He was also a golfer who twice won the New Zealand Amateur championship, and was a well-known figure at St. Andrews.
In the spring of 1901, with two professional oarsmen, Tom Sullivan and George Towns, he broke the record for rowing between Oxford and Putney along the River Thames.
[4] Gollan was the umpire in the World Sculling Championship match held between New Zealander Richard Arnst, the then Champion and challenger Ernest Barry of England.
The match was raced on the Zambezi River near the Victoria Falls on 18 August 1910.
The coroner found that he had stepped out in front of the bus without seeing it, and noted that he was blind in one eye.