Rolland's Story
1926 –
Australia’s first sailing medals were won at Melbourne 1956 with Rolly Tasker and John Scott, finishing second in the Sharpies, and John Sturrock, Dev Mytton and Doug Buxton, winning a bronze medal in the 5.5 Metre class. By the final race of the seven-race Olympic series Tasker and Scott had finished no worse than second. They sailed across the finish line in first place but were subsequently disqualified for a mid-race infringement. After the final points for each crew were calculated from the six best finishes, Australia and New Zealand were tied on 6086 points. On a count-back New Zealand was awarded the gold medal because it had won three races to Australia's two. Tasker went on to become Australia's first world champion in yachting before competing again at Rome 1960. In 1962, Tasker was a crew member on the Jock Sturrock-skippered Gretel in Australia’s first audacious challenge for the America’s Cup. In later life, Tasker became a world-renowned sail maker.
