William Northam, Peter O`Donnell & James Sargeant Print Page
Lake Northam commemorates William Northam, Peter O`Donnell and James Sargeant who sailed the yacht "Barrenjoey" to win the Gold Medal at the 1964 Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan.
William Northam took up yachting in 1951, when he was 46, and he sailed on Sir Frank Packer's boat Gretel in the Americas Cup challenge of 1962.
The following year he commissioned the 5.5 metre Barrenjoey, the boat in which he was to sail in Tokyo. There with crewmen Dick Sargeant and Pod O'Connell, Northam won the first, fourth and fifth races and in a notable act of good sportsmanship disqualified himself in the sixth. At the end of the final race the 59 year old had won the gold by almost 700 points, becoming the oldest Australian Olympic gold medallist and the first Australian to win in yachting.
Location
Address: | Broadway, Victoria Park, Camperdown, 2050 |
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State: | NSW |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.885073 Long: 151.192995 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Natural Feature |
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Monument Theme: | People |
Sub-Theme: | Sport |
Link: | https://www.sahof.org.au/hall-of-fa… |
Dedication
Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Thursday 13th July, 1967 |
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Plaque :
The Council of the City of Sydney
Lake Northam was so named and the symbolic replica of the yacht "Barrenjoey" was erected on 13 July 1967 to honour
William H. Northam, C.B.E.
Peter "Pod" O`Donnell
James "Dick" Sargeant
Who sailed "Barrenjoey" to become Gold Medal winners in the 5.5 metre yachting event at the 1964 Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan
William H. Northam, C.B.E., was at that time an Alderman of the City.