- Mervyn Wood
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Mervyn Wood New South Wales Police Commissioner In office
1977–1979Preceded by Frederick Hanson Succeeded by Jim Lees Personal details Born 30 April 1917
Kensington, New South WalesDied 19 August 2006
Sydney, New South WalesMedal record Men's Rowing Competitor for Australia
Olympic Games Gold 1948 London Single sculls Silver 1952 Helsinki Single sculls Bronze 1956 Melbourne Double sculls British Empire (and Commonwealth) Games Gold 1950 Auckland Single sculls Gold 1950 Auckland Double sculls Gold 1954 Vancouver Double sculls Gold 1954 Vancouver Coxed fours Silver 1958 Cardiff Double sculls Mervyn Thomas (Merv) Wood, LVO, MBE, QPM (30 April 1917 – 19 August 2006) was an Australian rower of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was a four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist. He later rose to become the Police Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force.
Contents
Biography
Wood was the youngest of four children born in Kensington, New South Wales. His father Thomas Wood had emigrated to Australia and entered the Police Force in 1905. Wood grew up in Randwick and attended Sydney Boys High School, where he represented his school in Rugby Union, swimming and most successfully, rowing.
Following High School graduation, Wood became a Police Cadet and rowed for the New South Wales Police Rowing Club. The police team was selected to represent Australia at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. At the age of 19 years old, Wood appeared in his first Olympics. His boat was eliminated in the repechage and did not make the final.
Upon his return, Wood made police constable. After the majority of his crew retired, Wood took up sculling. He worked in the police force in the Criminal Investigation Branch, and in 1944 joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator.
After the end of World War II, Wood won State and National Championships in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and was selected to represent Australia in the single scull at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Wood traveled to London ahead of the rest of the team and won the Diamond Challenge Sculls event at the Henley Royal Regatta, beating Bert Bushnell in the final.[1] At the Olympics, Wood won all of his races handily including the final, which he won by 14 seconds. Wood celebrated by smoking his pipe - he was a lifelong smoker who only put aside the habit for the Olympics.
Wood went on to win the national single scull championship a record seven straight times, winning in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952 . At the 1950 British Empire Games he won the single scull and with compatriot Murray Riley the double scull. As the 1948 Olympic Champion, Wood was awarded the Philadelphia Challenge Cup as the best amateur sculler in the world, which Wood defended in 1950 defeating John B. Kelly, Jr. and Anthony Rowe in a match race in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Wood represented Australia in the single scull event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where he was honored by being selected to carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony. On the journey to Finland, Wood stopped in England and repeated his victory at the Henley Royal Regatta in the Diamond Challenge Sculls, beating Tony Fox in the final. Wood was a favorite to win the single scull at the Olympics, but lost the final by 1.7 seconds to the USSR's Yuri Tyukalov with Poland’s Teodor Kocerka finishing third. Although he never offered it as an excuse, as a child, Wood had injured his arm which occasionally caused him distress while rowing including during the summer of 1952. This may have affected his performance at the games, but Wood also faced far stiffer competition than in the 1948 games, which were held shortly after World War II, and his main rival Tyukalov would prove to be one of the best oarsmen of his generation.
At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Wood rowed in both the coxless four and the double scull events. The finals were separated by only 45 minutes, and Wood won gold medals in both events.
In 1956 Wood lost the national sculling title to teenager Stuart Mackenzie, who was selected ahead of Wood to represent Australia in the single scull at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. But Wood and his partner Riley were selected for the double scull. Among others in the final, Wood and Riley faced the Soviet team that included Yuri Tyukalov, who had beaten Wood at the 1952 Games. Tyukalov’s boat again triumphed, an American boat finished second, and Wood’s boat third, giving him a Bronze medal at age 39. Wood was again named the flag-bearer, the only Australian to have twice achieved the honor.
Wood’s final competition was the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, where teaming with Stuart Mackenzie he won silver in the double scull at age 41.
Following his retirement from rowing, Wood returned full-time to his post in the New South Wales Police Force, eventually becoming the Commissioner in 1977. His double scull partner at the 1956 Olympics, Murray Riley, was also a police officer. After leaving the force, Riley became an international drug smuggler. Wood’s link with Riley and the controversy it generated was a factor in causing him to quit as Commissioner in 1979.
Television crime series, "Underbelly - The Tale of Two Cities", screened in Australia in 2009, portrayed Wood as an extremely corrupt police commissioner who personally knew and protected known crime figures, including George Freeman, Robert Trimbole and Terry Clark.
Wood died in Sydney at age 89.
Rowing Record
Olympics
- 1936, eight (8+), did not qualify for finals
- 1948, single (1x), Gold
- 1952, single (1x), Silver
- 1956, double (2x), Bronze
Empire/Commonwealth Games
- 1950, Single (1x), Gold
- 1950, Double (2x), Gold
- 1954, Four w/out (4-), Gold
- 1954, Double (2x), Gold
- 1958, Double (2x), Silver
Henley Royal Regatta
- 1948, Diamond Challenge Sculls, First Place
- 1952, Diamond Challenge Sculls, First Place
References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games.
- Howell, Max (1986). Aussie Gold.
External links
- sports-reference.com
- Australian Olympic Committee Obituary
- Australian Olympic Committee Biography
- [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/sports/othersports/24wood.html?ex=1314072000&en=6263a3a21535d589&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss NY Times
- [http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/underbellyataleoftwocities/ Underbelly website
Obituary]
Police appointments Preceded by
Frederick HansonCommissioner of the New South Wales Police
1977 – 1979Succeeded by
Jim LeesOlympic Champions in Men's Single Sculls 1900: Hermann Barrelet | 1904: Frank Greer | 1908: Harry Blackstaffe | 1912: William Kinnear | 1920: John B. Kelly, Sr. | 1924: Jack Beresford | 1928: Henry "Bobby" Pearce | 1932: Henry "Bobby" Pearce | 1936: Gustav Schäfer | 1948: Mervyn Wood | 1952: Yuri Tyukalov | 1956: Vyacheslav Ivanov | 1960: Vyacheslav Ivanov | 1964: Vyacheslav Ivanov | 1968: Henri Jan Wienese | 1972: Yuri Malishev | 1976: Pertti Karppinen | 1980: Pertti Karppinen | 1984: Pertti Karppinen | 1988: Thomas Lange | 1992: Thomas Lange | 1996: Xeno Müller | 2000: Rob Waddell | 2004: Olaf Tufte | 2008: Olaf TufteCategories:- 1917 births
- 2006 deaths
- Australian rowers
- Olympic rowers of Australia
- Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- Rowers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Sydney
- Olympic gold medalists for Australia
- Olympic silver medalists for Australia
- Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
- Commissioners of the New South Wales Police
- Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Queen's Police Medal
- Rowers at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Rowers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Rowers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia
- Royal Australian Air Force airmen
- Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II
- Olympic medalists in rowing
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