Stuck His Oar In Where Needed And Pulled Hard

The Age

Tuesday January 4, 2005

By KEN AITKEN and ANDREW GUERIN

ROBERT AITKEN, MBE, LAWYER, SPORTSMAN, 21-7-1922 - 5-12-2004

BOB Aitken, who coached the Australian eight to a bronze medal in rowing at Ballarat during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and later became chairman of Rowing Australia, has died at The Alfred hospital following a brief illness. He was 82.

A keen sportsman, he was also president of Royal Melbourne Golf Club from 1982 to 1986.

Robert Russell Aitken was the second of the five children of Philip and Marguerite Aitken, who were kind and thoughtful parents. He was educated at Glamorgan in the days of the renowned Miss McComas, and at Geelong College, where he boarded from 1932 to 1940. He was dux of the college and stroke of the first eight.

Bob joined the army in late 1941 after starting legal studies at Melbourne University. During World War II he spent several years as a lieutenant with the 33rd heavy anti-aircraft battery and served in New Guinea, where he carried on his legal studies by correspondence.

Bob's father, the founder of the law firm, Aitken Walker and Strachan, died in 1944, and Bob was needed at the office. On his discharge from the army, he completed the law course while working full time for the firm, and in 1949 he was made a partner. Bob remained with the firm for the rest of his life, as partner, senior partner and consultant - and he continued in active practice to the end.

He served his clients and his profession with distinction through his wise counsel and unfailing courtesy.

Bob joined Mercantile Rowing Club in 1946 and rowed competitively for the next seven years. He greatly enjoyed country regattas. He stroked Victoria's interstate men's eight in 1951, 1952 and 1953: they came second in 1951 and won the King's Cup in the two following years.

Bob's career as an oarsman, coach, selector and administrator made a significant contribution to the sport. He had a good eye for rowing skill and how a boat should travel through water, and a good knowledge of training.

He was for many years a successful school, club, state and national coach, and a state and national selector. The bronze medal won by the eight he coached at the Olympics was a highlight.

The qualities that enabled Bob to succeed as a lawyer, combined with his understanding and love of rowing, made him an obvious choice for many leadership roles in rowing, including captain and president of his club, Mercantile; president of Rowing Victoria, and the first elected chairman of Rowing Australia.

He was the inaugural chairman of both the Victorian and Australian umpires' panels that improved the standard of umpiring throughout Australia.

These organisations made important decisions while under Bob's guidance. In the mid-1970s rowing was a fully amateur sport and produced only occasional success internationally through exceptional crews. Bob, as chairman of Rowing Australia, together with honorary secretary John Coates and chairman of selectors Jim Howden, appointed a professional coach from Europe to provide improved coaching, training and selection methods.

It was an inspired appointment that initiated the necessary changes to make Australia one of the world's top rowing nations.

This decision required the sport to take a huge leap of faith in its ability to pay for such a coach, and also transformed the sport from purely amateur administration with no funds to the beginnings of a professionally run body.

Bob was involved in persuading a deeply cautious membership, accustomed to amateurism and the use of skilled volunteers, of the benefits. Without his support, the decision would not have been implemented.

Bob was never happier than at club level where he taught many generations of Mercantile members the joys of rowing, coaching, club administration and, most of all, club life. He valued the lifelong friendships gained from rowing.

At the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, Australian crews suffered serious disadvantage from poor Australian built boats. Bob knew that the standard of Australian boats needed to be improved to match the competition. Between 1964 and 1970 he and David Boykett imported two Italian Donoratico eights and one German Karlisch eight in an endeavour to improve local manufacture.

The first of these boats caused an uproar in Australia, and calls were made for it to be banned. The boat was claimed to be 20 to 30 seconds better than Australian boats over 2000 metres.

But Australian boat building gradually improved to meet the new standard and our boats are today the equal of those built anywhere in the world.

Bob inherited a love of golf and it became the most enduring of his other interests. He became a member of Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1946. He served on the council, and was president of the club from 1982 to 1986. He enjoyed his games with the Senior Golfers' Society.

Bob had a strong sense of duty. He worked hard in his practice of the law and gave his non-professional time generously. He earned the high esteem and affection of his colleagues, his friends, his family and his many clients.

Bob, who never married, is survived by his brothers Ken and Philip, his sister Virginia Davey, and many nephews and nieces.

Ken Aitken is Robert Aitken's brother; Andrew Guerin is a rowing and legal colleague.

© 2005 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home