Surf lifesaving club has a vital role in Paradise

SHANE O’CONNOR, LIFE MEMBER, SURFERS PARADISE SURF CLUB

TO answer Richard Holliday’s comment “Why should the surf club be considered in the redevelopment of the beachfront in Surfers Paradise?” (GCB, 8/1/21):

Here are some facts: this city/suburb grew up between the surf club and the pub, Jim Cavill’s Surfers Paradise Hotel.

His partner in this enterprise was a well-known builder JC Walsh who was the founding president of the surf club back in 1925.

The Surfers Paradise SLSC will be 100 years old in 2025 and has been instrumental in putting the Gold Coast (and Surfers Paradise) on the tourism map both nationally and internationally.

Apart from all the lives saved during this time and the selfless dedication of our volunteer patrol members (which is continuing to this day), I will list some of the outstanding athletes who have represented the club, city and state at the highest level. In no particular order there is:

Peter Lacey (Life Member, winner of 22 Australian championship medals over 20 years); our current president Trevor Hendy, AO (multiple world and Australian titles); Grant Hackett, OAM (1500m world and Olympic champion); Sally Pearson (Olympic champion gained her Bronze Medallion at the club); Cassandra Sedgman (world and Australian board and ski champion); Shannon Eckstein (multiple world and Australian ironman champion); Greg Brough (Olympic 1500m bronze medallist in Mexico); Karla Gilbert, OAM (world and Australian ironwoman champion); Phil Clayton (world and Australian ironman champion); Ali Day (current world ironman champion and six-times Nutri-Grain series champion).

The most important contribution of all is the hundreds of Nippers and their parents who arrive every Sunday morning for training and competition at our famous beach.

The article that Mr Holliday commented on – and I was quoted in – was from 2008 when we had a proposal to look at the beachfront redevelopment and get rid of the eyesore as it is.

Indeed architect Desmond Brooks in his comments (GCB, 19/12/20) almost endorses this planning.

For Richard’s information, it is intended to be a hub/base for all the emergency services – police, ambulance, lifeguards and of course the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club – that this “event city” requires over the year and give the city back this freehold land.