Russell Robertson (1927 – 17 February 1990), known as Rusty Robertson, was a New Zealand-born, world class rowing coach of New Zealand and later,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n national representative rowing crews. He was the national rowing coach of New Zealand from 1967 to 1976, and the national coach of Australia from 1979 to 1984.

Early life

Robertson was born in 1927, the son of Amelia Dorothy and William John Robertson. He was from Oamaru in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

and commenced rowing at the age of 16 at the Oamaru Rowing Club. A serious car accident broke his back and forced a premature retirement from rowing and an early start to coaching. He coached Oamaru crews for many years and was Club Captain for a decade. At long, his home town has the shortest rowing course in the country, and Robertson devised a training method by which rowers would use one arm only and go round and round in circles.

Coaching career

New Zealand

Robertson first had representative success at the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, 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 Perth. The ...

in Perth, Australia, where an Oamaru coxed four he coached of

Winston Stephens Winston Stephens is a former New Zealand rower. At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he won the gold medal as part of the men's coxed four alongside fellow Waitaki Boys' High School crew members Keith Heselwood, George Pater ...

Keith Heselwood Keith Heselwood is a former New Zealand rower. At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he won the gold medal as part of the men's coxed four alongside fellow Waitaki Boys' High School crew members George Paterson, Hugh Smedle ...

Hugh Smedley Hugh Smedley is a former New Zealand rower. At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he won the gold medal as part of the men's coxed four alongside fellow Waitaki Boys' High School crew members Keith Heselwood, George Paterson ...

, George Paterson, and Doug Pulman as cox, won the gold and became Commonwealth champions. His first Olympic success came at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City, where his coxed four Warren Cole,

Ross Collinge Ross Hounsell Collinge (born 21 November 1944) is a former New Zealand rowing (sport), rower who won two Olympic medals. Collinge was born in 1944 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He trained as a chemist at Petone Technical College. In rowing, he a ...

, Dick Joyce, Dudley Storey, and Simon Dickie as cox won gold. This 1968 Olympic win marked the beginning of New Zealand's first golden era in rowing, and would last until the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

. Both the 1968 coxed four and Robertson would later be inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. In the

1969 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

, Robertson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to sport. Robertson's career highlight was when his

1972 New Zealand eight The 1972 New Zealand eight was a team of Olympic gold medallists in rowing from New Zealand, having previously won the 1971 European Rowing Championships. At the time, the eight was regarded as the blue ribbon class of rowing, and the sport st ...

won gold at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

in Munich. The New Zealand crew was regarded as race favourites and whilst they did not dominate in the qualifying heats, they won the final comfortably. The champion

won Sportsman of the Year Awards in both 1971 and 1972. The crew standing on the victory dais overcome with emotion and "bawling like babies" is one of New Zealand's most memorable sporting moments. One of the crewmembers, bowman Gary Robertson, is Rusty's nephew. Four years later, when the men's eight only managed third place at the

in Montreal, Robertson was dismissed as the national rowing coach. He went to Australia to continue his coaching career.

Australia

Relocating to Sydney Robertson took on a senior coaching role at the

Drummoyne Rowing Club Drummoyne Rowing Club, formed in 1919 in Sydney, Australia is one of four rowing clubs on Iron Cove in Sydney Harbour. It has occupied its current site at Sister's Bay, Drummoyne since its foundation. The DRC is a community based competitive and ...

. He was involved in schoolboy coaching with the

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

and was in charge in 1978 when Grammar eights took both the 1st and 2nd VIII titles at the GPS Head of the River following a 22 year drought. Robertson coached Drummoyne rowers and scullers, lightweight and heavyweight in competition for national titles at the Australian Rowing Championships from 1978. He was coach of New South Wales state senior eights competing in the Interstate Eight-Oared Championship (the King's Cup) in 1979, 1983, 1984 (to victory), 1985, 1987 and 1988. Robertson was Australia's national rowing coach from 1979 to 1984. He coached the Australian men's lightweight coxless four to World Championship victories in 1980 and 1981. The crew consisted of his Drummoyne clubmen

Graham Gardiner Graham Gardiner is an Australian former lightweight rower. He is a two-time World Champion. Club and state rowing Gardiner's commenced his senior rowing with the Glebe Rowing Club and competed in a men's junior 4+ at the 1979 Australian Rowin ...

