REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Friday, June 27, 1975

STATE Treasurer and former premier Sir Gordon Chalk refused to finance extra Gold Coast beach patrols unless all local governments in the state pitched in and “made some kind of sacrifice”.

The council asked the BjelkePetersen Government for funds in early 1975 but received no response until late June.

Sir Gordon issued the council an ultimatum in a statement. “The Government has been generous in many ways but there is a limit to the extent we can go without impeding other projects,” he said.

“I am prepared to favourably consider the matter if all local authorities agree to reduce the subsidy or some project or projects to compensate the amount required.”

The ultimatum came the same day council chief lifeguard Warren Young told councillors that a lack of manpower on the city’s beaches “could soon lead to tragedy”.

In his report to the council, Mr Young said just 10 of the city’s 21 beaches were permanently patrolled.

Inspectors in 4WD vehicles cruised up and down the coast but the coverage at Northcliffe, Nobbys, Miami, North Burleigh and Bilinga was “hopelessly inadequate”.

Fortunately, many surfers responded to the warmings to only swim at beaches where an inspector was on duty, and only 16 of the 108 rescues were outside the patrolled areas.

Alderman Norm Rix slammed Chalk’s statements as “ridiculous in the extreme”.

And in big news for Bulletin readers of the mid-1970s, the price of the paper rose 2¢ to 10¢. A week’s worth of local news cost readers just 40¢.