A Club Takes Shape

← Back to Club History

Building the clubhouse

The 1982/83 season saw work on the clubhouse finally gather pace. Amended plans were submitted to Eurobodalla Shire Council and approved, and the Club received a $10,000 Special Unemployment Grant from the State Government for labour. Three people were given jobs and by the end of the season the upstairs area was mostly completed.

School surfing was introduced as a sport at Moruya High School, with around forty students hosted by the Club during the year. The Club also hosted the second IRB Branch Championships with six crews entered — and Broulee won the Far South Coast Branch. The Broulee Open Surfout was held in January with $2,000 worth of prizes donated.

Pressure and perseverance — 1983/84

The Club’s fifth season was one of its hardest off the beach. Seven Committee members resigned, and although some vacancies were filled, the remaining members carried a heavier load. Despite the pressure, the inside of the clubhouse was completed to a useable standard and the Club finally had the funds to order cladding for the outside of the building.

On the water, Broulee Surfers won the Branch Patrol Efficiency Competition and conducted and won the Branch IRB Championships.

The spotted gum goes up — 1984/85

In September 1984, the outside cladding of local spotted gum finally covered the external walls — a milestone that gave the clubhouse its distinctive character. Broulee won the Branch IRB Championships again, a remarkable achievement for a club of this size.

At the end of the season the Club acquired its first surfboat — a sixteen-year-old wooden boat found beside a shed at Batemans Bay, originally belonging to North Cronulla. It was repaired and made ready for the season ahead.

First carnivals, first George Bass — 1985/86

This was a landmark season. The Committee grew to twenty-one members, the Club entered its first surf carnival, and Broulee competed in all events at the Branch Carnivals — winning the IMB Handicap Branch Competition Point Score.

A boat crew represented the Club for the first time in the Mazda Surfboat Marathon and the George Bass. In an old wooden boat that became waterlogged along the way, they finished last — but they finished. For a club fielding its first crew in one of the toughest surf boat races on the coast, that was an achievement worth celebrating.

The IRB crew also made it through to the final of the NSW IRB Championship — the only club in the Branch to do so. A boat shed with storage area was also built during the season, with Club members contributing the labour.

Going national — 1986/87

Broulee Surfers attended the Australian Titles for the first time. The Junior Boat Crew, headed by Lionel Franks, competed in Perth and reached the quarterfinals. Both Junior and Senior crews competed in the State titles, with the Juniors reaching the semi-finals.

On the beach, 114 people were rescued during the season — and no lives were lost. From a half-finished building and a handful of members, Broulee Surfers had become a club competing at national level. The foundation was set.

Cover image: First bricks — work begins on the clubhouse (L to R: Jack Horne, Gerry Fafie, Kel Wehner)

← Back to Club History