Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club – 40 years of women in surf lifesaving

Ms WEBB (Nelson) – I rise today to speak about a vibrant gem of an organisation in my electorate, the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club and to congratulate them on some achievements and initiatives that they are undertaking.  In December 2020, the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club marked 40 years of women in surf-lifesaving.  Forty women patrolled the beach that day marking the anniversary of women being able to obtain their bronze medallion to become lifesavers.  I was delighted to help support the celebrations with a huge afternoon tea to thank its members and their shared pride in the leadership, education and achievements of their club. 

It is quite astounding to think that as recently as 1980, women were perceived as not being strong enough to patrol Australian beaches.  How far we have come.  Today the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club has many female volunteers, its committee is chaired by a female president and it has 60 per cent female representation.  The club is justifiably proud of those statistics. 

The club has many reasons to be proud.  The Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club is one of 13 surf-lifesaving clubs in Tasmania.  It is one of the biggest in the state, with 420 members ranging in age from 5 years to 74 years.  In 2021, they saw the biggest increase in membership since the club was officially formed in 2009.  In fact, prior to 2009, Kingston Beach patrols were operated by the Clifton Beach Surf Life Saving Club.  This long association with the Clifton Beach club evolved into a very deliberate policy of one club, two beaches, and has become the cornerstone of the southern Tasmanian surf-lifesaving community’s success.  I would like to give special mention to Paul Munday, who was a founding member of the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club and is still active in the club today.

During 2021, the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club recorded more than 2300 patrol hours, with nine members doing 50‑plus hours each.  However, patrolling the beach is just one of the services that the club provides.  It also conducts water safety programs, several surf sports events and carnivals, and it has a huge Nippers program, with 160 registered members.  This very valuable program is for those aged 6‑13 years, to introduce them to surf lifesaving and build their confidence and safety in and around the water.

One area of lifesaving that the club provides that is perhaps not so well known in the community is its emergency response teams.  These teams comprise members who make themselves available to assist Tasmania Police in response to incidents occurring in the water.  This year, four members completed flood technician training and six completed swiftwater technician training.  Already, these volunteers have performed a number of callouts and have been commended by Tasmania Police for their speedy response times. 

As you can tell, Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club has a big community focus and is very involved.  Community use beach wheelchairs will also be added to the club’s services this summer, which will be the perfect complement to the new Kingborough Council accessibility ramp onto the beach, which was just launched last weekend. 

In 2018, the club also managed to secure Kingston Beach’s first 24/7 defibrillator, now at home on the Kingston foreshore.  It has recently applied for a second defibrillator to put into the public community, to build community confidence when it comes to first aid. 

Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club also has a slew of awards to its name.  This year one of its coaches, Maddy McBride, won coach of the year at the Surf Life Saving Tasmania Awards for Excellence.  In 2019, the club was awarded the Premier Club of the Year, an award it also won in 2017.  In 2019, it won Education Program of the Year, with its Lifesavers Without Limits program.  That program is a very special one.  It was designed to provide surf‑lifesaving education to young adults aged 16‑25 years from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  Working closely with the Migrant Resource Centre, the club was able to support two boys to achieve their CPR Award and be community volunteers as part of the club’s patrol team. 

For any of those looking for a challenge, the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club hosts an annual beach to beach swim – a 2.5 kilometre ocean swim from Blackmans Bay Beach to Kingston Beach.  This event won the community program of the year in 2017.  In January, you too can sign up to swim for the 2022 event, which is scheduled for Sunday 27 March. 

To president Danielle Campbell, to the committee and to every member of the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club, I extend my hearty thanks and congratulations for everything you do to make Kingston Beach a safe and fun place to swim.  While I hope I am never in need of its services, I am very glad that the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving Club and its members are there in our community and are thriving.

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