The Life Savers, Manly

Publisher Harding & Billing

Photographer William James Hall (Australian, 1877 - 1951)

Date1905 -1915

Object number00001991

NamePostcard

MediumHandcoloured photographic off-set print

DimensionsOverall: 85 x 137 mm, 0.02 kg

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThe Sly brothers, fishermen from Fairy Bower, are standing in the stern of their double-ended boat. In 1903 they worked with Manly Council to build a modified whaleboat to patrol Manly and nearby beaches. This image has been hand coloured.HistoryThe first postcard was patented in 1861 by John P Charlton of Philadelphia. Postcards with "real photographs" instead of lithographs began to be produced in the 1900s. Postcards were also hand tinted to give them a realistic colour. The Sly brothers were Sydney fishermen who patroled manly and nearby beaches in a whaleboat in the early 1900s. In 1903, as a fund raising exercise, they participated in a demonstration of surf lifesaving techniques on Manly Beach. This included conducting rescues with their surfboat and demonstrating how to cut through the waves.SignificanceThis postcard provides an important record of early surf rescue boats in Sydney.