Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of NSW Head of the River

Although the date of the first AAGPS rowing championship was 1893, there were several inter-school races before that date. In 1881, Sir Matthew Harris, then Lord Mayor of Sydney, offered up the “Mayor’s Challenge Cup” for the annual competition among schools. Royston College and Sydney Grammar School competed with Royston College winning the event.

Other races were also conducted prior to the first AAGPS regatta in 1893 including intercolonial competitions. In 1888, St Ignatius raced Geelong Grammar of Victoria in the first inter-colonial inter-school race on the Barwon River in Victoria.

At the time this event commenced, there were nine members of the GPS - Grammar, Shore, King's, Scots, Newington, St. Ignatius', St. Joseph's, All Saints (Bathurst) and Coerwull Academy (Lithgow). Only three, Shore, Grammar and St Ignatius boated crews in the early years.

Alan May in Sydney Rows reported that:
In 1893, the Great Public School authorities decided to stage a premiership event and set the date for 13 May, two weeks before the St. Ignatius' regatta. The latter school was, apparently, not very pleased and did not start in the race, in which Shore had an easy win over Grammar. He goes on to state that the first official race was not until 1894. He appears to be the only proponent of this claim. This may be that the Major Rennie trophy was first awarded in 1894.

The first convenor of this event was R H Bode of Sydney Grammar School.

From 1893 to 1935 the AAGPS Head of the River regatta was held on the Parramatta River. In 1936 the races were moved to the Nepean River and were 1 ½ miles in distance. Since 1996 the schoolboy Head of the River has been held at the Sydney International Rowing Centre at Penrith.

Year of schools first entering the Head of the River 
1893 - Sydney Grammar School (SGS)
1893 - Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore, SCEGS)
1898 - St Ignatius College (SIC)
1908 - St Josephs College (SJC)
1918 - The Scots' College  (TSC)
1920 - The King's School (TKS)
1921 - Newington College (NC)
1925 - Sydney High School* (SBHS)
2012 - The Armidale School^ (TAS)
*SBHS raced 1924 in fours
^TAS race in fours

The following trophies are awarded to the winning crew each year. 

  • 1st VIII 1910 onwards Major Rennie Trophy presented by Z.C. Rennie in 1894. Prior to 1910 the Major Rennie Trophy was awarded for the First Four race, there being no First Eight race until that year.
  • 2nd VIII 1968 onwards LC Robson Trophy. Robson was Shore’s Headmaster (1923-1958).
  • 1st IV 1893 onwards Yaralla Cup presented by Miss (later Dame) Eadith Walker in 1906. From 1906 to 1911, inclusive, the Yaralla Cup was awarded for the Second Four race. In 1912 the Yaralla Cup became the First Four trophy.
  • 2nd IV 1918 onwards Alan Callaway Trophy first awarded 1979. Callaway was a Sydney Boys High School Rowing coach.
  • 3rd IV 1920 onwards Father Gartlan Trophy first awarded 1983. Father Gartlan was the founder of the SIC Rowing Club in 1882.
  • 4th IV 1927 onwards Penrith City Council Trophy first awarded 1986. Awarded by Penrith City Council to mark 50 years of AAGPS rowing on the Nepean.


You can find a more detailed premiership history of the AAGPS rowing competition since 1893 here.