Elias C. Laycock

Elias Laycock was born in Pitt Street in Sydney, New South Wales. He attended boarding school at Newtown for a few years then changed to the Cleveland House School in Sydney's Cleveland Paddocks district. Laycock proceeded to work at various jobs after his father's theatre was destroyed by fire during a point in which the building was left uninsured for several days. Laycock worked as a sailor in England, a gold miner near the Gulf of Carpentaria, a cattle stockman at Gippsland, Victoria, a sailor again within Australia, then another gold mining stint.

Laycock began sculling in 1874 with his first regatta appearance on the Clarence River at Grafton. Michael Rush won that competition and its prize of £200 with Edward Trickett in second place while Laycock finished third. Later that year, Laycock trailed Trickett at the Balmain Regatta.

In 1875, Laycock competed again at Clarence River this time winning the regatta over Rush. That September, Trickett defeated Laycock at a match on the Parramatta River in Sydney. Laycock also placed second that November in a re-match with Trickett at the Balmain regatta. Laycock won the Balmain regatta the following year.

On 26 January 1877, Trickett won over Laycock at an annual regatta in Sydney which commemorates the anniversary of the colonisation of Australia. Later that year, Laycock won the Balmain regatta a second time. Around this time, he obtained a position in charge of a quarantine station at Shark Island.

In July 1878, Laycock rowed G. Solomon in heavy boats for £60. A previous race between the two scullers resulted in a draw, consequent upon a foul. Laycock, however, led from the start and won easily.

Charles Messenger hindered by paddle steamer

On 14 September 1878, Laycock was matched against Charles A. Messenger, for £100 a side and the "Championship of the World". Laycock won that contest on the Parramatta River after a close race, marred by confusion caused by steamers at the finish.[1]

He is described by a commentator that day as follows:-

Elias Laycock is a true son of the soil, and a splendid specimen of humanity, standing over 6 feet 2 inches and lifting the beam at 12st10lbs.[1]

On 1 January 1879, Laycock was defeated in the watermen's skiff race at Newcastle, principally due to being handicapped by a very heavy boat. At the National Anniversary Regatta on 26 January 1879 in the professional sculls, Laycock beat Trickett and then created consternation by showing Trickett, then world champion, the right direction to the winning post. Next for Laycock was a match with Rush on the Parramatta River the following April. The stakes were £100, and Laycock won that race by a length and a half. On 30 August 1879, Trickett won in another match with Laycock at the Parramatta River for £200 a side. A week later, Laycock defeated Rush again. At Balmain that year, on 9 November, Laycock placed third against Tricket and Edwards in the professional sculls.

Laycock married Lucy Elizabeth Gregory on 14 September 1876 in Sydney. They had 4 children. His father was a theatre owner and a Member of Parliament, and his paternal grandfather was a colonial pioneer.

Laycock died in 1938 aged 93 at his residence in Cronulla, New South Wales, near Sydney. He was buried at the Woronora Anglican Cemetery at Sutherland.

Although Laycock did not win a world championship, he was still asked to pose in a photograph of key Australian scullers at a Lord Mayoral reception in December 1902 with the likes of Jim Stanbury, Pearce, Peter Kemp, Bill Beach, Michael Rush, Edward Trickett and the Towns brothers.

Laycock Street is found in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Other nearby streets are named after other rowers such as Trickett Street, Hanlan Street, Clifford Street and another street named for American rower John Teemer.

• Fox, Richard Kyle (1880). Edward Hanlan, America's Champion Oarsman. Harvard University. Retrieved 27 January 2011.