By RON LANE
Last Saturday night 20 June will be for our brothers in arms at the Rainbow Beach Surf Life Saving Club a night to remember. For on this occasion, some 266 people gathered at the club house to celebrate their 50 years of patrolling Rainbow Beach. Happy to relate no lives lost while members on patrol.
In recognizing the contribution to the community guest of honour, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, MP, said in part, “I congratulate the club, and I am very proud to have been involved with this great club for 25 years, and I have enjoyed my association very much.” To say that a man of this calibre has maintained his association for such a long period of time, speaks volumes as to the character of the club.
Among the many e-mails of congratulations was one from the Noosa club. There were two reasons for this. One being acknowledgement of their outstanding achievement and the second being perhaps the most important of all; celebrating our continued relationship.
The relationship started in 1965 when yours truly received a phone call from State Center informing us that a group of concerned citizens in Gympie were making inquiries regarding the formation of a surf club at Rainbow. We were requested to attend a meeting at the Gympie Town Hall, listen to the discussion and pass on the information relevant to their request.
After the discussion, followed by a question and answer time, the meeting voted overwhelming to proceed with the project. The first officially called meeting was held at the Freemasons Hotel in Mary Street, and the minutes were recorded by Dan Young; Young was to go on to hold the office of club treasurer for a period of seven years. To get the club off the ground, a squad of young volunteers were sent to the Noosa club from Gympie to be trained and obtain their bronze medallion; I had the honour of being appointed trainer. They were Gregg Biddle, Russell Hodges, Norman Ryan, Bill Marriott, Howard Donald and Alan Friskie. After obtaining their bronze, they returned to Rainbow and the massive task of establishing the club was commenced. In later years, Greg Biddle was to become one of the first Rainbow members to be awarded the club’s highest honour, Life Membership.
The problem of building a clubhouse was overcome when the old Tamaree School building was relocated to the present site, courtesy of Widgee Shire Council. Among those to be heavily involved in the erection of the clubhouse was Cliff Kuhn of Gympie and former shire chairman and councilor Neil Buchanan. For Cliff Kuhn, this project was to be just the start of what was to become a very illustrious career. In the years that followed, Kuhn was to hold the position of club secretary from 1965 to ’75 and following this, his appointment to the position of president of the Sunshine Coast Branch capped an outstanding contribution to the lifesaving movement.
This member was just one of the many who made their mark in this great club. If you happen to visit, spend time reading their Honour Board for here appears the names of management committee members who have given time and effort for many years. Names such as Gavin, Young, McCarthy, Biddle, Neuman, Kidd, Wewer, Lehman, Greaney and Langton, just to name a few.
Next to this is the frame that contains the photos of the truly honoured, the Life Members. These are the men and women who played a major role in achieving their present status.
Through the years our two clubs have, on countless occasions joined together in training camps covering subjects such as patrolling, competition, IRB and nippers. From the business side, our supporter club manager Anton Mogg, has also been heavily involved with Rainbow in matters of administration.
On a more personal level, in 1957 Doug Chapman of Gympie and I trained in the same bronze squad. After some time, Doug left us but later resumed his career as a patrol member of Rainbow. To be reunited with Dough after some 40 years, was for me a highlight of the evening. Also Dave O’Donnell former club captain of Noosa went to live in Rainbow Beach joined the surf club and went on to hold positions on the committee.
It is to be hoped that in the seasons ahead, the two clubs will continue their mutual involvement in all aspects of lifesaving and above all that priceless commodity, mateship. These factors are truly the basics of our surf club life.
