History

Branch Formation:

Surf Bathers Association of New South Wales was the organisation to which all clubs were directly affiliated to until the Sydney Branch was formed in 1949.

Manly Warringah Branch was formed in 1960 following a decision of the north side clubs to press for the formation of a branch in the Manly Warringah area. A branch executive of Alan Fitzgerald (President), Lionel McDonald (Deputy President), Jack Clark (Secretary) and Harry Rogers (Treasurer), Hector McDonald (Superintendent).

The name of the branch remained Manly Warringah Branch until 1993 when it was changed to Surf Lifesaving Sydney Northern Beaches Inc. to recognise the change in local government structure that took place around that time.

Branch Management:

The Branch Executive of President, Deputy President, Secretary, Treasurer, Superintendent and his Deputy were responsible for the general day to day running of the branch from its formation until in 1994 the management structure was revised with the various areas of control being run by designated directors. At this time an additional member of the executive was added to look after the inclusion of the Board of Junior Activities (Nippers). Changes in the structure have occurred over the years to the current format of today.

In 1983 Jenny Drury commenced as the branches 1st employee to perform much of the day to day running of the work needed to relieve pressure on the volunteer officials. The work carried out was done in the beginning from an area in Manly Surf Club with subsequent relocations to South Curl Curl Surf Club, offices in Dee Why, Cromer and Warriewood.

Board of Examiners (BOE):

When the Branch was first formed there were 33 members of the B of E who had been carrying out functions within the set up of the Sydney Branch. Broken up into areas with District Supervisors was how the operation of this area performed.

Upon the creation of the new Branch the B of E became one unit for the 20 Clubs currently in existence at that time. Its membership now exceeds 200.

The first Superintendent was Hector McDonald who was elected following a meeting in December 1959, and it was his role to supervise the B of E operations which included Life Saving, Examinations and Competition. Lionel McDonald was also elected at that time as his deputy.

The BOE was responsible for the introduction of “torpedo rescue buoy” in 1961 following the necessary funds for its construction being made available by Avalon Lions Club. The innovation was adopted by SLSA following the representations made by the MW Branch. The rescue tube as it is now known is extensively used as standard patrol equipment.

The examination area of the B of E basically consisted of examining candidates from all clubs for their bronze medallion which is the primary qualification for becoming a surf lifesaver. Numerous other disciplines are now included Surf Certificate, Advanced Resuscitation, IRB, and others.

Many of the areas that the B of E looks after are listed and described in more details under separate headings’

The B of E remained the strength of the Branch until 2004 when it was disbanded following a restructure of Branch management. A new board of management was elected to 3 separate areas board of surf sports, board of lifesaving, board of examination and education.

The B of E was the largest board within Australia.

Competition:

Events – when was each event introduced.

Originally U16 and U18 but age groups became U15, 17 and U19.

The Branch has always been well represented at all levels of competition winning numerous medals.

Competition has revolved around the many formats of surf carnivals including surf, beach, surfboat rowing and lifesaving skills. Most competition is held during the surfing season however IRB competition is normally held once the season has finished due to IRB’s being needed by Clubs to perform their normal lifesaving functions during patrol hours.

Some surf carnivals have been held continuously for more than a century like the Freshwater carnival held annually on Australia Day.

During the 1950s a series of restricted carnivals were held at beaches between North Palm Beach and Warriewood with up to 7 clubs competing in events which included such novelty events as pillow fights.

The 1982-83 Carnival season ended at Warriewood with the inaugural Inter Branch Carnival for Under 18’s and the inaugural Masters Carnival. Both carnivals were a great success for all concerned and in particular, the Branch which promoted the concept.

Introduction of Females:

Prior to July 1980, women’s roles were restricted to support and back office. The attitude was that women were not physically capable of carrying out a rescue in the surf. The only exception to this was during World War II where a number of women were allowed to patrol on some beaches. In early 1980, a resolution was passed by National Council that from 1 July women should be able to patrol on our beaches once they had gained their bronze medallion.

