Kirra Surf Life Saving Clubbies celebrate 100 years of stellar community service
IF the waves at Kirra could talk, they’d probably share many of the same tales recounted by these guests who celebrated 100 years of Kirra SLSC.
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IF the waves at Kirra could talk, they’d probably share many of the same tales recounted by guests at a dinner to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queensland’s second oldest surf life saving club.
More than 400 past and present members and supporters of Kirra Surf Life Saving Club, from teens to octogenarians, gathered at Twin Towns on Saturday night to celebrate the club’s centenary.
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Guests travelled from throughout Australia and overseas (Papua New Guinea) for the dinner, which included a well-received performance by Andy Pobjoy’s Gentlemen’s Swing Club.
The dinner, part of a weekend of events to celebrate the club’s big birthday, included the official launch of a book celebrating the club’s colourful history penned by life member Peter Kelly.
Mr Kelly said the club was formed after a tragedy on January 6, 1916, in which local John Doran drowned when he and friend Johnny George got into trouble swimming at the then unpatrolled beach.
“John Doran was the CEO of the National Mutual Life Insurance company and secretary of the Queensland Cricketer’s Club,” he said.
“When he drowned in unfortunate circumstances, the Coolangatta community wanted to do something about this.”
Life Saving Club's 100th anniversary dinner at Twin Towns. Thelma is
the niece of the club’s founding member, Joseph Doniger.
Picture: Richard Gosling
A public meeting was convened the day after the drowning and the State’s second surf lifesaving club (Coolangatta/Tweed Heads was the first) was formed.
“I joined the club 50 years ago, when I was 15,” Mr Kelly said.
“I didn’t know too much about the club’s history apart from the shark attack — which was the big folklore in the club — until I sat down to write the book.”
Jack Brinkley in 1937.
In 1937, club members gave blood transfusions to fellow member Jack Brinkley after he was mauled by a deep sea tiger shark.
Brinkley, 23, from Coolangatta, later died from his injuries.
The 3.7m shark, which also killed Brinkley’s surfing partner and fellow club member Norman Girvan, 19, was later caught and destroyed.
Kirra lifeguards Norm Girvan and Jack Brinkley.
Mr Kelly said the tragedy prompted the then-State Government to begin financially subsidising surf life saving.
“Sharks have always played a big part in the area,” he said.
Up until 1964, club members’ duties included harpooning sharks and bringing them back to shore where they were hidden behind hessian.
“Surf boats had harpoons in them in those days and one of the main forms of club revenue raising was to harpoon sharks and charge the public a bob to view a shark,” Mr Kelly said.
“The juniors’ job was to keep dousing the shark with Dettol mixed with water — buckets of it — to stop them stinking.”
Mr Kelly said club members were forced to confiscate a world champion surfer’s board in 1966 when he failed to heed repeated warnings.
“We had some great surfers at Kirra Point and it was an iconic surf break in the ‘60s.
“World surfing champs were surfing off Kirra without leg ropes and their boards were always coming in.
“In those days, surfboards could be confiscated by the life guards if you weren’t with your boards.
“Nat Young lost his board repeatedly and despite repeated warnings, kept surfing where he was so his board was confiscated.”
Hannah Cook, Danica Smith and Michael Beattie at Kirra Surf Life
Saving Club's 100th anniversary dinner at Twin Towns.
Pictue: Richard Gosling
Mr Kelly said the club was formed in the middle of World War One.
“The Galippoli campaign had just been finished and the last person had just been taken over to the western front in France,” he said.
“Coolangatta in those days was a very small town. The train line had gone through in 1902 and some people had come down from Brisbane.
“The membership was really local and most of those young men were in the army, so they were away. They came back and went again.”
While women weren’t admitted to lifesaving until 1980, Mr Kelly said they played a major part in club life at Kirra.
“Our first female life member enrolled in the club in about 1925 or 1926,” Mr Kelly said.
“Women were regarded as not strong enough to be able to swim and perform rescues so the best way for them to contribute constructively in those days was to raise money and make sandwiches.
“In 1980, that whole culture changed.”
Saving Club's 100th anniversary dinner at Twin Towns.
Picture: Richard Gosling
The club’s “greatest surf life savers” of the past 100 years — Bill Winders, Jack Gordon, Jack Winders, Jack Brinkley, Joe Doniger, Doug Brockhurst, Max Klingner, Earle Smith, Ron Halpin, Ken Wiles, Arch Nicholson, Bob Littler, Bob Gear, Scott Byrnes, Peter Kelly and Stan Hilton
— were recognised for their exemplary service at Saturday’s dinner.
Guests included the club’s longest and oldest serving surviving member, 87-year-old Ralph Ford Johnson, Queensland Surf Life Saving president Ralph Devlin QC, local Federal MP Karen Andrews and Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey.
Saturday night’s dinner was followed by a community day on Kirra beach and foreshore yesterday (Sunday) with displays and demonstrations charting both the club and surf lifesaving’s history.
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