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It is generally agreed that the Swan Yacht Club was founded around 1903, but we have no documentation of these early years. The inaugural meeting was held at the Plympton Hotel on August 3, 1904 attended by three gentlemen and His Excellency. Admiral Sir Fredrick Bedford (then Governor of WA) was asked to become Patron of the club (he accepted).

At the inaugural meeting the Club was to be called the Richmond Yacht Club but for obscurer technical reasons it was named The Swan Yacht Club. It was positioned right under where the Stirling traffic bridge is today, on the East Fremantle side.

The first regatta held on the Australian mainland was held on Sydney Harbour and the winner of that regatta was Lieutenant William Preston on a vessel called The Black Swan. In recognition of his victory, Captain James Stirling named a river point after him, Preston Point where The Swan Yacht Club stands today.

Because of the Stirling Bridge construction, the Club had to move and reclaimed land at Pt Preston was allocated. Members started building the new premises in 1964 from material gathered and donated, a lot of hard work was put in by many.

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