Spencer Herbert Gollan (22 January 1860 – 27 January 1934) was a sportsman who excelled in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, and who was also a

race horse ''Race Horse'' was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn. Construction ''Race Horse'' was similar to a barque built by Samuel Hall a few years earlier, ...

owner. Gollan was born at Napier in the

Colony of New Zealand The Colony of New Zealand was a colony of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom from 1841 to 1907. British authority was vested in a List of governors-general of New Zealand, governor. The colony had Capital of New Zea ...

, the son of Donald Gollan, an engineer and surveyor, and Frederica, the widow of Count Charles de Pelichet. He received his education in New Zealand, Switzerland, and at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He became a racehorse owner in Australia and New Zealand. He was also a golfer who twice won the

New Zealand Amateur The New Zealand Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of New Zealand. It has been played annually since 1893, except for the war years and the COVID-19 pandemic, and is organised by New Zealand Golf. Currently the event is played o ...

championship, and was a well-known figure at St. Andrews. In the spring of 1901, with two professional oarsmen, Tom Sullivan and George Towns, he broke the record for rowing between Oxford and Putney along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. The distance of a little over 104 miles was covered in 13 hours 57 minutes. The previous record was set in 1889 at (22hrs and 28 minutes). They had the advantage of a good flow on the river and all the locks were in their favour. In 1904 his horse,

Moifaa Moifaa was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who won the 1904 Grand National by eight lengths. The jockey was Arthur Birch and the owner at the time was Spencer Gollan.https://natlib.govt.nz/records/43375259 After winning the Grand National the 17 ...

won the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

. Gollan won the

championship in 1902 and 1906. In 1902 he beat

Charles Gillies Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

3&1 in the 36-hole final. In 1906 he beat William Harman 8&7 in the final, having been 6 up after the first round. Gollan was the umpire in the

World Sculling Championship The World Sculling Championship (1863–1957), evolved from the Championship of the Thames for professional scullers. Only the sport of boxing claims an older Championship of the World. It is notable that Jack Broughton, the "Father of Boxing", t ...

match held between New Zealander Richard Arnst, the then Champion and challenger Ernest Barry of England. The match was raced on the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

near the

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

on 18 August 1910. Arnst won. Gollan was a member of

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal River Thames, Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As of July 2023, Thames had w ...

and became a vice president of the club in 1914. He was a capable rowing coach to his son Donald Gollan, who rowed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. On 27 January 1934, Gollan was knocked down and killed by a bus in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The coroner found that he had stepped out in front of the bus without seeing it, and noted that he was blind in one eye. He was aged 74.

References

External links

The tale of Moifaa

Photo from English Amateur Billiards Association website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gollan, Spencer New Zealand male rowers New Zealand male golfers Amateur golfers New Zealand racehorse owners and breeders 1860 births 1934 deaths Road incident deaths in London Sportspeople from Napier, New Zealand Pedestrian road incident deaths Colony of New Zealand people