Mosman Rowing Club

Mosman Rowing Club is an all level competitive and recreational rowing club on the North Shore of Sydney. Since 2007 the club's facilities have been wholly located at The Spit in Sydney's Middle Harbour, the northern arm of Port Jackson.

Mosman's red and white hooped racing colours date back to 1873 when the Mercantile Rowing Club was founded on the west side of Sydney's Circular Quay at Dawes Point. A meeting of warehousemen and merchants' clerks had decided to form a second club the second in the colony (after Sydney Rowing Club). Henry Woolnough was the club's first chairman, he had earlier been a committee member at Sydney. Mercantile's first patron was the Governor of the New South Wales, Sir Hercules Robinson. Mercantile enjoyed a strong patronage but began to struggle in the 1890s and sustained losses when it opened an unsuccessful branch shed at Parramatta.

In 1911 due to poor water conditions in the busy port and the expiration of a lease, a decision was made to relocate the original boatshed and all rowing equipment to Mosman Bay on the northern side of the harbour and to re establish the club as the "Mosman Rowing Club". The Dawes Point boatshed was purchased from the disbanded Mercantile club and rebuilt at Mosman in time for new club's official opening on 1 April 1911.

In 1930 the Mosman VIII was chosen in toto as the state representative eight for New South Wales in the Kings Cup at the Australian Rowing Championships. The crew won the King's Cup. The Mosman club's win that year of the Sydney premiership pennant marked the ninth successive year the club had won the pennant and eclipsed the Sydney Rowing Club's 1880 to 1888 record for the longest successive run.

The MRC, based at Pearl Bay, Mosman is the main rowing centre for some 450 rowers, including elite, seniors, juniors, masters, recreational and school rowers. The shed houses over 100 rowing boats. The MRC is self funded by memberships, lease arrangements to schools and private members' ongoing fundraising activities. A number of Sydney's private girl's schools have a leasing and coaching arrangement with the club.