Our story.
More than a century of rowing, on one of New Zealand's finest stretches of flat water.
A club founded by 30 people in a Grovetown hall.
The Wairau Rowing Club was established on the 27th of July 1910, following a general meeting held in the Grovetown Hall attended by approximately 30 people. A committee meeting on the 31st July 1910 chose the site for the first boat shed — on the Wairau River, 15 yards north of the old culvert. The secretary was instructed to write to the Spring Creek River Board for permission to erect it.
That site is still the home of the club today — at the end of Steam Wharf Road, Grovetown, 5 km north-east of Blenheim.
Built in 2005.
The current clubhouse — built in 2005 — is the fourth in the club's history. The first two were lost to flooding over the years, forcing a move onto reclaimed land for the third, level with the protection stop bank.
The new building replaced an old iron-clad shed with limited facilities. It comprises a large boatshed area and basement, changing rooms, an upstairs lounge with balcony, committee room and kitchen — an attractive permanent facility built to last.
From the boathouse it's an easy 75-metre lawn walk down to the Wairau River and the sheltered long-distance training water it offers.
The club is within easy cycling distance of Blenheim and serves as the home of rowing in Marlborough — including the Marlborough Girls' College and Marlborough Boys' College rowing programmes. Both colleges row in club colours at club regattas, and in their own school colours at the South Island Secondary Schools and National Championship regattas.
170 km long. 11 km perfect for rowing.
At 170 km, the Wairau is one of the longer rivers in the South Island. From the Spenser Mountains the river meanders down the Wairau Valley as a braided river — until it reaches Spring Creek, where it transforms into 11 km of calm, flat water making its way to the sea.
That stretch is our training ground — and one of the best rowing waters in New Zealand.
What we stand for.
Community
A welcoming home for rowers of every age and ability — from school squads to masters.
Performance
A pathway from learn-to-row through to the New Zealand high-performance squad.
Heritage
115 years of stories, traditions and rowing memories — and we're still being written.
The 1910 first minutes.
Read the original committee minutes from 31 July 1910 — the day a site was chosen for the first boat shed at Grovetown, 15 yards north of the old culvert.
Open the full PDFOnce a Wairau rower…
…always a Wairau rower.
Are you a past member of the Wairau Rowing Club?
Since 1910, the Wairau Rowing Club has provided a sporting and social home for rowing on the Wairau River.
All of us have, in our own way, contributed to the vibrancy, growth, longevity, sporting success and community of our club.
We’d love to have you aboard again.
Three ways back.
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Got photos, stories, or memorabilia? Want to organise a reunion crew? Email our secretary Kate Vavasour.
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