The first purpose-built surfboat was launched at Manly in 1907 and was crewed by fishermen
When bystanders watch as surfboat crews battle their way through the waves at surf carnivals, few would know that the first purpose-built surfboat in Australia – possibly the world – was launched at Manly in 1907 and that the men at the oars were fishermen.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
When bystanders watch in awe as surfboat crews battle their way through giant seas at surf carnivals, some might not be aware that surfboats were once one of the mainstays of surf lifesaving.
And far fewer would know that the first purpose-built surfboat in Australia – and possibly the world – was launched at Manly in 1907 and that the men at the oars were not lifesavers but fishermen.
The crew of the first surfboat were members of the Sly family, a large family of fishermen with several boats, who had settled in Manly decades earlier and taken up residence at Fairy Bower, from where they could launch their boats with ease.
But even before then, members of the Sly family had been rescuing people from the waters off the northern beaches for years.
In November 1895, for instance, brothers Charles and George Sly saved a man from drowning off North Head.
Having seen the man clinging to an upturned boat from where they were standing atop the cliff, the brothers rowed out to the man and rescued him.
Two other men who had also been in the boat were found to have drowned.
And in October 1900 Charles Sly was fishing from a boat off Long Reef when he rescued the skipper of a cutter that had sprung a leak as it made its way south from Broken Bay to Sydney and was subsequently wrecked.
Unfortunately, with the growing popularity of surf bathing at Manly in the early 1900s came an increase in the number of people who got into trouble and had to be rescued.
In March 1903, for instance, members of the Sly family rescued a man who had been washed out from Manly Beach after other attempts to rescue him had failed.
At a council meeting in late March 1903, Manly Council voted to ask the state government to supply Manly with a surfboat and gear, although the mayor of the day, Alderman Ellison Quirk, doubted the government would accede to the council’s wish – and he was right.
In July 1903, members of the Manly branch of the NSW Life Saving Society suggested a surfboat be bought to guard the beach and to rescue bathers, with the money to be raised by public subscription.
But insufficient funds were raised.
A public meeting was held in Manly Council Chamber on September 14, 1903, to discuss how the risk to bathers at Manly might be minimised.
A local solicitor, Frank Wallace, moved that the Sly brothers be engaged to patrol beyond the breakers at South Steyne every morning from 6am to 9am and the motion was adopted.
The Slys agreed to the proposal, telling the meeting that they could launch their boat from the beach in a moderate swell but that it required skill to operate the boat in the surf.
The Slys used their own boat to begin patrolling the beach on Thursday, October 1, 1903.
The boat the Slys used was a whaleboat about 7m long that was crewed by four rowers and a sweep, although they also used a boat with a wide but shallow tuck stern on at least one occasion.
In November a local resident recommended that a fund be raised by subscription to pay the Sly family for their services.
The first recorded rescue performed by the Sly’s “surfboat” at Manly was on Sunday December 13, 1903, when it was used to rescue a mother and daughter who got into trouble in the surf.
Just 13 days later, on Boxing Day 1903, seven more people were rescued by the Slys’ whaleboat.
Despite the success of the Sly’s whaleboat, public subscriptions to pay for the service were insufficient, so the Slys were not retained for the 1904-05, 1905-06 and 1906-07 summer seasons, although they continued to rescue people voluntarily when called upon.
At a meeting of Manly Council on January 8, 1907, it was decided to have a surfboat built at a cost of up to £30 and for the surfboat to be kept at Fairy Bower.
A sub-committee comprising mayor Ellison Quirk, town clerk Dan Hogan and Charles Sly was formed to draw up specifications and interview some principal boatbuilders.
The value of a surfboat at Manly was amply demonstrated just 12 days later when members of the Sly family used their whaleboat to rescue three men from rough seas off Manly Beach and take them to Fairy Bower.
In late January the Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Co donated £25 to the council through local man Melnotte Roberts, which the directors of the ferry company said “should be expended in the interests of surf bathing at Manly and for the furtherance of the safety of the bathers”.
In early February 1907, the offer of Glebe Point boatbuilder James Hubbard to build a surfboat for £31 was accepted, with the request from the council that the surfboat be ready by March 8 at the latest.
The double-ended surfboat was 21ft (6.4m) long and 5ft 4in (1.6m) wide, and the money it cost was raised by public subscription, so it cost the council nothing.
It appears Mr Hubbard delivered the surfboat on time – or close to it – and members of the Sly family took charge of it on March 12.
The surfboat, which had a detachable tiller, was described in the press as being a handsome craft that “rides” the surf very lightly.
On March 20, the surfboat was paraded through Manly on the back of a wagon drawn by two horses as part of a procession that was led by the Manly Borough Band and the Manly Fire Brigade that left Manly Wharf at 7pm and made its way up The Corso to an area across the road from the beachfront where Steyne Court had previously stood and where a concert was held to mark the arrival of the surfboat.
The surfboat was launched on Saturday, March 23, 1907, in front of a crowd that was estimated to number between 12,000 and 15,000.
