On a bank of the Murray River, at the foot of the John Foord Bridge sits the shed of the Corowa Rowing Club.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Inside the tin building are rows and rows of sleek rowing boats.
Some are made from carbon fibre while others, made from wood, date back 30, 50 or 80 years.
The grandest of all of these vessels is a long red cedar boat which can seat four rowers and is fixed with a shiny emblem bearing the name of its Melbourne maker, J. Edwards and Sons.
Christened the Lady Jackson, after a prominent rowing family, long-term members of the club believe the “old girl” was purchased secondhand from Rutherglen in 1929 and was about 110-years-old.
Club president Robert Eyers said she had nearly gone to ruins over the years and had been given to the Corowa Federation Museum when the club shed ran out of room to store it.
“It hung off the wall for a few years there (the museum) until 2013,” he said.
“A lot of the stays were broken on it and there was no canvas, none of the foot gear or anything was in it and one rigger was broken off laying in the bottom of the boat.
“I knew it was fairly special ... I wanted to make sure it didn't deteriorate.”
It took two years and plenty of help to bring the Lady Jackson back from the brink.
The main culprits in her restoration were retired cabinetmaker Jim Webb, rower Matt Vogel, club life-member Daryl Martin and Mr Eyers himself.
Mr Webb, with his sprightly young offsider Mr Vogel, sourced wood from rotting eight-seat rowing boats found around the region.
Mr Eyers said he did the metal work and lost count of how many rivets he had to put in.
Adding the final touch was Mr Martin who did the varnish while sign writer Sheldon Ralph wrote the “Lady Jackson” in gold leaf on the hull.
The boat was rechristened in December last year with a bottle of champagne.
Mr Eyers said there were a few cracks in the bottom so the club just let her float on the shore for a bit before taking her out.
This year the club plans to get the boat listed in the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.
All of the men agreed they had never seen another boat of such an old vintage like the Lady.
Mr Eyers said a historian told them it was likely to be the only one left of its kind.
Clarification: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Daryl Martin had written in gold leaf on the boat.