I’ve been to the beach… I didn’t like it. Unfortunately, due to my minimal beach
adventures, I’ve never had an opportunity to be saved, so I have minimal
experience of Life Saving Clubs here in Australia. Fortunately the people at the Mentone Life
Saving Club have been to the beach and do have some experience. Surf Life Saving Clubs are volunteer based
organizations that patrol beaches and save unfortunate inexperienced schmucks
like me from drowning… that is if I was there and if I needed saving.
1920, the year this club was founded, is early in the
history of Surf Life Saving Clubs. The
first documented Australian clubs were only founded a few years before this in
Sydney (1903 or 1907, depending on which wave you wish to catch) although
according to this book, Victoria had a Royal Life Saving Society in 1904… but
of course this is not as important as Sydney and New South Wales have long been
considered the homeground of life saving.
I guess that old rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney extends to all
facets of Australian life… even the saving of schmucks like me.
“Port Phillip hosts
many beaches, most of which are flat, shallow and long, with very small breaks
making swimming quite safe. This attracts many tourists, mostly families, to
the beaches of Port Phillip during the summer months and school holidays. Water
sports such as body boarding and surfing are difficult or impossible, except in
extreme weather conditions.” Wikipedia
Mentone is a suburb of Melbourne. Melbourne is situated on a Bay by the name of
Port Phillip Bay. Despite not being a
big fan of the beach, I have been more than once and I think I can safely say
that there ain’t no surf in Port Phillip Bay, which is probably why the title
of this book refers to the Mentone Life Saving Club and not the “Surf” Life Saving
Club. Despite the title and the name of
the club the book was published by the Mentone Surf Life Saving Club, which is
(or was) possibly their official name. Realistically
though they have probably avoided using the word “surf” in their public name so
that idiots like myself don’t comment about the difference… which I guess is
what I’ve done.
The book is what I would call a lavish production. It’s large format, hardcover and full of
photographs. I can’t imagine this was a
cheap exercise on behalf of the club (the publishers), yet I am tempted to say
that the book does appear to be a labour of love. Any volunteer organization such as this
depends greatly upon the goodwill of its members and I reckon the book is mainly
aimed at current and past members of the club.
If you lived in Mentone or were interested in Surf Life Saving Clubs or
just plain Life Saving Clubs then you might have an interest as well. If you surf the net you should easily find this
copy as it’s currently the only one available through the usual book sites… and
it desperately needs saving.
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