A Sunshine Coast surf lifesaving club which endured a savage fire, battle for gender equality and a name change, is poised for its 70th year celebrations.
Past and present members of Dicky Beach SLSC will gather on Saturday, May 1, to share stories and pay tribute to late club-members.
Club president Gavin Mahon said it would be a significant occasion.
“It will be a tasteful celebration of 70 years of lifesaving here and a milestone, with no lives lost between the red and yellow flags at Dicky Beach,” he said.
Members of the club, formerly known as North Caloundra, from 70 years ago and a boat crew from the 1960s are expected to be in attendance.
“We’ve invited all past members to join us and we’re going to have some good times,” Mr Mahon said.
It will start at the site of the old clubhouse near Neill Street at 11.30am, with a junior march past and a tribute to members no longer with us.
There will also be a cake cutting ceremony and a barbecue with people gathering for “an afternoon of tall stories and good times” at the current clubhouse.
The club is steeped in history.
By the 1940s, Dicky Beach was patrolled during holidays by Met Caloundra members, but the growth of Moffat Beach and Dicky Beach led to calls for a permanent lifesaving club.
Maurie Schafer, Cliff Croughan and Jim Roberts agreed to transfer from Met Caloundra to help establish the new club, known as North Caloundra SLSC.
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It carried out its first beach patrols in 1950 with a membership of 10.
That number reached 20 by the end of the season and today there are more than 280 patrolling members, plus 385 nippers and a membership of more than 1100.
Club historian and Life Member Enid Traill said the club had experienced some remarkable highs and lows, most notably the destruction of their clubhouse on February 21, 1976.
An electrical fault was believed to have started a fire, which ripped through the building one night, despite rain.
It brought the club to its knees, only for committed locals to help get it back up again.
“It was a tragedy in its time, and we really wondered what was going to happen,” Mrs Traill said.
“Our membership dropped to 13 and it was going to be a hard road to come back from there.
“But it was amazing how everyone rallied around.”
A new clubhouse was built not far away within a few years and Mrs Traill said the fire might have been a blessing in disguise.
“We could never have formed to the extent we are at now, if the club had still been on the old site,” she said.
“Those prestigious houses on Wilson Avenue would have cracked up about a licensed premises being next door to them, with noise and comings and goings.
“Where we are now is a bit more isolated.”
She said the old site was like ‘sacred territory’.
After a significant debate, the club also experienced a name change, form North Caloundra SLSC to Dicky Beach SLSC, in 2001.
“It was probably more of a commercial decision than anything else,” Mrs Traill said.
“That was when supporters clubs came into being and people didn’t know where North Caloundra was.
“When North Caloundra SLSC was established, it was in North Caloundra but there is no such suburb now.
“We would do house to house collections for fundraising, and we’d say we’re from North Caloundra and people would say ‘where’s that?’
“But if we said we patrolled Dicky Beach, they knew.
“There was some resistance to the name change, because of all sorts of nicknames, but the younger members have accepted it.
“Some of the older members still stick by North Caloundra.”
Mrs Traill played an important role with development and achieving equal rights at the club.
While her father and four brothers were members of Met Caloundra, she joined neighbouring North Caloundra, largely because her future husband was there.
She led the way as junior activities coordinator and ultimately helped women become members.
“Our nippers would get to the age where the boys could join the senior club, but the girls had nowhere to go, so that’s when I got involved, to ensure they had a place within the club,” she said.
“Women weren’t allowed into the club until 1982.
“I had been involved prior, with fundraising and social activities, but that’s basically what the women did.
“Women were allowed into other lifesaving clubs in the late 70s but there was resistance at our club.
“They (some men) maintained it was too costly because they’d have to provide separate showers and dormitories.
“They also said women weren’t equipped or strong enough to carry out rescues.”
But Mrs Traill and others pressed into action.
“We funded ourselves. I’d go to various other clubs (for support) and one of the nipper’s parents annexed the club dining area and converted it into a women’s dormitory.
“It backed on to the boys’ showers, so we took one of their showers.
“It took about three years to set up and up to eight years for women to be accepted as qualified patrolling members.
“But now I’d say membership is 50-50 for men and women at the club. We’ve come a long way.”
Mrs Traill said the club had developed a reputation for its surf women program.
“They have won the Queensland title four times, including three times in the past 10 years.
“Initially, each club nominated a pretty girl to be their figure-head but it (the competition) has evolved and the stress is on what role they play in the club.
“So, they were ambassadors for females in lifesaving and we’ve been really successful in that.”
Mrs Traill said the club had always punched above its weight in competition.
“The juniors were reigning branch champions for seven successive years. Our nippers club was relatively young but grew strong very quickly.”
“And the club was champion club of the Coast in the 90s.
“We were a small club, not high profile like Maroochydore or Met Caloundra.”
North Caloundra and then Dicky Beach earned a reputation as a formidable club when it came to surfboat rowing, with many crews shining at state and national level over the years.
Its U23 women’s crew on Saturday claimed a silver medal at the Australian championships with the Dicky’s U19 women finishing fourth in their final and finishing the season on top of the national rankings.
Mrs Traill said Dicky Beach and Met Caloundra had established a rivalry in the early days.
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She said the local derby has somewhat diminished as had some club customs, like sleeping on site at the clubhouse.
“It’s a shame to see some of those traditions have gone.”
“Dicky Beach retains a dormitory, but most members don’t stay there.
“In the 70s and 80s you stayed in the clubhouse, did your duties and went for a run-swim-run first thing in the morning.”
Mrs Traill said the club’s strength was its family-oriented atmosphere.
“We have generational recognition. There are nine families who have had three generations patrol at Dicky Beach.”
“There is continuity and heritage that the club can boast proudly.
“Many nippers start because their parents are with the club.
“They (parents) want them to have the benefit of what lifesaving has to offer. They want their kids to have the same sense of commitment and sacrifice and dedication that they got.”
