Surf Life-Saving Club Formed For Waitarere

Chronicle (Levin), 19 August 1949, Page 4

Surf Life-Saving Club Formed For Waitarere

V The Levin-- Junior Chamtoer Pf Commerce's efforts to bring about the formation of a. surf and lifesaving club at . Waitarere Beach were rewarded last night by the attendance of a very enthusiastic group of citizens at a meeting called by Messrs W. J. Barrat and P. R. Sisson. The meeting culminated in the formation of what will be known as the Levin-Waitarere Surf and Life-saving Club with an inaugural strength of 12 assured active members and four junior active members. A number of honorary members were also recruited. Waitarere Beach will, therefore, be pal^rolled from this summer onwards, a comforting thought to the many Levin and district residents who floek to this popular seaside rp?r»rfc.

Organisations represented at the , meeting were Waitarere Progres- J sive Association (Mr. A. W. Nis- , bet) , Levin Borough Council (the 1 Deputy Mayor, Mr. R. A. Frederik- . son) , St. John Ambulance- Brigade (Mr. H. Palmer), Automobile Association (Mr. R. Keenan), Levin Swimming Club (Mr. W. G. Philli'ps) . Also present were members of the Foxton Surf and Life-saving Club,' led by their president, Mr. R. Evans, and members of the Levin Junior Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was • chaired by Mr. R. Long, president of the Junior Chamber, who, after a few introductory remarks, called upon the -two sponsors to speak. ' The " first speaker was Mr. Barrat, an ex-member of the Foxton Club, who said that the ideal was to have all the beaches on the coast patrolled. He was disappointed that there had not been a greater response from the public. Waitarere was a perfect beach but not, as many .people imagined, 3i, perfectly safe be&ch. No beach was perfectly safe. Approaches had been made before to have the beach patrolled, but the support had not been forthcoming. The chamber was now making an allout. effort to see that from this summer Waitarere Beach was patrolled by a strong and active group of volunteers prepared to give up- their time to this most necessary work. He then thanked all those organisations represented for their attendance. The formation of a surf and life-saving club would not only bring about the protection of lives but also provide a suitable environment for the young meh of the town, said Mr. Sission. Most of Levin's youth had nothing to do on a Sunday, whereas membership of the club would not only give them the personal satisfaction of 'being 'a service to the community but also an outlet for surplus energy. The parents who patronised the beach would be saved the anxiety !of continually being on the alert while their children were bathing by the knowledge that they were under observation -by members of the club. Pioneers' Views. If it was decided to start a patrol for Waitarere, its members Would at least have a much better start than the Foxton patrol had, said the president of the visiting club, Mr. Evans. The establish-men-t of such a patrol at Waitarere would mean the formation of a district surf and life-saving association, and that would take much of the work of organisation oif the han'ds of the new club such as the provision of instructors. The Foxton club had not had this advantage and had had to battle along on its own. It had been supported in the raising of finance by the local bodies in its district. He understood that it was more or less mandatory for locaLi-bq^ies tp-- giveAassi&fc$n$ej: to lif e-s&viing " cMss? wMe •• krry " such organisalions* had the blessing of the Government and, he ' thought could rely on assistance from that quarter in the way of subsidies. The people in the town had also rallied round and on a recent street day in Foxton, £100 ' had been collected.

Mr. n;vans menxioned tnat the patrol's first club headquarters were behind a log on the beach and later a tent. Now it had its own club-house, which had been built by club members with the assistance of tradesmen sympathisers. The, people had also been asked to concribute materials and this had worked most successfully. The club now had a sizeable assured income for its operations. In conclusion, he gave an assurance of assistance in any way from the Foxton club and the possible donation of a surf ski. Another member of the Foxton Club, Mr. B. Smith, also spoke along similar lines. The Deputy .Mayor, Mr. R. A. Frederikson, after apologising for Ihe absence of Mr. Burdekin, said that the Mayor was very keen on the project, but it had not yet been discussed by the council. Without cbmmitting the council, he felt sure that* it would pay its share towards the maintenance of the new patrol and would wish it every success and be right behind it. Important Project. The president of the Waitarere Beach Progressive Association, Mr. Nisbet, said that the project had been of paramount importance to it for many years. The trouble was that the settlement was toosmalf to guarantee membership and finance. The association was very pleased that this move was being made by the Levin people and. he felt sure the association would give full co-operation. The association had . a reel which he had brought along that night, but

it had not the personnel to man it. The association would probably be very pleased to hand. it over to the new patrol. The Waitarere Domain Board could not be . represented that night, but he could assure every co-operation fronj. that body, too. It cottld probably do much . in the way of arranging with £he Government for a site for the clubhouse. It was a known fact that the Minister of Jnternal Affairs was in sympathy with life-saving patrols, and he felt sure a subsidy would also be forthcoming. , . He could not speak for the club as it- had not. yet held a meeting, but his private opinion was that co-operation woul'd be forthcoming from his club, said the president of the Levin Swimming Club, Mr. Phillips. The club could possibly be of assistance in regard to

training members of' the patrol and he also felt sure that the council would allocate the patrol a night for training at the baths. The Automobile Association's re-

presentative', Mr. Keenan, said that wherever there was a gathering of cars A.A. patrol - officers were on duty and this would, of course, include beaches at' which the patrol would be operating. He felt sure that theoassociation would give the patrol every assistance and ' cooperation. As far as he personally was concerned, the club need not ask twice. The St. John Ambulance representative, Mr. Palmer, also spoke saying that co-operation woul'd be forthcoming from that body, particularly in matters ' of training personnel in first aid. The chairman, in summing up, said that the patrol would have to look for public support, In regard to active membership, he was pleased to announce that already 12 active members had been en-lis-ted. The principal of the Horo- " whenua College had also been most helpf ul and • had forwarded the names of .four boys who were interested. The difficulty lay in the fact that college pupils came from far afiel'd and some of the best swimmers were farmers' sons, who were not available at weekends.' There were, however, five prospective members in boys who would be entering college next year. It was hoped that a junior club could be formed. He emphasised, however, that no person was required to be an expert swimmer or a champion to join the active patrol. Keen members would not be in the club long before they were experts. Mention was also made by Mr. 'Long of the prospects pf competing with other nearby surf clubs and later entering wider competitive fields. Concluding, he mentioned that co-operation could probably be expected from the Horowhenua County Council if the patrol was formed. The council member for the riding, Mr. E. R. Winkler, was most enthusiastic about the pfo-*' ject. The' chairman then put a motion to the meeting' that, realising the necessity to adequately protect those using Waitarere Beach, a 1 surf and life-saving club be formed. This was carried unanimously. ■ It was then decided, in order to give both Waitarere and Levin a common interest, that the club ; name incorporate the two towns. First Officers. ! The following officers were thqn elected: — Patron: Dr. S. J. Thomp1 son; president: Mr. W. J. Barrat; vice-presidents: Messrs R. Long, ; H. B. Burdekin, L. Moffatt, C. ■ Hood, A. M. Colquhoun, E.» R. : Winkler. and P. R. Sisson; secretary: Mr. R. Spooner; treasurer Mr. R. Kenny; general committee: - All active members plus the above officers: ,hon. medical officers: Drs. ' £; J/ Thompsoh,: E. T. G-.'Mfiler, L. J! Hunter ana ffl L. Gilll^s; hon. solicitor: Mr. I.' s. Park; hon. - auditor: Mr. G. Sorenson. The subscription was fixed at ■ 2s 6d for both active and honor1 ary members. The committee will - hold its first meeting next Wed- ■ nesday night.