Murray Stewart is passionate about rowing and the benefits it can deliver rural and regional communities.
Mr Stewart, originally from Wagga Wagga, NSW who later ran a cattle property in Gympie began rowing – “and loved it“ – aged 12 when he was a student at The Scots College, Sydney.
Storing his oars when year 12 finished, Mr Stewart was years later “roped into“ a corporate regatta at his children’s school, which sparked a return to the Vikings Rowing Club in Brisbane.
“It’s amazing, you know, I was out of the game for probably 15 years and it only takes a couple of weeks back in the boat and it all comes back to you. That’s the good part about the sport.
“And, once it’s back in your blood, you can’t shake it out.“
Mr Stewart said the idea of an Australian Outback Rowing Regatta came from David Counsell, a member of the Vikings Rowing Club from Barcaldine where a new lake had just been built.
“David said ’why don’t we start rowing out there’ and it took off’.“
Now the president of Outback Rowing Australia, Mr Counsell also heads the Barcaldine Rowing Club, which he helped to form in 2022.
Mr Stewart hopes the event will provide the impetus for greater rowing opportunities in the bush.
He said it’s the opportune time to reactivate the under-utilised “magic“ waterways in Queensland and introduce water sports to the outback.
“I did the usual and played rugby at school and then in the bush. But you get to 30, your knees are bugged and you’ve had 50 concussions.
“You start having kids, life starts getting busy and footy falls off. That’s the thing that I love about rowing. It’s a sport you can do from, you know, from 12 to 102.
“We’ve got a guy in our club that’s 82-years-old who still races competitively. It’s one of those sports that’s ideally suited to the way the world’s moving now.
“In the bush you are limited to Aussie rules, rugby league, rugby union, some oldies playing a bit of tennis and cricket and that’s it.
“From there people might say, ’Oh I’ll buy a push bike and risk my life on the country roads with the big trucks’. We see rowing as filling that vast sporting void.“
A board member of Outback Rowing Australia, Toby Ford is a doctor who works in rural regions and has seen first-hand the positive impact rowing has had on his life.
“Toby also believes that it’s a sport that can change your mentality, you know? It’s especially meaningful in the bush to have male role models who are fit, healthy men,“ Mr Stewart said.
“Our rowing club in Brisbane is a men’s shed with fitness attached to it.“
Outback Rowing Australia has two ambassadors, current Olympians Harriet Hudson of Warwick and Jack Hargreaves OAM of Nyngan, NSW.
Mr Sewart said both Harriet and Jack were country kids who had hit the pinnacle of rowing, which he hoped would inspire others.
“Many, many moons ago, Bundaberg was the powerhouse of rowing in Queensland. All the big cane farmers would jump in a boat and were unbeatable.
“We’d love to get back to that situation again where, you know, we’ve got Olympic boats full of country kids. Wouldn’t that be amazing?“
