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J.C.S

Vessel numberHV000630

Previous owner The Southport School

Builder Siegfried Tantner

Previous owner Billys Beach House

Vessel type Gladstone skiff

Datec1960

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 6.2 m x 5.8 m x 0.64 m (20.34 ft x 19.03 ft x 2.1 ft)

Terms

DescriptionJ.C.S. was built by Siegfried’ Siggy’ Tanter for The Southport School, probably during the 1950s. The shell of the hull is made in moulded in 2.5mm marine grade plywood and was lighter than the traditional clinker built Gladstone Skiffs. It has minimal framing as well, but retained the separate top strake where the riggers attached.. The scull was used by the school for about three decades and was retired in 1985 when it was considered uneconomical to repair. It was then displayed in Billy’s Bar at the Iluka Resort in Southport Beach.

J.C.S. was named by the Southport School in memory of James Cecil Stevenson who had been a student from 1927-1932. He had been an outstanding student- dux of the lower and then senior schools, Captain of Boats in 1932 and cox of the winning crew at the Brisbane head of the river in 1930 and 1931. He completed and BA and BSC at the University of Queensland and enlisted in the RAAF in 1939, and rose to Wing Commander. In 1942 he died when the aircraft crashed into Port Phillip while test flying a new Spitfire on 1/12/1942.

Tantner migrated to Australia from Yugoslavia in 1952, and commenced building racing shells and sculls soon after at the Commercial Rowing Club in Brisbane. He was held in high esteem and built many shells for schools and clubs over a number of years. The Gladstone scull class begun in 1885, and was popular in the early 1900s and used regularly until at least the 1960s.

J.C.S. has now been bought by a private owner and is being restored to full rowing condition and will then be one the few Gladstone skiffs still in use, rowed by its owner on Sydney’s waterways. One other extant Gladstone built by Sargent and Burton in the 1960s is also built in moulded ply with a separate plank at the sheer.

SignificanceJ.C.S. is a Gladstone Skiff built in Brisbane at an unknown date during the 1950s. It is a single rowing scull and was made by boat builder “Siggy’ Tantner. It is one of the few surviving Gladstone Skiffs, a class begun in 1885, and one of two surviving examples built in moulded ply rather than the traditional clinker construction. It has a strong social connection with The Southport School that has a fine tradition of fostering the sport of rowing in Queensland.