Champions of the Waves

This trophy was awarded to Swansea-Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club members who won marathon boat races between 1966 and 1968. The club, now known as Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club, has a proud history in this gruelling and demanding surf sport category. In the mid-1900s, marathon surfboat races were considered an ultimate test […]

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A Surprising Victory

In late March 1947, a young Ken Ross (at the far left of this photograph) stood proud with his lifesaver mates in front of their winning surf boat. These were the Caves Beach boys who had taken out the Junior Surf Boat Championship at the recent Surf Lifesaving Australia Carnival at Bondi Beach. It was […]

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Casting a Wider Net

Green and gold pennant with a fuzzy beige trim which reads: "SWANSEA-BELMONT S.L.S.C Annual Surf Carnival 1961 Jun. Boat Race, 1st Caves Beach."

The changing face of surf life saving is, in no small part, due to the ever-evolving inclusion of juniors. This pennant was won by the junior boat crew of Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) at a 1961 surf life saving carnival. This competition was held by their ‘sister club,’ Swansea-Belmont SLSC, with both […]

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Battling the Breakers

Ken Murray, the Sweep, stood well balanced at the stern, steering the boat, while his crewmates braced themselves as they battled the breakers, amid foaming surf and salty spray. The senior boat crew from Caves Beach Lifesaving Club were all smiles that day in 1961 when a photographer perched at the surf boat’s bow to […]

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A Night to Remember

This programme was kept by Ron Ekert (1930-2019) as a souvenir of the Maroon and White Ball held by the Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club in August 1973. Ron was a member of the club. While the Caves Beach club had an intensely competitive focus it also had an important social dimension and offered various get-togethers […]

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Standing on the Beach

With slightly sandy shoes, a professional photographer returned to his studio one day in 1959 and developed a roll of film. It was these two photographs that stood out among the images he had captured that day, which were suitable for the commission he had received from the Swansea-Caves Beach Surf Lifesaving Club. After printing […]

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