By RON LANE
IN AN era when club loyalty and pride are in danger of becoming a thing of the past, it is indeed very refreshing to visit the surf club at Sunshine Beach and meet up with the Braby family, all six of them; and all involved in some way with the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving club.
First of all there is the father Ron aged 75, his sons Ian 50, Scott 48 and daughter Kim aged 45. Then there are the grandsons Tom 23 and Skye 21 and if we go back to where it all started there is Ron’s dad Noel who started the family involvement by becoming a member of the Coogee surf club.
“With dad then me, my sons and now my grandkids it gives our family four generations of involvement in the lifesaving movement… something I feel we should be proud of,” Ron Braby said.
“I never got my bronze medallion, so my involvement has always been on the committee side of things… always being a part of the support group.”
Ron who was born in Neutral Bay North Sydney and educated at Naremburn Intermediate Boys High School arrived with his wife Jan and family in Noosa in 1979 and in 1980 his boys joined the Noosa Heads SLSC where they obtained their bronze medallions.
“This was really the start of our heavy involvement with the lifesaving movement,” he added.
“During our years down south I had always been a big supporter of the Freshwater club but never got my bronze.
“My love of the beach life came from my dad Noel who was a member of the surf club at Coogee.
“As soon as my kids could walk I put them under the famous swim coach Forbes Carlile and this of course gave them a great start.”
With the boys heavily involved in the Noosa club Ron eventually put his hand up for a seat on the Supporter Club Committee.
“I served for two years on the committee… with the two boys doing patrols and me on the committee the club for us became a family affair.”
It was during the early ’80s that the surf club career for both boys really started to take off.
“For Scott and I this November will give us 36 years in lifesaving.” Ian Braby said.
“Being in a lifesaving club is like being in a good family… the people you meet… I just can’t imagine not doing it.”
Ian and Scott trained in the same bronze squad.
“In particular I remember two others in our squad, Russell Green who later on became a local councilor and Max Pettigrove who made a name for himself as a swim coach,” Ian said in regard to his basic training.
“Also years later when we changed clubs we all joined Sunshine and now 36 years later we are still here.”
Ian’s heavy involvement at Noosa started when he joined the boat section, rowing for several years first as a junior then moving up to reserve grade. After dropping out of rowing Ian continued in competition by joining the Board of Examiners and officiating at surf carnivals, a duty he was to perform for the next ten years.
“By the early ’80s Greenie (Russell Green) had moved up through the ranks to become club captain then in the ’85-86 season I followed Russ to become Captain.
“This was a good season for me as I was also named Clubman of the Year,” Ian said.
Also in 1988 Ian had filled in the papers to become a member of Sunshine thus making him a dual member, a unique membership he was to hold till 1996.
Prior to his appointment as captain Ian had, in 1984 volunteered for the Jet Rescue Boat Team where he was to become a driver and eventually Jet Boat Captain.
“I spent fifteen years in that team and it was some of the best years of my career.
“However during this time I had the misfortune to roll the boat over in big four-metre surf in the southern end of Alexandra Bay.
“According to tradition,” he said with a laugh, “I had to shout a keg of beer, but I got off with shouting six cartons of beer and three chooks.”
During this time the Noosa Supporter Club was in its infancy and many of the staff including Ian came from the ranks of the senior club.
“Those were the good old days when we worked under the legendry manager John Ford,” Ian said.
“We were on $5 an hour, and a pot of beer cost 45cents.
“It was also early in this period that Dad served on the Supporter Club Committee.”
Not wanting to be left out of the activities his sister Kim represented the club in the Surf Girl Quest which was and still is a big fundraiser for the clubs.
In keeping with family involvement Scott was also playing his part. On obtaining his bronze with Ian he also went on to the patrol roster and then started what was to become a very active competition career. For two years he rowed boats.
“It was during this time that I got my taste of really big surf,” Scott said.
“It happened at the Australian Titles on Wanda Beach it was really big but I discovered I had a taste for this sort of competition.”
Scott also started to paddle the skis and also developed a heavy interest in surf board riding representing his club at Branch State and National titles. During this time he was elected to the job of board and ski captain and this position placed him on the Surf Sports Committee. Then in 1986 Scott made the break and transferred to the club at Sunshine Beach and this was when his competition career really started to move.
“My time at Noosa had given me a taste for the board and ski and having started my swimming at an early age set my eyes on the iron man events,” Scott said.
“I ended up competing in the Nutri-Grain Iron Man and was bracketed in the top 20 in Australia travelling and competing all up the East Coast.
“This was the period prior to the Uncle Tobies Series, and it was during the Uncle Tobies that I met and trained under the legendary Rod Taylor.”
On top of this Scott also competed no less than eight times in the Coolangatta Gold finishing in the top five in his age group on several occasions.
On the administration side Scott served for several seasons as club captain and held a chair on the Active Committee and was heavily involved working with the nippers. During the winter months, along with club mate Russell Green, he even played a couple of seasons of Rugby League for the Pirates.
Scott and wife Simone have two sons, Tom aged 23 and Skye 21 who following the family tradition – they both joined Sunshine.
“My love of competing has also carried me through 22 Noosa Triathlons, the first being in 1983 as a junior,” Scott added.
“When my competition days finished… I did water safety for the Noosa Tri… as lifesavers this is right up our alley and it is also a great help to a community event.”
To Scott and family they feel it is a great organisation.
“I always say that we all get more out of it than we put in… the mateship fitness and education has all been incredible.”
When we look at today’s society it is sad but true that we give more recognition to those winter heroes who, once a week, chase an air-inflated pig skin around a cow paddock for 80 minutes.
However I feel that all members of this incredible family agreed with Scott when he said, “It’s what we get out of it personally that counts.”
