With the ever-professional Gordon Bray in charge and 1992 Olympic rowing gold medallist on hand as guest speaker the Fundraising Lunch for the 2005 Aussie Junior Four got into full swing Sunday at the Le Montage centre at Leichhardt. Gordon had an entertaining tale to tell of one of his early experiences covering rowing in the 70’s when he was obliged to “preview” the head of the River from the bank while actually standing in a phone box halfway to Penrith.
Peter enthralled and inspired the crowd with his love of rowing history, his respect for the greats of the past and some very entertaining stories from his near thirty year career in competitive rowing.
After Peter’s talk Gordon issued some probing questions and the crowd settled in to support the silent auction and the main auction to raise funds for the Junior Four trip to Brandenburg, Germany. A highlights video of Peter’s 1992 Gold Medal performance from Barcelona was played to strong applause from the audience.
Food and service from the staff at Le Montage were excellent and a very relaxed atmosphere saw the last guests expelled at 5.30 pm. Parent’s and friends of the crew families and members of their schools ( Kings Joey’s and Shore) supported the event strongly and SUBC friends also filled a number of tables. This writer confesses to being extremely pleased when one of his associates purchsed one of two bottles of Grange on offer and promised to share it when we meet next over dinner.
The event was supported as well by a number of past State and National rowing representatives including Steve Newnham and Ted O’Loughlin (1974), Stephen Handley, Marty Rabjohns and Rhette Ayliffe and 2003 Olympic silver medallist Dan Burke.
Our photo shows Peter Antonie relaxing after his speech with Dan Burke.
Sydney University Boat Club and the 2005 Aussie Junior Four are grateful for the effort Peter made to come from Melbourne for the day and for the wonderful atmosphere he helped create – his contribution plus that of the crew Parents , Gordon Bray and auctioneer Richard Page contributed to a very successful day.