Surf Club Fights To Shore Up A Manly Tradition
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday February 17, 1997
In the southern corner of Manly Beach, Ray Petersen and his colleagues have been painstakingly collecting a part of Sydney's beach history.
Mr Petersen, a member of the Manly Surf Life Saving Club for the past 30 years, has been scouring antique shops, taking delivery of donations from local residents and spending his own hard-earned cash accumulating memorabilia on the surf lifesaving movement in Australia.
Club programs, swimming costumes from decades past, ancient surfboards, trophies, medallions and cases of historic photographs lie stacked in the clubhouse, while the walls are adorned with photographs dating back to 1906.
But the ambitious historical project has incurred the wrath of Manly Council, which owns the clubhouse.
"While sections of the community find it interesting, others believe it spoils the decor and therefore detracts from the ability to hire out the hall," the council wrote in a submission to club officials.
The criticism has angered club members, who are concerned that much of the memorabilia is rapidly deteriorating.
"The surfing culture and the life-saving movement are an important aspect of Australia's culture and its history," said the club secretary, Mr Brendan Condie. "It was places like here and Bondi where it all started, and we really have a responsibility to preserve as much of it as possible."
There is insufficient room in the hall to house the collection, and a large portion is gathering dust in a disused garage, while a former club president has allowed a room of his house to be used as a storage area.
The club's prized possession is a solid California redwood surfboard, shaped sometime in the 1920s. It belonged to Mr Geof Cohen, who was the first Manly club member to lose his life in World War II. After the war, the surfboard was made into an honour roll bearing the names of all those killed.
"We've had estimates on how much it would take to catalogue the collection, and it doesn't come cheap," Mr Petersen said. "It would take a student at least 12 months to catalogue what we have in the clubhouse."
Manly is steeped in surfing history. It was the editor of The Manly Daily, William Gocher, who in 1902 publicly defied the law by swimming during daylight hours.
Manly had one of the first surf clubs in Australia, and the world. It was formed in 1906 and officially became part of the life-saving movement in 1911, after pioneering the use of surf boats in rescues.
"Surf clubs around the country have systematically destroyed their history," Mr Condie said. "None of us saw the importance until recently."
© 1997 Sydney Morning Herald