A full life of rowing - Don Rowlands

Starting out as a rower, Rowlands competed for New Zealand at the Empire Games in 1950 and 1954, medalling both times, once in the men’s eight and once in the men’s single sculls. He also competed in the 1956 Olympic Games.

Moving to the off-water side of rowing, Rowlands became a coach and was a New Zealand rowing selector between 1960 and 1977. He also managed national teams including the 1962 Commonwealth Games and the 1997 World Rowing Championships.

But perhaps one of Rowlands’ greatest achievements was being the force behind bringing the World Rowing Championships to the southern hemisphere for the first time. In 1978 Lake Karapiro, New Zealand hosted the World Rowing Championships. Using resourcefulness and volunteers Rowlands put together an event that saw huge crowds of up to 40,000 people watching rowing and in turn the event made a profit.

There are many memorable stories about Rowlands from the 1978 event including him coming to the opening ceremony with broken hand. Always a leader by example, Rowlands had injured his arm while helping to lay the buoy lines for the albano system.

While organising the 1978 World Rowing Championships, Rowlands was also the managing director of one of New Zealand’s biggest companies, Fisher & Paykel. In the business world Rowlands had many directorship roles through his working life. His wife, Coralie admits though that his volunteer rowing work often held his main interest.

Rowlands’ engineering background and ingenuity helped him in the development of rowing courses around the world including Lake Karapiro (New Zealand), Lake Barrington (Tasmania, Australia),  Penrith (Sydney, Australia) and Lake Casitas (Los Angeles, USA).

Mike Sweeney, former FISA Council member and chair of Henley Royal Regatta describes Rowlands; “On many FISA occasions – meetings or dinners – someone would ask Don a detailed and practical question concerning the construction or layout of a course (anywhere in the world). Even in the middle of his dinner, Don would take his napkin and a pen and start to sketch a solution to the problem – in hindsight we should have ensured that all Don’s napkins were preserved for posterity in the FISA archives.”

Over the years the honours have mounted up for Rowlands, recognising especially his contribution to rowing. In 2005 he received the New Zealand leadership award for sport. He has an Olympic Order medal and in 2009 Rowlands received the World Rowing Distinguished Service to International Rowing award. This award was in part recognition of his time as a FISA continental representative for Oceania and as a member of the FISA Events Commission.

John Boultbee (AUS) remembers Rowlands; “He is famously known as being the chairman or advisor who would roll his sleeves up and get his hands dirty – literally.   At the World Championships in 1978 was the best example of this.  There was the Chairman of the Championships during the event with his arm in a sling, because he broke it on a winch laying down the Albano course system just before the Championships.  That typified him.  A dignified and astute businessman, who in rowing got down and did the work that had to be done.” 

“This was exactly the same when he was on the FISA Council,” says Boultbee. “He would only talk when he needed to, which meant that when he did, he was listened to.”

Rowlands is survived by his son David and wife Coralie and Boultbee notes Coralie’s involvement; “She was always with him at rowing events, and is famous in New Zealand for the fundraising she would do for rowing while Don was out there making it happen.”

In 2010 New Zealand Rowing’s elite training site at Lake Karapiro opened an events centre named after Don Rowlands. Most recently, in January 2015, Rowlands was appointed as a knight companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Rowlands was presented with the award at a special ceremony this month while in hospital. This award came just after becoming one of the few New Zealanders appointed to the Order of Australia.

Sir Don Rowlands will be missed.