The first squad was from Port Kembla SLSC who flew up to Coffs Harbour, where the water was warmer, to be assessed just six days after the new rules took effect. Long Reef was the first club in the branch to admit females into their membership and thus become qualified patrolling members.

The current percentage of Active & Reserve Active members across the 21 Clubs is 38% of all members. They are very well represented in all areas of lifesaving and competition.

Support Services and Innovations:

Radio Room:

The radio facilities at Warringah Surf Rescue situated at Fisherman’s Beach was set up by Peter Liddle in the early seventies in at the power boat shed. Later with financial assistance from the Council an additional level was added. This structure is still in place today.

The radio room initially had contact with all clubs in the branch and was able to co-ordinate emergency services when required.

The service offered was found to be so well managed that some other branches at times used the radio facilities.

The facility is also used by the Council Lifeguards during their operating hours. It was also a central point for branch duty officers during weekend operational times. It is manned by dedicated personnel who volunteer their time during these times.

The facility has wheelchair access and as such persons with disabilities are able to assist in the functioning of the radio room. One member of the personnel involved is wheelchair bound Chris Roberts who has given 40 years’ service to branches operation of the radio room.

Newport SLSC- Bartender Power Boats:

During the 1964-65 season through the support of Ampol Petroleum Company and the Bartender Safety Boat Company, Newport SLSC became the first Club to own a motorized surf boat.

The Bartender Class of boat was designed on the west coast of USA by a Marine Architect named George Calkins who could see the potential of a boat that could handle the heavy seas on the west coast river bars and shoals (hence the name Bartender). In 1957 the boat won a national boat safety award and by the end of the year 22 Bartenders were in use by the US Coast Guard.

At Newport SLSC it all started with late Life Members Peter Liddle and Bert King after reading an article in an American boating magazine.

The Boats manufacturer was located in Melbourne and allowed Newport SLSC to try the boat at the Metropolitan Championships in February at Newport Beach. The Manufacturer also sold six of to the Victorian Police for use on Port Phillip Bay and other water ways. The boat was used at the Carnival to lay the Boat Buoys when a standard Surf Boat failed to make the break.

The Boat was later returned to Melbourne as it was discovered that the motor was worn out following previous training by the Victorian Police. Following repairs the boat was returned to Newport SLSC for developmental experiments. It was well utilised in many local rescues and despite many mechanical faults proved very seaworthy. A Committee was set up to instigate development and training procedures for the Bartender. Towards the end of the season the Bartender was traded in on a new boat that had been updated in a number of ways following recommendations from Newport SLSC members. It was powered by a 110 hp Volvo Motor with a modified sea leg to lift quickly if it hit a sand bank.

The Ampol Petroleum Company continued their sponsorship, and the manufacturer donated $1,000 worth of Oil and Fuel. The boat was Christened “Ampol Rescue”.

Three hundred hours of operation were completed in the 1965-66 season with many demonstrations carried out at a number of carnivals.

During the 1966-67 season the Ampol Rescue answered many calls some of these at night and during the week.

The 1967-68 season saw the continuation of the good work by Ampol Rescue and a new trailer was designed and built at no cost to the Club which allowed easier access to the water.

The Bartender class of boat proved so successful that a number of other clubs used them and SLSNSW formed a Committee to draft regulations and training procedures for power boat operations.

The Ampol Rescue was sold to a group of Clubs at the Entrance Central Coast after three years of service at Newport SLSC.

Ampol Petroleum Company was keen to sponsor another boat for Newport SLSC using expertise gained over four years’ experience with two previous boats whilst still using the same basic hull. The new boat was christened “Ampol Rescue 2” in May 1969.

At the end of 1969-70 season saw the completion of six years of Power Surf Rescue at Newport SLSC. In an impressive performance one Sunday afternoon in the 1970-71 season the Ampol Rescue two carried out three mass rescues, two at Newport and one at Mona Vale. The role of the power boat in surf lifesaving was proven again.

