Between the flags

Nowhere else in the world are the red and yellow colours represented in the same way as they are in Australia. The identity of Australia would be incomplete without featuring images of blue ocean and white sand, with the red and yellow flags that have most resonance and are at the heart of how we recognise our beach culture. This year is a pivotal milestone in history for the red and yellow that represents surf life saving, as Queensland celebrates 100 years of rescues.

  

The first recorded surf rescue in Australia took place on Coolangatta Beach on 21 February, 1909. Growing from a fragmented voluntary surf rescue service during this time, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) has since achieved worldwide recognition for the outstanding service and courage of its service members.

Today, SLSQ is one of the largest volunteer-based community organisations in the State, with over 31,000 members of the surf life saving clubs, and another 200,000 members of the associated supporters’ clubs.

 

SLSQ currently represents 59 affiliated surf life saving clubs, with more than 8000 active surf life saving members patrolling the beaches along Queensland’s coastline. Each year, there are about 30 million visitations to beaches up and down the coast, resulting in surf lifesavers performing over 3000 rescues and saving equally as many lives.

The Sunshine Coast branch of Surf Life Saving Queensland is the largest branch in the State, comprising fifteen surf life saving clubs (SLSC) between Clontarf Point in the south, and Inskip Point in the north.

President of Mooloolaba SLSC Steve Miller has been an active member of the club since the early 1970s and is proud of the internal history and spirit of the club.

 

“Lifesaving is a massive part of the Australian lifestyle but it is especially strong on the Sunshine Coast,” said Steve. “I am still fascinated at how big it has grown.”

    

Originating in 1923, in just a timber hut on the beach, Mooloolaba SLSC now has over 1300 active members, with 440 of those being proficient members who share patrol of the Mooloolaba beach.

“The club has changed significantly over the last 20 years,” said Steve. “At least, 95 per cent of the lifesavers used to come down from Brisbane for the complete lifestyle. It was about being a lifesaver, patrolling the beach, sleeping at the club and spending the whole weekend here.”

“Now, 95 per cent of our lifesavers are local residents,” he said.

Steve has also witnessed significant advancements in the technology and techniques behind surf life saving.

“Before helicopters, inflatable rescue boats, jet skis and rescue crafts, there was only one way to rescue and that was to swim out and swim back with the reel and line,” he said.

“That is why, these days, the competition side of surf life saving is important as it encourages members to train to remain physically fit, healthy and proficient.”

On top of the regular community service that lifesavers perform, they engage in regular competition to improve their skills across a number of surf life saving disciplines. The three main areas of competition include beach events, surf swimming events and surf craft events.

With more than a thousand participants in regular surf life saving carnivals on the Coast, a healthy rivalry exists in the competitions between the local surf life saving clubs. However, beyond the competition scene, Steve points out that the focus always comes back to providing for the community by patrolling the beach.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter what club you join, surf life saving is what is all about,” he said.

  

With Alexandra Headland SLSC and Maroochydore SLSC just around the corner, the Sunshine Coast is home to three of the biggest clubs in Australia.

“Between the three clubs there is a network of over 3000 families,” explained Steve. “No other organisation provides the level of family involvement as surf life saving. We have second, third and fourth generations of families in the club.”

“No matter what stage of life you are in, there is room for everyone in lifesaving,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are … one of our mature members is in his eighties.”

The owner-manager of the Bank of Queensland’s Noosa branch, Scott Armitage, signed up to become a member of the Noosa SLSC when he moved to the local area.

“When I moved to the Coast, I joined my son up to be a part of Nippers – the junior life saving program,” Scott said.

Children are eligible to join the Nippers program from as young as seven years old where they are taught surf awareness and surf safety skills so that they can keep themselves safe at the beach. Nippers members learn how to board paddle, surf, swim, run and other skills that allow them to compete in club, regional and state surf lifesaving carnivals.

“From there, I wanted to get involved and assist with the club,” Scott said.    

After obtaining his ‘Bronze Medallion’, Scott now participates in beach and jet boat patrols.  

Scott also finds balancing his club membership and business is manageable, as normal members only have to do their patrol for just five hours a month.

And what does he get out of volunteering his time on weekends?

 

“It is about helping people and giving back to the community,” explains Scott. “On top of that, there is always enjoyment that comes with being on the beach.”

It is important to remember that you do not have to be a champion swimmer to be a part of surf lifesaving. The clubs are always in need of supervisors, water safety officers, rescue craft operators, radio operators, coaches, drivers and officials. It is only when these functions all come together, that our beaches can be patrolled efficiently.

In addition to volunteering time, many local businesses have become involved through sponsorship deals which provide financial assistance to the clubs, to help pay for the expensive resources needed for surf life saving. Sponsorship also assists in displaying the surf life saving club’s many activities and services to a broader audience.

  

In the one hundred years that surf life saving records have been kept, more than 500,000 people have been rescued one our beaches. An independent economic study conducted in 2005 concluded that if not for the presence of surf lifesavers, 485 people would drown each year, and 313 would be permanently incapacitated as a result of accidents in the surf.

 

In acknowledging the Surf Life Saving Queensland’s centenary, Premier Anna Bligh described the efforts of surf lifesavers. 

“Having lifesavers on hand to select the safest spots for swimming and surfing makes life at the beach today that much safer and … more fun. In fact, it is hard to think of going to the beach without the benefit of the watchful eye of lifesavers,” Mrs Bligh said.

“The centenary gives us the opportunity to pause for a moment and reflect on the contribution surf lifesaving clubs and their remarkable volunteers make to our great Queensland lifestyle every year.”

Despite Queensland’s surf life saving clubs offering world-class surf safety and rescue, unfortunately, there are still people that get injured or drown on our beaches.

As the State’s peak beach safety and rescue authority, Surf Life Saving Queensland continues to set the benchmark for coastal safety by striving to meet the target of ‘Zero preventable deaths and injuries on Queensland beaches’.

 

By getting involved with one of the local surf life saving clubs, it is an opportunity to serve the community by watching over and potentially saving the lives of the thousands of people who use Sunshine Coast beaches.

According to Steve, surf lifesaving is as good as it gets.

“The red and yellow safety system is recognised around the world but nowhere is the volunteer lifesaving system like it is in Australia,” he said. “In my opinion, surf lifesaving is the best community-based club in Australia. If you can’t enjoy being involved with a surf lifesaving club, you won’t enjoy anything.”

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