No other nineteenth century sporting spectacle affected Saint John as did the Great Race of 1871. It was an epic struggle, a re-match of the world’s two rowing champions, the era’s two great opponents: Saint John’s Paris crew and England’s Tyne crew.
Saint John's crew was called the Paris crew after winning both World Championship races at the 1867 Worlds Exposition held in Paris France. This was Canada's first international sporting event victory, bringing them fame only days after Confederation. The team won multiple other titles until experiencing its first official loss in 1870 to an English team from Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Great Boat Race of 1871 was a return match between the Paris crew, attempting to reverse their defeat in Lachine in 1870, and the Tyne crew, captained by James Renforth. The Tyne crew arrived at the Clairmont House in Torryburn and set up their training camp. The House was located just before Renforth at the top of present day Clairmont Street. It burned down in the early 1900’s. The Paris crew set up their training headquarters at the Johnson House. This House was located near present day Appleby Drive. Both crews quietly began training morning and night for the upcoming race.
By race time on August 23rd, an immense crowd of ay least 20,000 was lining the banks of the small riverside community then known as the Chalet. The race course to Rothesay and back had been carefully measured off, on the ice, the previous winter. The race started at 7:34 am. The Paris crew was leading at the 3/4 mile mark when James Renforth dropped his oar and fell back in his seat. The other crewmen rowed their boat to shore. Renforth was taken back to the Clairmont House and died that later morning.
The Great Boat Race marked the end of an era. After this race, the Paris crew went into semi-retirement. However, the race itself was never forgotten. Fundraisers were held in the Maritimes for Renforth’s wife, and the name of the race location was changed from The Chalet to Renforth in his honour. In 1998, Renforth was amalgamated with several communities to create the town of Rothesay, where today James Renforth is memorialized by James Renforth Drive and Renforth Rotary Park. The town also has a sculpture dedicated to the 1871 race and the Paris Crew.
The Kennebecasis Rowing Sculpture marks the banks where onlookers watched the Great Race of 1871. The Great Race took place on the Kennebecasis River and its route passed through three of the villages that now make up the Town of Rothesay: the old village of Rothesay, the village of East Riverside-Kingshurst where the scuplture is located, and the village of Renforth. The Kennebecasis Sculpture is constructed with bronze for the racing shell portion of the piece and granite for the two stone boulders upon which the shell is mounted. The granite portion of the Kennebecasis Sculpture is covered in commemorative etchings.
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1. The Site Number on the metal box located between the two granite boulders.
2. A photo of you or a personal object at the Kennebecasis Rowing Sculpture.
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