The 1971-72 season saw the conversion of the Ampol Rescue 2 from propeller driven to an American Berkley Jet drive system which allowed more clearance under the hull so the boat could operate in shallow water. The maintenance and replacement costs were also lower and a more powerful V8 motor was fitted. These motors could be hooked up to on shore plumbing in the Boat Shed so that the boat could hit the water with a warm engine.

Things did not go to plan in the 1973-74 season with numerous operational issues and the boat being out of action for most of the season.

A big storm hit the club in May 1974 much of the Power Boat gear, tools, spares, power winch and numerous other items were lost. The boat was unable to return to the water until the “Aussies” at Dee Why in 1975.

In the 1975-76 season the boat’s future came under serious consideration as the firm contracted to fix the motor went bust and the motor disappeared. The Newport Power Boat Rescue Service then decided to sell the hull and move resources into the new IRBs.

As a result of Newport SLSC introducing the Power Boats, a range of new equipment was added to Surf Life Saving. These included Two-way Radios, the Oxy Viva Resuscitation system and the Air Bag Resuscitation system which was not approved by SLSA for another 20 years.

This report was prepared by Gary Cook Life Member of Newport SLSC and an Accredited Crewman and Driver of the Bartender Vessels. Full information is contained in Newport SLSC’s “The First Century 1909-2009 History Book” compiled by Guy Jennings.

In 1965 a jet powered craft was developed by a group led by Don Matheson BEM, and it became the first jet powered surfboat in Australia. The craft operated under the name ’Jack Wilson.’

Helicopter:

In 1973-74 the helicopter service sponsored by Westpac was successfully introduced into Surf Lifesaving in Sydney Metropolitan area. A training day for the service was held at Nth Narrabeen Beach and the first rescue by the helicopter occurred at Bronte three weeks after its introduction.

The Helicopter VH-CSW was chartered from Air fast general aviation group, with it and its crew of two lifesavers and a pilot spending each day on standby at the Army’s School of Artillery, North Head in radio contact with ‘Surf Command’. The helicopter with a special team of 28 Surf Lifesavers was on duty for 94 days with 209 flying hours during the first season from October to the end of April including the entire summer school holiday period.

The Helicopter crew made many dramatic rescues over the season, which included 27 persons lifted to safety from the ocean, another12 accident victims flown to hospitals, and over 100 search missions made in response to surf clubs, police and beach inspector calls.

The Helicopter service linked with the Jet Boat and Surf Club Patrols through a newly established “Surf Command” Radio network. This SLSA Radio network allowed their mobile emergency service to co- ordinate in rescue activities and to be on call to Police and other Civil Rescue Services.

Without a dedicated group of volunteers from Sydney and Manly-Warringah branch clubs the helicopter service could not have been manned so effectively during surfing season.

Inshore Rescue Boat/IRB:

Warren Mitchell OAM from Avalon Beach was the person responsible for the introduction of the IRB into surf lifesaving. The first successful trial was conducted at Avalon Beach on 2 November 1969.

Warren along with his brother Don carried out this trial. In the following month Warren together with John fuller carried out the first rescue with an IRB when 8 children were saved from a rip.

The perseverance of Warren and members of the Avalon Beach SLSC enabled the IRB to be accepted as faster and more efficient method of surf rescue than the previously traditional methods. During the introduction period he faced many obstacles from more conservative members of the SLSA movement, but these were all overcome.

For his efforts Warren was awarded an SLSA Innovation Award and also an Order of Australia Medal (OAM). A book “Breakthrough: The Story of the Inflatable Rescue Boat” was written by E Wake-Walker (2007)

Jet Ski:

The use of the Jet Ski is one of the most recent introductions to the rescue equipment used by surf lifesavers.

Upon a visit to Avalon Beach the pioneer of the jet ski Brian Keaulana a Hawaiian lifeguard noted that he had experienced many of the obstacles that had been experienced by Warren during his introduction of the IRB. 

