Ten WRC Masters Women crossed the Tasman on ANZAC weekend for what turned out to be a genuinely special trip.

Our destination was Melbourne and the Yarra River’s Hawthorn Rowing Club, who hosted us for three rows, including their memorial ANZAC 3K Time Trial Race on Sunday 26 April.

What unfolded over four days was rowing, reflection, laughter, a moving memorial that left more than a few of us reaching for sunglasses, and — it must be said — a very satisfying amount of shopping. For ten New Zealand women to mark ANZAC Day together on the water, with a club that carries its own piece of that history, felt like exactly the right thing to do.

Getting There

Assembling ten masters rowers for an international trip is, to put it diplomatically, an exercise in logistics and love. Between training schedules, jobs, and families it was something of a miracle that all ten of us arrived in Melbourne more or less simultaneously and in good spirits.

Melbourne welcomed us with excellent coffee, amazing weather, and an energy that makes you want to walk everywhere and eat constantly. We settled into our accommodation, consulted the group chat approximately forty-seven times about dinner, and declared the trip officially underway.

Saturday — First Row

Saturday brought our first row on Melbourne water in a borrowed Hawthorn eight. The conditions were good, the surroundings were beautiful, and we were complimented on how much ‘power was in the boat’. The afternoon was given over to Melbourne's food and shopping scene. Research was conducted. Purchases were made.

Race Day — Sunday 26 April

The Racing

We arrived at Hawthorn with the usual mix of nerves and excitement. Around ten crews from Hawthorn and local Melbourne clubs had assembled for the 3K Time Trial — a well-run event on good water.

Our squad was split across two eights, as is often the way with travelling groups. We adapted, raced hard, and six of our women came home fastest among the eights — the best result of the day.

The Welcome

What lifted this beyond an ordinary time trial was the welcome from Hawthorn Rowing Club. From the moment we arrived they went out of their way to make us feel genuinely included — in the logistics, the racing, and the day itself.

The Memorial

After the racing came the moment none of us will forget.

Hawthorn Rowing Club has a war memorial dedicated specifically to club members lost in the First World War — one of very few of its kind anywhere. These were young men who had rowed on the same water we'd just raced on, but who hadn't come home.

The post-race ANZAC service, held beside that memorial, was quietly powerful. The Last Post and the minute’s silence — these things always carry weight, but there was something particular about marking this moment as rowers, in a rowing club, beside a memorial to rowers.

For New Zealand women to be present and included in that remembrance felt significant. Hawthorn's willingness to share this memorial and this moment with visitors from across the Tasman is a generosity that goes beyond sporting hospitality. We're grateful for it.

Monday — One Last Row

Monday brought heavier legs and fuller hearts. We returned to the water for a final Melbourne row — no urgency, just the enjoyment of good company and a river we'd come to feel briefly at home on. The rare sight of dolphins in the Yarra was a bonus and a fitting end to the on-water part of the trip.

Melbourne Off the Water

The food was excellent throughout — consistently good across cafes, restaurants, and markets, with several meals earning high marks from the group. The shopping was approached with equal enthusiasm. What came home in the suitcases is between each of us and our Customs declarations.

The Hawthorn Rowing Club set a standard we hope to match when they make the crossing to Wellington.

To Hawthorn: thank you for the welcome, the racing, the hospitality, and for sharing your piece of rowing history with us.

To our ten — what a trip. What a story.

Lest We Forget

Mary-Jane McCarthy

Article added: Wednesday 06 May 2026