At 4pm on the day, state attorney-general Charles Wade cut a silk ribbon connected to the surfboat using a pair of silver scissors, after which the surfboat took to the water.
The coxswain of the surfboat was Charles Sly and the oarsmen were Alfred Sly, Joseph Sly, Edward Sly and Neils Norgreen.
During the afternoon, there were also several competitions, together with a display of lifesaving by Edward “Happy” Eyre and Arthur von Tossau and of fancy diving from a small tower built in the surf, while the Manly Borough Band played selections throughout the afternoon.
Among the committee organising the day of the launch was Melnotte Roberts, who had been the medium though which the Manly ferry company had donated £25 towards the safety of bathers at Manly.
In late April Mr Roberts suggested to Manly Council that the £25 could be spent on a shed to house the surfboat but mayor Alexander Learmonth, who had replaced Ellison Quirk, said that the surfboat was safe at Fairy Bower and that no harm would come to it during winter.
The surfboat was kept at Fairy Bower, presumably under a cover of canvas, because it was easier to launch it from there and it was where most of the Slys lived.
Whenever members of the Sly family was on patrol in the council’s surfboat, they wore striped shirts.
Alderman John King argued that a shed at Fairy Bower in which to house the surfboat should be built straight away but another alderman, Adam Russell, argued that building the shed at Fairy Bower would be madness because of its distance from Manly Beach, while Alderman John Dargan said the money would be better spent on roads and footpaths.
Ald Quirk agreed that nothing should be done until the following summer, by which time a row of timber piles would have been placed a distance from the shore and that the surfboat would not be needed because bathers in trouble could simply cling to one of the piles until they were rescued.
It was into this small world of divergent views in Manly Council that Manly Surf Club was formed in July 1907 – the first surf lifesaving club on the northern beaches.
Manly Surf Club is not to be confused with Manly Life Saving Club, which occupies the pavilion at the southern end of Manly Beach but was not formed until September 1911.
Manly Surf Club stated that its aim was to obtain better facilities for surf bathers and to ensure the most effective lifesaving methods were used at Manly.
In September 1907, the club announced its objectives were “to obtain improved facilities for surf-bathing, and otherwise to promote and encourage the sport, to ensure the most effective methods of rescuing persons in distress and the resuscitation of the apparently drowned, to provide for a regulation costume for members and to assist in enforcing the laws governing the conduct of surf bathers and to effect such other purposes as may hereafter be considered necessary in the interest of the sport.
It also announced its intention to ask the Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company for £250 to cover the costs of the club’s aims, which also included engaging a first-class swimmer as a lifeguard and forming lifesaving classes and training amateur lifeboat crews.
In essence, Manly Surf Club was asking Manly Council to hand over every aspect of lifesaving on Manly Beach to the surf club – including control of the surf boat – to which some alderman strongly objected.
The disagreement between the council and the club spilled into the public arena via letters to the editors of metropolitan newspapers, which only exacerbated the animosity between the two parties, although there were also divergent views within each organisation.
In January 1908, Manly Council gave permission for its surf boat, accompanied by members of the Sly family, to be taken to Newcastle for an exhibition of surf-live saving skills by members of North Steyne surf club.
The surfboat, the Slys and the members of the surf club travelled to Newcastle on the steamship Hunter and the exhibition took place on Sunday, January 19.
Throughout 1908, Manly Surf Club continued to pester Manly Council for control of the surfboat and in December 1908, the council finally relented and allowed the club to take over the care and control of the surfboat, for which the Slys said they would train prospective crewmen.
By 1911 however, the surfboat was in a state of disrepair due to there being no shed in which it could be stored and protected from the weather and possibly due to misuse.
The secretary of Manly Surf Club told a State Government inquiry into surf bathing held in 1911 that the surfboat had been smashed, that Manly Council refused to repair it and that the club could not afford to repair it.
The surfboat was later repaired and, after Manly Life Saving Club was formed in 1911, in November that year it was given control of the council’s surfboat, which remained at Fairy Bower.
But within a year the surfboat was again in a state of disrepair and was unfit for saving lives.
In November 1912, Manly Council’s engineer recommended that if the council had no further use for the boat, it should be disposed of.
The engineer’s recommendation was accepted but the ultimate fate of Australia’s first purpose-built is unknown.
In 1913 Manly Life Saving Club acquired a new double-ended surfboat that was referred to as a “banana boat” because of its shape. The boat was designed by club member Fred Notting.
In 1915 Warringah Council provided “banana boats” to Dee Why, Newport, Freshwater, Collaroy and North Narrabeen surf clubs.
Women’s U18s Brewer Shield: Season preview, players to watch
The future of women’s cricket is set to kick off a new season of the Brewer Shield. With more than 200 of the state’s best U18 players on show, we preview each club and 40+ stars to watch.
Stars, standouts as Waratahs continue march in Super Rugby U19s
The Waratahs have continued their match towards the decider of the Super Rugby U19s but there’s still things that need to be sorted. Stars, standouts, great photos from battle with Reds.