A Brief History
The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club celebrates its sesquicentenary - the 150th anniversary of its creation - in 2017 .
The Club was founded on Tuesday , 15th October 1867 . An advertisement was placed in The Sydney Morning Herald - “ Mosquito Yacht Club - Boat owners wishing to join please meet at McGrath ’ s at 8 tonight .” The advertised meeting duly took place at Punch & McGraths Hotel in King Street .
With Mr . T . Strickland in the chair , it was decided right there and then to form a yacht club to be called “ Prince Alfred Yacht Club ”. It seems then , as now , Club members were in the habit of getting things done rather than merely talking about them !
The name Prince Alfred was adopted to commemorate Prince Alfred ’ s forthcoming visit to Sydney . In January 1868 , His Royal Highness , Prince Alfred , The Duke of Edinburgh , in command of HMS Galatea , sailed into Port Jackson .
He was met by two lines of yachts from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and The Prince Alfred Yacht Club , between which HMS Galatea passed .
In August 1911 , The Prince Alfred Yacht Club was given permission by King George V to use the prefix “ Royal ”.
The Club originally occupied premises in Moore Street , Sydney , known today as Martin Place and it eventually moved into 51 Castlereagh Street . In 1956 , the Club purchased property in Rowe Street and a new building was built on the site .
Our ties to our current location date back to 1919 , when the Committee decided that Sydney Harbour was becoming too congested for yacht racing and a sub-committee was formed to inspect land that would be suitable for yacht racing in the Pittwater area .
As a result , Green Point was purchased for this purpose for an amount of 650 pounds . The land remained practically unused for many years , until a group of enthusiasts , who had built Jubilee class yachts , banded together and built a boatshed , slipway and pontoon to cater for their needs . The Governor of New South Wales , the Honorary Commodore of the Club , Lord Wakehurst , officially opened the current premises on 17 December , 1938 .
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