TIPS Panel:

In 1995 following a tragic incident involving members of the Manly SLSC it was decided by Jenny Drury and Brian Kinsey to approach QBE Insurance for support in the formation of traumatic incident peer support team. This was a new initiative for surf lifesavers to gain emotional/psychological first aid following major incidents. It is also now an integral component of OH&S legislation. The team was successfully managed for many years by Patricia Newton who was awarded an honour for her management and direction of the group.

Wartime and ADF Service:

A book has been written by a panel including Ray Petersen (Manly) entitled “Those Who Served” and should be read to obtain much wider detail of service by surf lifesavers with all sections of the ADF.
In this book there are details of all known service personnel from each club. Individual biographies are detailed of a number of individuals including Sir Adrian Curlewis, John Williams, David Fisher, David McErlane and the Porters of Newport.
During World War II most beaches were barricaded off after the Japanese entered the hostilities. Some photos of this are included in our photo archives.

Junior Activities:

The Junior Surf Lifesaving (Nippers) was commenced in 1965 with the first President being David Lawler and Jim Routh as Secretary. The name of the organisation was changed in later years to Board of Junior Activities. The age qualification has remained at persons 7 to 13years.

Nippers Unofficial Beginning:

Young Juveniles have had an active role in surf clubs almost from the beginning. There is much anecdotal evidence that suggests young juveniles competed in events and learned basic surf and lifesaving skills. A photograph of four Manly Surf Club juveniles aged 10and 11, taken in 1907, for many years used to be on display at MLSC.

Photographic evidence also shows members of Bronte Junior Life Saving Brigade, which was formed in 1908, practicing resuscitation procedure.

1920s South Curl Curl Juveniles, R & R team being coached by Bill Robinson.

The minutes of the Newport SLSC reveal that a juvenile surf club existed there in 1926, and Bondi’s records also detail junior members known as `Life Boys in 1933. At North Wollongong, also in 1933, a group called the `Sandpipers was taught the rudiments of surfing, beach work and coached in the baths, before being initiated into the surf club as junior members. The Illawarra clubs, however, are seen as the pioneers of more organised `juvenile’ activities and it was appropriate that the first interclub carnival was held at Bulli. The Thirroul `Sandcrabs’ were formed in 1945, North Wollongong juniors in 1947, and the Stanwell Park `Seagulls began activities in 1955 and officially became an organised club in 1958. While the Bulli `Aqualads’ are recognised as having been established in 1962, unofficially they began in 1958 with a group of lads trained by John Jones. In those formative years the younger boys were permitted to compete in cadet surf races and interclub carnivals.

On the Mid North Coast, Port Macquarie is believed to be the first club to create a junior section of its surf club, in 1960. Between 1960and 1965 there was something of an explosion of organised junior activities at club level in the Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney’s southern and northern beaches and Illawarra Branch.

The impact of such clubs formally training and encouraging 8 – 13-year-olds 5 – 6-year-olds were included from 1966 but were restricted to `educational activities’ after the 1980s and welcoming them, and their families, into surf club life.

In 1963 at Merewether SLSC in the Newcastle Branch, Senior Club membership numbers had dwindled to just 29, some committee members saw news reports of a nipper’s carnival in the Illawarra Branch and decided to form a juvenile section. There was strong support by local newspapers and 120 new members registered in the first two weeks of October in 1964. That success saw several other clubs start juvenile sections in ensuing weeks. Many of the boys switched to clubs nearer their homes, with hundreds of their friends also signing up, but Merewether retained around 60, and many went on to become senior club members. Similar impetus was evident in the Cronulla area, where the Shire’s clubs embracing of Nipper’s, and the early appointment of liaison officers to help them progress into the Cadets, saw their strength in numbers and standard as competitors reach outstanding levels – a trend which has continued through to today.

The fact that parents had taken such an active interest in promoting surf awareness to the younger children also attracted the admiration of the wider community which was only too willing to assist with much needed funding. Manly’s Juvenile Club was a typical example, receiving good support from the Manly Rotary Club, Manly Civic Club, and the Manly Bowling Club in its formative years.

