THE CALL OF THE SURF.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 462, 22 March 1909, Page 6

THE CALL OF THE SURF.

: A FAVOURITE SYDNEY RECREATION. i ITS DELIGHTS AND DANGERS. ; Bv Sylvius'. "When you'ro in Rome do as the Ro- • ■''■ . mans do," so when I went to'Sydney'l surf- ! ' bathed. Surf-bathing, as indulged in by j '■ Sydney folk, is not the fad of the moment, i not the sort of practice to compare, for in- \. . stance, with the society ladies of Pott's ' Point, and other -elegant, localities,. who find J ■ . ■ a quaint delight in fondling huge Teddy bears in their motors and .carriages. The ;.-■'■■• sport has obtained a strong hold on Sydl ( ney's pleasure-loving people, and gives an ,"■• , index to the climatic-character of tho big, i ' sun-bathed city on the other sido of the ' ;..: Tasman Sea. After all, everything is a ' matter of climate, and Sydneyites, in taking ;-.-.. to tho beach whenever they have an hour to spare, are only working out their natural ; : . destiny—their natural and moral character. A.grave divine assured me that surf-bathing was doing more real good for the people than tho Church. They were naturally people of the sun—it is rcflce* - ! ; in their joyous, care-begone disposition and the gloomy stuff that is written by :' many of its writers as indicative of . the y Australian character, : is as wrong as wrong well - could be. Sydney and its beaches, at 1 ' all events, contradicts thoso sombro -peo- ■ ' " pie who rival one another in literary gloominess, and palm it off as a reflection of what is. ■ Happy Crowds. Those on this side of the-Dominion must ' not'imagine that surf-bathirig is'the'sport for'the immature; the callow, the poseur. That would/be a cruel libel on the happy' crowds of all ages and both sexes who improve tho shining hour in tho exhilarating effervescence of tho Pacific. Whilst, of course, tho preponderance of indulgers are , of the golden age, there'are lots of sober citizens who could be classified in the fourth ond fifth of Shakespeare's ages of man (and •women) who have'a'keen love of'the: surf— sedate bank managers," eminent "lawyers, grey-haired merchants. - ; -All "are ' equally keen on "getting brown," and in that modest desire is summed up. the effect of nature's working. Not'that'l would suggest for one moment that Sydney is not a white man's country. But to demonstrate 1 tho tendency of surf-bathers to get close to' original owners of those'gleaming ; strands, it only needs to be stated, that as ihe result of a plenitude of surf and sun-bath-ing, the average Maori would not. be conspicuous amongst a group, of experienced surf-bathers at Manly. life-saving, Surf-bathing in its stricter sense is not adangerous sport. Tho ravenous - shark does not venture into broken water, and tho under-tow is only strong in certain localities that are'usually, avoided. . .Yet the surf takes its toll at. the. rate of about'one a ■week. , Only this week the. death of an Aucklander at Bond! is recorded, and life-saving clubs have been, formed at all ,the .chief bathingbeaches. : Not. content to' play luxuriously in the surf, some bathers, ..realising their, developing swimming strength, will venture out-and even beyond the farthest breaker, Then.there is trouble. It may be. cramp, mere exhaustion, or a shark. Hence the life-saving brigades, who, I 'was told, have done real good work in saving the lives of the foolhardy.' So frequent are cases '■ such as mentioned that the Manly' City Council has in its employ a professional L - life-saver/who is always about the beach, prepared at a. moment's notice to jump in I with a life-belt at the end of a line attached to a reel.planted'in, the sand, and do hte best' to rescue the troubled one away out in the farthest curler. I was present recently at a surf-bathers' carnival held by. . tho North Steyne Club on Manly beach, and there witnessed seven , life-saving clubs ,in competition. It was an exhilarating exhibition to the last degree, and served to impress one with the: dangers that exist for :, the indiscreet. Five men form a team. , ; The •-■ strorigest_ swimmer takes the belt, three pay out the line, holding it over their heads, (to keep it as free of 'the, breakers as .possible), and the fifth man is in charge of the reel. The signal to haul in is given by the resk,' _ cuer by thrusting his arm upright for a sec- , """' ond or two. The rescuer then has got hold of his man, the three line-men commence to haul in judiciously so as not to.pull rescuer and rescued under, and the reel-man winds up the slack. With an exhausted or cramped person actually at the end of the. line, one can imagine the excitement which must prevail. The members of the brigade are all experts in the different modes of resuscitating the almost drowned, and a demonstration of the North Steyne method was , added to the programme at the carnival aforesaid. How carefully the lines have to be handled in assisting the rescuer and his . burden to the shore was tragically demonstrated quite recently in Sydney, when a man who had been secured by. a. life-saver I was drowned through tho line .being pulled . '= i in too fast by the anxious ones in-snore. Surf-bathing, as it is known in Sydney, is. never likely to be adopted in Wellington— the temperature of tho air 'and the water, will always prevent that. But it haß become, an element in the out-door lifo of Sydney, and, as a healthful and intensely pleasurable recreation, will always remain jo. . "'" .. . '.'. ■. ■