About the River Canoe Club

They would laugh and shake their heads those old boys and girls from 1935 if they saw us paddling now.  They would laugh at our neoprene, our waterproof clothing and our buoyancy vests jingling with hardware.  They would be bemused by the tiny plastic craft we paddle on whitewater and the sleek boats used on flatwater rivers and at sea.  But at an evening paddle by the clubhouse on the Cooks River, out at Penrith whitewater course, down by Kosciusko side on the Victorian safari or when camping on the shores of Jervis Bay, they would still recognise the camaraderie of the Rivers Club and the excitement of new paddling adventures.

And conversely, when we read the accounts and watch the old films of the first fifty years of the club we are amazed at the hardiness of the early adventurers.  They paddled in shorts and a felt hat on rapids and rivers in their open, handmade craft named ‘Queen Mary’, ‘Saucy Jane’ or ‘Rio Grande’.

As these changes have flowed into our members paddling lives the clubhouse at Tempe has been not only a treasured meeting place but also a storehouse of our history, keeping safe many journals and original records, hand written in pen and ink.  It has protected boat moulds, slalom gates, rafts, trophies, photos, mementos and a variety of craft.

Such is the River Canoe Club, founded in 1935 when Paddy Pallin brought together those who were known to have canoed down the Shoalhaven River, and created a canoe club.

As the sport of canoeing has evolved, so have the activities of kayakers.  Today our members enjoy a wide range of kayaking activities which goes beyond what was envisaged by the Club’s founders.  We have our day trips, weekends away and multi-day paddling safaris and then there are the qualified instructors who volunteer their time to train members in the various kayaking disciplines.  Rivers members enjoy activities that, among others, cover:

  • Flatwater paddles on rivers and bays and, on occasion, sea kayaking
  • Moving water trips on Grade 1 and 2 rivers
  • Whitewater paddles on Grade 3 rivers and above
  • Training from qualified instructors for flat, moving and white water
  • Social whitewater paddles at Penrith Whitewater Stadium and flatwater paddles from the Clubhouse
  • Day and weekend white, moving and flat water trips and several times a year multi-day safaris
  • Monthly meeting at the Clubhouse and social gatherings.

You can take a look at our calendar to see what is coming up and browse past issues of Splash, the Club Magazine, to see what we have been up to.

2009 Club Safari

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