Many senior officials in New South Wales, however, shunned the youngsters. Their old-fashioned thinking was that Nippers were a menace, and could be organized separately to their own activities and

that there was no need for them to be involved. This off-hand approach unfortunately meant lost opportunities for the youngsters to progress into the senior club, and they found little welcoming enthusiasm when they attempted to step up into senior ranks. However, people like John Jones, who at age 71 was still swimming 2 kilometres most days in 2007 and had lost none of his obvious affection for the surf lifesaving movement, gave their time to encourage the kids. It was these senior `clubbies throughout the state who had the foresight and gave up their time to create a massively successful new movement. John Jones recalls with great pride his initiative to start coaching the kids at Bulli Beach, a gesture that led to a rapid and massive increase in junior participation in the Wollongong area, and ultimately right throughout the state:

Bulli was struggling for membership numbers and strength as Wollongong, Thirroul and North Wollongong were the gun clubs in the1950s because they also had pools and swim clubs. We only had a rock pool and no swim club. We had to build our own and got a lot of youngsters together and started training them as a group in 1957 ready to progress through to cadets and into the seniors. It caught on and juvenile clubs started up and down the coast.

Nippers Official Beginning:

As Juvenile clubs started to evolve right along the New South Wales coastline, it was inevitable that the movement would grow into its own official organisation. Hot on the heels of the success of Bulli carnival, it was decided to invite all `interested parties to a meeting on 24 September 1966 at Wollongong Leagues Club with the view to formally establish a junior movement. Illawarra officials played a leading role in this move, along with keen support from Central Coast and Newcastle counterparts. As Jones continued:

About four months after the success of the Bulli carnival we called an interest meeting to see who would support the establishment of State association, as we thought with the numbers then competing, we needed a formal State body to integrate between the Branches. Con Asmussen, President of Surf Life Saving New South Wales, was very supportive but there was not a lot of support from many clubs, and he had to do a lot of lobbying on our behalf at the State Council meeting.

There were 15 delegates from six branches in attendance – Illawarra, Newcastle, Manly-Waringah, Sydney, North Coast and Far South Coast, as well as guests the mayor of Greater Wollongong, Mr. Tony Ravan, local member for Cunningham, Rex Connor, President of Illawarra SLSA Branch Gil Grant and Secretary Don Moir. The meeting was chaired by John Jones and an interim committee was set up. The first annual general meeting was staged on 10 December 1966 at Central Coast Leagues Club in Gosford. It voted unanimously to establish six competitor age groups, from under-8 through to under-13. When it came to naming the association, there was a natural split. The term Nippers had already become common in describing the youngsters who would flit around the beaches full of energy and some delegates naturally felt the NSW Nippers Surf Life Saving Association was appropriate. Others felt something more formal was needed, such as `juveniles’ which was what the Illawarra and Newcastle associations used. The motion that the association becalled the NSW Juvenile Surf Life Saving Association attracted an even vote of seven for and seven against, leaving chairman John Jones to use his casting vote to carry the motion.

The background of the commonly used term to describe the junior movement, `nippers’ is a fascinating one. It was initially a term used to describe trainee sailors in England, but its meaning became extended to depict children in the family unit the parents and their three nippers. Although in the first few decades’ junior officials were meticulous in trying to rid the sport of the term nippers, and the so-called South Australian association changed its name to Juniors very early, in the new millennium its most common association is still certainly in regard to junior surf lifesaving members.

There is some contradiction about how many branches were present at the inaugural general meeting at Gosford. The minutes state that 23 delegates from eight branches attended, but only seven –

