Mervyn Wood

Mervyn Wood
New South Wales Police Commissioner
In office 1977–1979
Preceded by	Frederick Hanson
Succeeded by	Jim Lees
Personal details
Born	30 April 1917 Kensington, New South Wales
Died	19 August 2006 Sydney, New South Wales

Medal 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.

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

1. ^ Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1946-2003

• 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]

• News.com.au Obituary
• Australian Rowing History
• Olympic Database

Police appointments
Preceded by Frederick Hanson	Commissioner of the New South Wales Police 1977 – 1979	Succeeded by Jim Lees

Persondata
Name	Wood, Mervyn
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 April 1917
Place of birth	Kensington, New South Wales
Date of death	19 August 2006
Place of death	Sydney, New South Wales