Caloundra’s Council requests Lifesavers
Caloundra’s council at the time, Landsborough Shire Council, asked the Royal Life Saving Society for life saving patrols on Caloundra’s beaches. The Council agreed to provide assistance with transport, accommodation and a surf reel. Frank Venning’s Brisbane club, Metropolitan Life Saving Club, that had been providing weekend summer patrols at Ocean Beach, Bribie Island, responded to the call. The club sent a few of its members from Bribie to patrol Kings Beach during Christmas and New Year of 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932. Prior to this, there has been local and hinterland volunteers who had carried out lifesaving duties at the beach.
Caloundra in the 1930s
When the club began in 1933, the town of Caloundra was a little fishing and holiday village with between 700 – 1000 residents. There was no electricity. Water came from rainwater tanks and the backyard thunderbox was the family toilet. Roads in Caloundra in the 1930s were still dirt with no kerb and channelling and only a few motor vehicles. In the early 30s, locals and holiday makers swam in the surf and still water but without any official lifesaving club.