and

Clyde Hefer Clyde Hefer (born 12 April 1961) is an Australian former rower - a two-time World Champion and Olympic medal winner. Club and state rowing Hefer's senior rowing was with the Drummoyne Rowing Club in Sydney. At the Australian Rowing Championshi ...

who throughout 1980 had vied for top national honours against the Victorian pair of Charles Bartlett and

Simon Gillett Simon James Gillett (born 6 November 1985) is an English retired Association football, footballer. A midfielder, he played for nine different clubs between 2005 and 2016, most of them loan spells. Club career Southampton Born in Oxford, Engla ...

. New Australian National Director of Coaching Reinhold Batschi had introduced a small boat racing selection methodology and the choice of the two competitively matched pairs to comprise the Australian IV was clear. The crew took the gold medal and won Australia's second lightweight World Championship title. The following year the same crew raced at the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim outside Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References ...

in Munich and successfully defended their title. In 1983 he coached the Australian men's lightweight eight consisting of Victorian, Tasmanian and West Australian oarsmen to a silver medal at Duisburg 1983. For the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles, the men's eight coach was one of the first appointments to be determined. Robertson was the prominent men's coach at the time but the appointment went to Roberston's boss Reinhold Batschi, National Coaching Director though not an active coach at the time. Robertson took the men's quad scull and coached them to a silver olympic medal.

Death and legacy

Robertson died aged 62 on 17 February 1990, after collapsing while coaching from the banks of the Nepean River. A Rusty Robertson Cup regatta is held annually in Australia. The New South Wales Rowing Association (NSWRA) awards 'the Rusty Robertson MBE Award for services to rowing'. Their by-law reads:

International representative coaching record

New Zealand

Men's 4+ coach–Gold * 1968 Olympic Games Men's 4+ coach–Gold *

1970 World Rowing Championships The 1970 World Rowing Championships was the 3rd World Rowing Championships. It was held in 1970 at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The competition involved seven events. Prior to the 4th World Rowin ...

Men's 8+ coach–Bronze *

1971 European Rowing Championships The 1971 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Bagsværd in the Danish capital Copenhagen. There were seven competitions for men and five for women, and the most successful nation was East Germany with five gold med ...

Men's 8+ coach–Gold * 1972 Olympic Games Men's 4- coach–Silver * 1972 Olympic Games Men's 8+ coach–Gold *

1973 European Rowing Championships The 1973 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held at the regatta course on the Krylatskoye Rowing Canal in Moscow, Soviet Union. The competition was the first use of the venue. There were seven competitions for men and five for ...

Men's 2+ coach–Bronze *

1974 World Rowing Championships The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly ...

Men's 8+ coach–Bronze *

Men's 2- coach–Silver *

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champions ...

Men's 8+ coach–Bronze * 1976 Olympic Games Men's 8+ coach–Bronze

Australia

1979 World Rowing Championships The 1979 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August – 9 September 1979 at Bled in Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table This table does not include th ...

Men's Lwt 4- coach–Sixth *

1980 World Rowing Championships The 1980 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held in August 1980 at Hazewinkel in Belgium. Since 1980 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include the 14 Olympic classes scheduled for ...

Men's Lwt 4- coach–Gold *

Men's Lwt 2x coach–11th *

Men's Lwt 1x coach–11th *

1983 World Rowing Championships The 1983 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 3 to 4 September 1983 at Wedau in Duisburg, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medals table Seventeen nations won medals of th ...

Men's Lwt 8+ coach–Silver *

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an intern ...

Men's 4x coach–Silver *

1985 World Rowing Championships The 1985 World Rowing Championships refer to the World Rowing Championships held from 26 August to 1 September 1985 at Hazewinkel in Belgium. Medal summary Medalists at the 1985 World Rowing Championships were: Men's events Women's even ...

Men's Lwt 1x coach–9th *

Men's 4x coach–8th *

1987 World Rowing Championships The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy". Medal summary Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were: Men's ...

Men's Lwt 8+ coach–8th

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Rusty 1927 births 1990 deaths Rowing coaches New Zealand Olympic coaches Australian sports coaches New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Oamaru New Zealand emigrants to Australia