Douglas McLean

Who was Douglas McLean?

Douglas Hamilton McLean was an Australian born rower who rowed in the Boat Race five times and won Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta. He was also a cricketer who played one match for Somerset in 1896.

McLean was born in Sydney, Australia the son of J P McLean, colonial treasurer of Queensland, Australia. He went to England where was educated at Eton College and made his first appearance at Henley in the Eton eight winning the Ladies' Challenge Plate in 1882. He went on to New College, Oxford where he rowed in the Oxford crew in the Boat Race five times between 1883 and 1887, winning in 1883 and 1885. He won the University Pairs for New College in 1885 and also Silver Goblets at Henley with his brother, Hector McLean. In 1886 the McLean brothers were beaten in the final of the Silver Goblets by Stanley Muttlebury and Fraser Churchill. McLean was Australia in December 1886 when he played a match for Geelong Cricket Club and then in India at the start of 1887, but returned in time to take part in his fifth boat race. During the race McLean's oar broke. Oxford were behind at Barnes Railway Bridge, but Cambridge moved into rougher water too far over to the Surrey bank and Oxford were expecting to push through when the disaster struck. Guy Nickalls, then in his first Boat Race, recorded "Then, 'Ducker' McLean broke his oar off short at the button. With the station in our favour and him out of the boat we could have won even then, but 'Ducker' funked the oncoming penny steamers and, instead of jumping overboard as he should have done, we had to lug his now useless body along, to lose the finish." At Henley the McLeans were again runners up in Silver Goblets to Muttlebury and Charles Theodore Barclay.