SURF BATHING.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 19, 5 January 1912, Page 3

SURF BATHING.

Surf-bathing has become, within the last few years, one of the principal national pastimes .of New South Wales, and its adoption lias' had farreaching beneficial effects. The average citizen regards the week-ender or holiday-maker surfing much the same as ho looks upon -the man who makes a bothy of coating or swimmmg. It is Ms partu-nlar way of amusing umumM hut the inclusion of surfing in the 7 list of national pastimes means something eonsiderablv more than other forma of sport. It lias taken hold of the sedentary men and women workers of 'the community, and lifted them into

a new way of living. It has given lolnist health to legions who never before knew \vhat it was to bo really well and tit. To go surfing is to enjoy a hojiday in the fullest sense of the form. It costs nothing, brings the depressed man and woman into a scene of light-hearted, infections gaiety, and acts as a stimulating nerve tonic the like of which has never been known.

Now South Wales lias won undisputed right to the title of the Mecca of surf-bathing. Every week-end in the warm months of the year the great and growing metropolitan areas along the coast empty their thousands of men, women, and children on to the numerous surfing beaches which are being made more and more assessable. The provision of surfing facilities for the masses is the one policy which has no party taint. All Governments from now on will he moved by the national voice, which demands to the full every opportunity for the people to indulge in this cheap, healthful, and innocent amusement. Surf-bathing has provided a subject for study. It has set going a new process of evolution. A thoughtful person lias only to visit one of the principal beaches on the coast on a Saturday afternoon—or, indeed, any day in the summer months—to note the process at work. The mother with a family of small children, in the past, as a matter of duty, made an occasional visit to the-seaside, always returning with a strenuous vow never to put up with the naughtiness and trouble of the little ones again. Surfing has -changed all that. The whole family now takes to the briny. The mother dons her bathing costume and takes charge of the whole brood in the water, and enjoys the fun. The time that used to drag heavily and promote short temper now passes all too quickly. There is a special delight which the massaging of the waves gives.

The surf-bather has become a recognised figure in the community. You can single out in the street the man or girl who regularly takes to the beach. They stand out in prominent contrast to the man or girl wiio idly passes the time indoors, instead of breathing in big draughts of fresh air straight from the ocean. There is no more stimulating combination known to science at the present day than sunlight and pure air. Tiie surfers who walk about the streets every day pursuing their usual avocations are striking examples of it.

' The most important phase of surfbathing is tiie influence which it is exercising on the national life. The people in the interior, by the nature of their surroundings and employment, become strong specimens of humanity. In the metropolis the young people have been too prone in the past to seek avenues of amusement neither healthful nor desirable. Surfing has furnishd. an . outlet for the healthy employment of their idle hours. They are taking to the surf in increasing numbers, and their small brothers and sisters accompany them. If there were compulsory laws to spend a certain' amount of time in the open air, They could-not* he more effective than the initiation of this national sport. IfS } m'aghctic !' ffnfhiences .jjttfapts ■' them' Aottlie.b.diiihesiin spite- of. their.s previous sedentary habits. All AiisIjiiajiaijfq love gaiety. Whether they are fond of bathing or not, the picturesque colon v. ...schemes... 0f... .the, beaches those days bring them along. ■And then, from spectators, they become active participators in the scene. 'The high glee with which the practised beach boy or girl shoots a breakeF appeals to an onlooker, and lie--oi; vkhe soon wants to learn how it is done. Life and good spirits are the outstanding qualities of snrfbathors, and their appeal to the sceptical onlooker is usually irresistible. The cfjllfpfY'lleJsurf is itiuloqbtqdly resulting' iff ‘ establishing' a higher tlvjjje' of .boy and I ’girlTaflbliVg' Iho-, coastline.—Sydney “Daily Telegraph,