May 1884
The club is inaugurated at the Ponsonby Club Hotel, Three Lamps.
Dec 1884
The first clubhouse is built in St Mary's Bay.
1885
Club colours adopted — and the club's first regatta victory.
1896–1900
The golden years: rapid growth in membership and financial strength under Club Captain John Clark.
1914–1918
World War 1 — 200 West Enders fight overseas; 20 lose their lives.
1918
The St Mary's Bay shed is damaged by a cyclone. Auckland Rowing Club's help in the aftermath is later commemorated by the Goodwill Eights race (first held 1931).
1923
First win by a WERC eight — the Orakei to Judges Bay race.
1930
The WERC crest is created, carrying the motto Ake Ake Kia Kaha.
1933
The club's first eight is purchased from Melbourne University Boat Club.
1936
Auckland's first school crew takes to the water — a Mt Albert Grammar crew, from West End.
1947
The first Maadi Cup race is held — won by a Mt Albert Grammar crew.
1949
WERC wins its first national title: the Men's Championship 8 at Lake Karapiro.
1950
The WERC eight represents New Zealand at the Empire Games, finishing second behind Australia.
1951
The bullseye goes onto the club's oars — Club Captain Dave Stotter saw it as a target to hit on every stroke.
1952
The colours are updated to two diagonal black stripes — the sash worn on the singlet ever since.
1951–1958
WERC wins the Championship 8 at the NZ Champs every single year.
1954
Empire Games, Vancouver: gold for Don Rowlands in the single, silver for the coxed four.
1956
Harbour Bridge construction forces the club out of St Mary's Bay into temporary quarters on the breakwater.
1963–67
A new clubhouse rises on the marina's southern bank — built for £30,757 with volunteer club labour, opened 1967.
1966–1979
WERC wins the Championship Double Sculls every year — first the Watkinson brothers, then Tony Hurt and John White.
1968
First Olympic gold — Dudley Storey in the Men's Coxed Four, Mexico City.
1972
Tony Hurt strokes the NZ Eight to gold at the Munich Olympics.
1978
The Rowing World Championships at Lake Karapiro — five West Enders on the organising committee, led by Don Rowlands; awarded the Olympic medal for organisation.
1980
The Mercer boathouse is completed on the Waikato River, funded largely by Millicent Carter.
1984
Centennial year: Olympic gold for Shane O'Brien in the coxless four at Los Angeles, bronze for Kevin Lawton — and 100 years celebrated in St Mary's Bay.
1994
The club votes to move to the Whau River as Westhaven is redeveloped.
1995
Women become full members — a defining milestone — and Baradene College begins rowing at WERC.
2001
The new Saunders Reserve clubrooms are opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark.
2004
Mahé Drysdale and Juliette Haigh compete at the Athens Olympics; St Peter's College starts its rowing programme at West End.
2005
Three West Enders become World Champions in Gifu, Japan — Drysdale in the single, Haigh and Nicky Coles in the pair.
2010
Mt Albert Grammar restarts its rowing programme at West End after a 20-year hiatus.
2012
London Olympics: gold for Mahé Drysdale in the single, bronze for Juliette Haigh in the pair.
2016
Drysdale defends his title — a second Olympic gold in the single at Rio.
2022
West End acquires the Cox's Bay clubhouse at 55 West End Road — a base for coastal rowing.
2023
WERC holds Auckland's first Coastal Rowing Beach Sprints regatta at St Heliers Bay Beach.
2024
140th Anniversary Dinner at the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron, Westhaven.
2025
Celebrating 30 years of women at West End — and a 24-hour world indoor rowing record attempt by ten club women.
