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Page 18
Sixty years recollections of swimming and surfing in the Eastern Suburbs
Page 18

Sixty years recollections of swimming and surfing in the Eastern Suburbs

Author (Australian, 1861 - 1940)
Publisher
Date1940
Object number00003177
NameBook
MediumInk on paper, blue cloth covered boards
DimensionsOverall: 186 x 128 x 14 mm, 0.2 kg
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionWritten by George Blackmore Phillip, 'Sixty years recollections of swimming and surfing in the Eastern suburbs and kindred subjects' was published by George B. Philip and Son in Sydney in 1940. The book includes illustrations by E A Holloway, E J Franklin and others. George Blackmore Philip was a book seller and publisher, as well as the foundation president of the Tamarama Surf Lifesaving Club. As well as providing a broad overview of Eastern suburbs beaches from the late 19th century to 1940, his book outlines the establishment of the Tamarama club and the history of surf life saving in the area. Anecdotes also refer to deaths at the beach, the impact of WW I on the club, and the training of lifeguards.HistorySurf Live Saving clubs formed around Australia from 1907. The earliest surf carnivals were held at Manly, Bondi and North Steyne in New South Wales in 1908 as fundraisers for the Royal Life Saving Society. As a popular and populist topic, the history of these clubs has been well documented in journals and books. George Blackmore Philip's book demonstrates that by the 1930s Australia's was interested in surf lifesaving not only as an organisation but as one of Australia’s great cultural icons.SignificanceThis book is a historically important document of the eastern suburbs beaches and the development of surf life saving in the area. Written by the foundation president of the Tamarama Surf Life Saving Club, the book provides a rare insight into the development of a club and the interactions it had with neighboring surf lifesaving bodies.