Some of you would know of Terrigal on the Central Coast of New South Wales with its beautiful beaches making it popular with locals and tourists alike. Back in the 1940’s it was a sleepy fishing village with a population of less than 500.
During World War 2 the Surf Lifesaving Association of Australia (SLSA) was stretched to provide rescue services along the beaches anywhere along the Australian Coast. From the Surf Club at Terrigal only four men were available to patrol the beaches when 72 men went off to war.
This led the female members of the club – mostly wives, sweethearts and sisters – to ask permission to become lifesavers. Their application to the controlling body failed though this did not deter them.
They were trained in surf lifesaving skills by chief instructor Harry Vickery and were assessed by Central Coast Life Saving’s inaugural president Dr E.A. Martin. In two exams some 30 women qualified for the equivalent of the bronze medallion, receiving certificates on Terrigal beach and going on to volunteer to patrol the area over the summer seasons.
These young women undertook their duties with enthusiasm and passion. They even made their own swimming costumes and uniforms out of sheets, curtains and the odd parachute despite not having been awarded their bronze medallions.
At wars end 70 men returned and resumed lifesaving duties with the women being relegated to their previous tasks.
It wasn’t until 75 years later in 2017 that the women who patrolled the beaches of Terrigal during World War 2 , those “peaches of the beaches”, were finally recognised. They were awarded their Bronze Medallions, most posthumously to the families, as well as a special Terrigal Parliamentary Award to acknowledge their contribution to the community.
The Surf Life Saving Association finally admitted women as full members in 1980 and now benefit from more than 80,000 dedicated female members of all ages across Australia contributing in activities from active patrolling, to surf sports, education and everything in between.
#AtoZChallenge
Brizzy Mays Books and Bruschetta 
I can just imagine what it was like when the men came back. Women relegated to cups of tea. It took a long time to accept women in life saving.
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Too long!
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I remember you writing about them before! Those white suits certainly make them look very tan!!
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Beach girls are tanned, Muri. I go black and blond in summer in summer, fade in winter and have to put colour through my hair or my hair is mousy. We are a nation of sun worshippers despite melanoma warnings…..
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I did wonder how you’d manage to cope with the letter X! Good choice, though I was shocked to read that it took 75 years for the peaches of the beaches to gain formal recognition. Also shocked that it took until 1980 for women to be admitted as full members of the Association. Attitudes plainly changed only very slowly, in your country as well as mine.
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It was after having read about these women, and seeing one of them at 96 years of age being interviewed on the tv, that prompted to follow this theme. Firstly, I love these particular women because they were simply stepping up whilst the boys were away – no fuss, no drama, they just got on with it – and also because we don’t know our own history, nor do we value it.
I will admit I’ll be pleased once Z is done and dusted 🙂
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