committee, 2006-2012.
- State Masters Selector, 2007-2011.
HumanLogic
- Former Volunteer.
Awards and recognition include:
- New South Wales Masters Rower of the Year, New South Wales Union of Rowers, 2018.
- 50 years of Meritorious and Commendable Service to the Sport of Rowing, New South Wales Union of Rowers, 2006.
Farewell, John James. You will be missed by family, friends and the rowing community.