Newcastle, Illawarra, Central Coast, Manly-Warringah, Sydney, Mid North Coast, and North Coast – were recorded. An apology was noted as having been received via telegram from the Far North Coast Branch. A circular produced about the meeting records that the above seven branches were present, with three voting delegates allowed from each branch to take an active part in votes. Also present as guests were local parliamentarian Ted Humphries and Wyong shire president Wilf Barrett. The Gosford meeting nominated state Governor Sir Roden Cutler as prospective patron of the association, and in the ensuing weeks he accepted the role, which he continued until 1980. The first elected officers were: John Jones (Illawarra) as president; Neville Henshaw (Newcastle)deputy president; Ted Poole (Central Coast), Bruce Buckingham (Manly-Warringah), Neville Hitchens (Mid North Coast) vice-presidents; John Shumack (Illawarra) hon secretary; Clive Young (Newcastle) hon treasurer; Jim Routh (Manly-Warringah) hon registrar; Col Bruton (Illawarra) assistant secretary and carnival organizer; John Mudge (Manly- Warringah) publicity officer; Ken Donkin (Manly-Warringah) superintendent; Fred McGrory (Central Coast) deputy superintendent; and constitution committee of John Jones, John Shumack, Neville Henshaw, Bruce Buckingham, John Mudge, Jim Routh and Bruce Roebuck.

The Illawarra Branch’s constitution was used as the basis of the Association’s. Illawarra’s 19 clubs were all strong in numbers, while overall membership in Manly-Warringah jumped from 600 to 1164 with the influx of the juniors, enticing those clubs which did not create Juvenile divisions to announce they definitely would be expanding into the lower age brackets the following season. Over 300boys registered on the Central Coast, 190 on the Lower North Coast, and Newcastle’s numbers also grew considerably.

Nipperettes:

Girls had started to compete progressively through the 1970s, when unofficial `Nipperette’ clubs began to spring up along the coast. Some clubs combined the boys and girls to boost numbers, while in larger populated areas girls enjoyed their own clubs and carnivals. In1972 Newcastle and Central Coast were among the pioneering branches that introduced activities for girls, as families wanted their daughters to experience the intricacies of surf safety as much as their sons. Bob Rogers, junior secretary of Sydney Branch when it began Nipperettes in 1977 predicted at the time: `It will not be too long before the girls have full state and national competitive association. To operate boys and girls all in the one competition would not work as a joint venture so I can only see them separate.’ TheNipperettes did indeed launch a state body in 1977 – 78, affiliated with the junior association, with Central Coast’s Thelma Laird and Del Egan the driving forces. As the popularity of girls’ events grew, Rogers’ next prediction played out as the idea of combining the girls with boys on carnival days proved the next controversial issue – at least until their integration into the senior movement and the splitting of clubs and branches in two.

The inaugural meeting of the NSW Nipperettes Association took place on 1 April 1978, significantly at the same venue of the first Juvenile Association annual general meeting – the Central Coast Leagues Club. Twenty-eight representatives attended from 18 clubs: Yamba, Southwest Rocks, Camden Haven, Fingal Bay, Caves Beach, The Entrance, Wamberal, Toowoon Bay, Copacabana, Umina, Ocean Beach, Shelly Beach, Wanda, Avalon, Kiama, Bulli, Bellambi and Warilla-Barrack Point. The first annual general meeting was held on 5 August at Maroubra Seals Club, this time with 30 representatives from six branches – Far North Coast, Mid North Coast, Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney and Illawarra.

Despite these advances, there was some cynicism from those who felt surf competition was a male domain. Del Egan could not pass up the opportunity to comment, when a Nipperettes Association report appeared in NSW Junior Surf Life Saving Association annual report for the first time: Unfortunately, there are still a few who feel girls have no place on the beach, except perhaps as decoration, so it is up to each and every one of us who believe that the children, both boys and girls, are entitled to learn surf awareness and enjoy our beaches and perhaps give their services to the community in the future.

By this time there were nearly 2300 registered girls in Nipperettes, they had held three annual inter- branch championships, while 91girls on the Central Coast alone had qualified for national awards the previous season. Nipperettes as a separate entity ran for only four seasons before, as women were integrated into the senior association, girls became part of the Junior Association in 1982 – 83. Illawarra and South Coast had in fact combined the boys’ and girls’ associations the previous season.

Please find Draft Club Histories Working Document Nov 2024 the “Draft” Club History Document that the Branch History Panel are currently putting together. When completed, it will document the history of the 21 Northern Beaches Clubs in addition to Sydney Northern Beaches Branch and surf lifesaving in general.