Australia's historic institutions become common rail station beggars!
If you have ever been to Australia then you are at least semi-familiar with the country’s surf lifesaving clubs. I am ill-suited to provide much detail, having never been a member, but I believe they are non-profit, non-governmental associations that provide water safety services, fun classes for kids and flamboyant red + yellow hats. Am I surmising correctly? Is this what they do?
Over the year I spent in Australia I looked on with envy at these surf lifesaving clubs mostly because they each seemed to have the most wonderful clubhouses sitting right on the beach. I imagined inside there was a chummy vibe, cold beer in the summer, room temperature scotch in the winter and fun songs sang in unison. Today, though, the Sydney Morning Herald popped my balloon.
In the featured story it was revealed that surf lifesaving clubs struggle for money, have difficulty maintaining facilities and send members to train stations in order to panhandle like Indians. But there is a man who has a plan to pull the clubs into profitability and let’s read together.
Surf life saving clubs could be turned into small hotels under a proposal to raise more money for lifesaving operations. Barry Tilley would also equip surf clubs with liquor licences to operate bars beyond the limited circumstances in which they currently serve alcohol. A property developer and businessman, Mr Tilley’s preferred model is a pensione, or small hotel, offering “a couple of meals of the day like they do in Italy”.
Mr Tilley said accommodation and dining facilities would help pay for the maintenance of facilities and provision of water safety and training instead of relying on donations.
“There’s nothing more demeaning than seeing surf club members begging around railway stations,” he said. “It would create a new industry in so far as people learning lifesaving around the world,” he added. “Australia is the leader when it comes to lifesaving.”
Fantastic, right? I would love to stay in one, sharing the chummy vibes without really “belonging” but apparently things are not so simple. Turning the clubs into hotels and bars is prohibited by Australian law.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Lands, Forestry and Racing, Paul Toole, said: “Crown land utilised by surf life saving clubs is generally reserved for public recreation purposes and the establishment of bars and accommodation on such Crown land would not be in keeping with the reserve purpose.”
Well son of a bitch. And wouldn’t you think now is a good time to rebel against the crown? I would come fight for you, dear Australia. I would come fight for your nippers and your cold beer and your room temperature scotch. Let’s do this thing.
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Maybe I’d get more waves if i surfed in my wifes panties
Pretty much every Sunshine Coast surf (lifesaving) club is based on prime beachfront real estate. The only competition they have for the subsidised dollar is the local bowls club. Every one of them has a bar and generally cleans up on cheapish meals overlooking the beach. The only one that has failed is one that couldn’t work out that frozen fish and chips wasn’t going to cut the mustard, couldn’t get a decent person to run the restaurant, and couldn’t compete once the local pub cleaned up its act.
It has since been taken over by the Noosa club, who initially said they weren’t changing anything, but have effectively turned into storage and a training camp for their competitive clubbers so they can train in waves.
Would be interesting to know how much of the panhandling goes to putting on patrols and providing rescue gear compared to what gets slung towards the competitive clowns slush funds to buy the latest gear and pay coaches?
I’d prefer the clubbies focused on saving people from drowning rather than look at other ways to turn a buck. Given most of the real lifesaving is handled by professional life guards in metro Aus areas (Bronte, Tama) I don’t think you can link the need for a $5m reno for Bronte to the argument of “it’s all worth it if we just save one life”. I’d prefer to throw that cash at having more pro life guards on patrol all year round.
the only SLSC’s I have been privy too consisted of beating down the local caretaker with the keys and getting fried, tanked and cooked before proceeding to joyride the beautiful toys all over the beach. Just be out before sunrise.
Considering almost all these clubs are only ever built in the most well off areas and are participated in by such families, I’ve never seen any real signs of struggle. Their whole begging for money thing seems unnecessary with the amount of funding they already get from different institutions, as well as the government
Fuck the chubbies they suck more government funds out of the system than any other sporting organisations, if the can’t make do with that plus the pokies then they must have lazy administrators. surfing is an Olympic sport now so the funding pendulum will swing and out of the dunes superboardriders clubs will grow(not to be confused with Boardriders inc that now owns Quikbill)
It happened in France . I lived in Hourtin Plage for 20 years and the Hourtin Surf Club(Boardriding) has a two story club house 200 m from the dune with hot showers , locker rooms to store members boards and wetsuits, toilets and a gym . 50 € a year membership fee . The building was funded from subventions from the department of Gironde and the region Aquitaine and funds from the surf school run by the club .All this in a commune of 4000 inhabitants.There is one in Easkey Ireland as well .
were they more like clubbies or board riders club?
Can’t trust those French to follow the norm!
I stayed away from office and politics ,surfed in the rare club contests which started at the gentlemanly hour of 3pm and was charming at the aperitifs till sundown at 11pm and then tried to turn myself into a pumpkin from midnight till dawn . I still love the place and I suppose I learnt that other cultures are not better or worse just different .
Without a doubt. Shave em down and oil em up!
All the SLSC’s I’ve been to have dining services. Usually pretty overpriced and mediocre quality though.
In Queensland they sell beer and food and most have pokies. All the hot chicks play the pokies. It’s a beautiful thing.
Begging around railway stations is far below these Colossi of the waves. They should be selling dope in the beach toilets. Someone do something to help!
they could create a show along the lines of Manpower and sell their body’s to the blue rinse set!
I know some boys who already do this for free…
shit opening for a SLSC pimp management co….could be a goldmine for gold diggers!
Nothing more attractive than a woman with an open purse and open legs!
shit I thought we were talking about boys!
Doesn’t sound like you’re too fussy 😉
On a recent visit home the 4 surflifesaving clubs at Cronulla showed no signs of suffering.Fine Dining , beach front gyms, surf schools and a dam good bar seaside at Wanda SLSC( great wall of fame photos ).The local mayor even obtained the rights to build himself an extension at Elouera SLSC to create a Cafe .In the 80’s they confiscated my board ( wasn’t a problem was sponsored and had 4) and now they sell beer . I prefer beer .
Your mum used to sponsor me too.
Got wonderful boards from Neil Cormack who was shaping for Sky Surfboards at Byron Bay in the 80’s . My mum is a great person but a shit shaper so I hope she has made your surfing experience miserable wince.
Neil is still shaping beautiful boards.
Great to hear .He was always a very calm human and a wonderful shaper. I’d phone from Sydney and ask how he was and he say things like “ mate I just don’t know what to do , I can’t stop the kids from making cubby houses out of my boards “ I thought it was hilarious at the time but now I have two kids under 5 of my own I finally understand his suffering . Hope to move back to Australia in the near future and would love to buy a board of him .
Come visit Newy when you get back.
Saturation is the problem, its not every ‘area’ that has one, more like every rock. The bigger ones are far from struggling.
A few pokies and they would be back in business!
or they could charge a fee to people who surf their beach!