History will show it came two years later than intended, but Terrigal SLSC finally celebrated their centenary with a night of momentous recognition of its origins.
It was third time lucky on Saturday 5 November for the Central Coast club after two false starts largely due to COVID-19 restrictions, having originally planned to celebrate the 100-year anniversary in 2020.
“The history books will show the club was founded in 1920, and we had a big black-tie gala planned that we couldn’t get off the ground for two years, so the event we had on Saturday night was nowhere near that large,” Terrigal SLSC President, Glenn Bowles said.
“It was a lot more casual, but it was a fantastic night, we had over 100 people and we hosted it at the club.
“We deliberately started at 4pm as we have a lot of older members who wanted to come, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to get together before the party started off and catch up.”
In a nod to the club’s storied history, one of the most sentimental and memorable moments of the night came when the relative of a former icon rung a ceremonial bell to signify 100 years of Terrigal SLSC.
“In the war years a number of women were trained to be lifesavers when a large portion of the membership was taken to war,” Glenn said.
“We were lucky enough on Saturday night to have the great niece of one of those women, Kristen Meikle, at the event. She is related to Dot Berry who became quite famous from a video that went around at the time.
“We mounted a big bell in the club house and got Kristen to ring the bell to commemorate our history and signify the 100 years.”
TERRIGAL SLSC FACTS:
- The club colours were black and gold until the royal blue we now know was adopted in the 1930s
- Increased visitation in the late 30s brought about the employment of ‘Beach Inspectors’ at Terrigal – so called as they carried measuring devices to ensure modesty in swimwear
- When female lifesavers patrolled the beach during WWII, Terrigal were the inaugural Women’s March Past Champions of NSW
- In 2017 an event was held to recognise those women who patrolled the beach in the 40s, acknowledged by Her Majesty, the late Queen Elizabeth II and finally presented with their Bronze Medallions
Wednesday 16 November 2022