Ernest William Chapman, OAM (11 April 1926 – 21 March 2013) was an Australian

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 ...

and a lifelong clubman at the

Sydney Rowing Club Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford, New South Wales, Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on it ...

. He competed and won a bronze medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

School, club and state rowing

Chapman's rowing career started at the Balmain Rowing Club in Sydney but he switched allegiance to the

at the end of the 1940s and commenced a long association with the Sydney club. Chapman's first state selection for New South Wales came in 1950 as a reserve for the men's senior eight contesting the King's Cup at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. He was a reserve for the New South Wales eights of 1951 and 1953 and rowed in the four seat of the 1952 King's Cup crew. He served as vice-captain of Sydney Rowing Club for eight consecutive seasons from 1951. He was the club president in two tenures, firstly from 1975 to 1978 and then from 1979 till 1995. From 1966 until 1972 Chapman coached the 1st Eight at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

in the Sydney GPS Head of the River from their boat shed at Abbotsford on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

International representative rowing

For the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

an all New South Wales crew was selected twelve months in advance based on the 1951 King's Cup result. The Olympic selection crew raced the 1952 King's Cup for New South Wales during its preparation and was comprehensively beaten by Victoria. The media then claimed the Victorian crew should be nominated instead. However the selector Joe Gould stuck with the selected crew since a number of them including stroke Phil Cayzer, had severe adverse reactions to the vaccinations they'd taken for overseas travel. It was also mentioned that their fundraising responsibilities, some 7,000 pounds, impacted their preparation - the Australian Olympic Federation had only been able to fund four air tickets for the eight. Chapman was in the two seat of that Australian Olympic men's eight who to their credit won the bronze medal in Helsinki.Chapman at World Rowing
/ref> He was awarded a Medal of 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 ...

(OAM) for his services to the sport of rowing.

References

External links

profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Ernest 1926 births 2013 deaths Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing 20th-century Australian sportsmen