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It was August 1980 and Sue Martin was fit, loved the beach and wanted to be a surf lifesaver. It was pre-season and she was told that for the first time ever, a squad of women were about to start training at Austinmer Beach. The water was cold, but it was a great opportunity to do her Bronze Medallion, so she asked to be included in the squad.  

Forty years ago,Port Kembla’s Nella Keenan (nee Risi) and seven other young women became the first females in Australia to obtain their Surf Life Saving Bronze Medallions. It didn’t seem like a big deal to Nella back then, but for thousands of women today who benefitted from the inroads they made, it was a significant achievement. 

To many in Surf Life Saving, Gina Crick is a woman who’s done it all. But Gina says there’s more to do.

Professor Ngiare Brown is a Yuin Woman, passionate volunteer and surf sports advocate at Coledale Surf Life Saving Club - and an affiliate of Wanda and Warilla-Barrack Point. She is one of our inspirational members we're profiling this week as part of National Volunteer Week 2020. Not only does she dedicate her time to the Surf Life Saving movement, but she was also the first Aboriginal doctor in NSW and is a gold medal outrigger crewmember.