Walter Neville Howell OAM (born 17 December 1929) is an Australian former representative and Olympic medal winning

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. He competed at two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, racing at the

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the except ...

in the men's eight and at the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

in the Men's coxed pair.Howell profile at Australian Rowing History
/ref> He won a gold medal at the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games in the Men's eight and represented in the Australian eight at the inaugural

1962 World Rowing Championships The 1962 World Rowing Championships were the inaugural world championships in rowing. The competition was held in September 1962 on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Rowers from West Germany dominated the competition, winning five of the sev ...

Club and state rowing

He was born in the

state of Victoria Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

and initially rowed from the Preston Rowing Club in Melbourne before moving to the

Banks Rowing Club Banks Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. Banks Rowing Club was founded in 1866. Presidents Notable members Notable members Include Olympic representatives *Walter Howell *Paul Guest (rower), Paul Guest *Brian ...

from 1951. Howell first made state selection for Victoria in 1951 contesting the

King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

at the Australian Interstate Regatta. He then rowed in every Victorian

crew from 1951 to 1962 except '58 and '61. In those ten crews he enjoyed six victories, three silver and one bronze medal finish.

International representative rowing

In 1956 for the

Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the excepti ...

the winning

Kings Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

Victorian eight was selected as the Australian men's eight excepting for the 3 seat – Benfield from New South Wales. Howell rowed in the six seat in the thrilling final where the Australian eight took it to the US and Canadian crews and came away with a bronze medal.Howell at World Rowing
/ref> Four years later for the Rome 1960 Olympics he was selected with his Banks crew-mate

Paul Guest Paul Guest is an American poet and memoirist. Early life and education Paul Guest was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he was twelve, Guest broke the third and fourth vertebrae in his neck in a bicycle accident, bruising his spinal cord and ...

and their 13 year old coxswain Ian Johnston to race Australia's coxed pair. They were eliminated in the repechage. The Banks RC men's senior eight were Victorian champions in 1962 and six of the oarsmen in that crew made up the 1962 Victorian

eight which was also victorious at the Interstate Regatta. That entire 1962 Victorian King's Cup crew was selected as the Australian eight to contest the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

. Howell stroked that boat to a gold medal victory at those games in Perth. That same crew was encouraged to represent Australia at the inaugural FISA World Championships, the 1962 World Championships in Lucerne. They financed their trip themselves, made it through to the final and finished in overall fifth place.1962 World Championships at Australian Rowing History
/ref>

Community contribution and leadership

After retirement from first-class rowing Howell lived and worked in the Ngambie and Bendigo region of northern Victoria. His community commendations noted in 2020 when Howell was awarded his Medal in the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

are set ought in Andrew Guerin's profile on Howell as in the Australian Rowing History and include the following: * Rowing clubman: Ngambie Rowing Club President; Bendigo Rowing Club President, Coach and Life Member;

Committee man and Life Member. *

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

: Bendigo South, member 1964-83 smf officeholder; Committee man for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards; District Governor's Representative. * Sportsmen's Asscn of Australia : Bendigo Branch, Member 1965-1981 and President 1974-77. * Rowing Victoria Hall of Fame : inducted 2015. * School Councillor : Kangaroo Flat Technical School;

Golden Square Secondary College Golden Square High School in the city of Bendigo in the state of Victoria, Australia, was established in temporary accommodation at Camp Hill Primary School in central Bendigo in 1960. With the completion of the new school's buildings, it moved ...

. * Committee member : Anti-Cancer Council Bendigo ; Victorian Olympic Council Fundraising Committee.

References

profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Walter 1929 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen