Rowing News

In August this year Ballarat High School lost yet another significant person from our rowing family.

 

Clifford Restarick, passed away after a short battle with cancer on August 18th, 2021.

 

Clifford [Cliff] was a gentleman of the sport and became Ballarat High School’s first ever cox to win the Head of the Lake in 1947. He had a busy day that day coxing the division 1, 2, and 3 crews for High School. The highlight was obviously beating Grammar by 3 lengths in the division 1 race in front of a huge crowd. Cliff steered his crew with no lane ropes to the win in the 1 mile race in a time of 4:44.4. Cliff was only in form 3 (year 9) in 1947 but was still invited to the grand ball on race night. 

 

Cliff and a composite Ballarat crew attended the Empire Games trials in a coxed 4 boat in 1950 but was unsuccessful in gaining selection.

 

During the 1960s Cliff returned to coxing for Mercantile Rowing Club. Cliff steered the 1967 and 1968 lightweight coxed 4 and 8 to podium finishes at the Victorian Championships and in 1968 won the National Championships, coxing the Mercantile lightweight 8.

 

Cliff returned to Ballarat High School in 2017 to celebrate his 70-year Head of the Lake winning reunion. He attended along side his bow seat Ian McWilliams and via phone link up, his 2 seat Syd Pargeter. Those who were in attendance that night were privileged to hear the stories of the 1947 triumph.

 

Our condolences to Cliff’s family and friends, he will be forever Ballarat High School’s first winning cox.

 

Robert Simmonds

Rowing Director