Harriet Elphinstone-Dick

Harriet Elphinstone-Dick (1852–1902), also known as Harriet Elizabeth Rowell, was an early English and Australian swimming champion, and physical fitness teacher.

Originally from Brighton, England, she taught swimming at Brill's Baths in Pool Valley and won local fame with a series of public swimming feats including a 2-hour 43 minute swim in a rough September sea from Shoreham to Brighton.

In 1875, she migrated to Melbourne, Australia aboard the Newcastle with her partner, Alice Moon, and started to teach swimming at the St Kilda Sea Baths, while also winning prizes in swimming competitions at various venues around Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay.

She had an intense interest in physical fitness and in 1879 opened Melbourne's first women's only gymnasium, in the Queen Victoria Building, which used to stand where the Melbourne City Square is now.