Ernest William Chapman, OAM (11 April 1926 – 21 March 2013)[1] was an Australian rower and a lifelong clubman at the Sydney Rowing Club.

[2] Chapman's first state selection for New South Wales came in 1950 as a reserve for the men's senior eight contesting the King's Cup at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta.

[4][5] For the 1952 Helsinki Olympics an all New South Wales crew was selected twelve months in advance based on the 1951 King's Cup result.

However the selector Joe Gould stuck with the selected crew since a number of them including stroke Phil Cayzer, had severe adverse reactions to the vaccinations they'd taken for overseas travel.

It was also mentioned that their fundraising responsibilities, some 7,000 pounds, impacted their preparation - the Australian Olympic Federation had only been able to fund four air tickets for the eight.