Otaki Mail, July 2022

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ŌTAKI MAIL ©

Established in 1892

otakimail@xtra.co.nz

www.otakimail.co.nz

027 664 8869

July 2022

100 years Saving Lives BY NIKKI LUNDIE The Ōtaki Surf Lifesaving Club recently celebrated the major milestone of 100 years. It was a truly spectacular evening. Past and present members from near and far gathered at the local RSA for the centennial festivities. A beautiful setting, live band, fabulous company and delicious food saw many members reconnect and reminisce about the good old days. We were thrilled to have Surf Lifesaving NZ’s President Marilyn Moffatt and CEO Paul Dalton join us. It was also a bittersweet opportunity to farewell the much-loved Carlyon Family who are moving to Taranaki for their next chapter of adventures. Neale Ames, Life Member, Treasurer and President of the club since 1995 said of the anniversary, “It was fantastic to have so many former members share the occasion and their memories of their time in the club. It shows the strength of spirit of lifesavers

From L to R, three of the clubs oldest qualified members – John MacLeod, qualifying in 1954, Jock Richmond in 1955, and Wayne Eades in 1959.

Neale Ames officiating, Pete Housiaux presenting Paul Carlyon with a pounamu in honour of his contributions to the club.

Photo Credit Simon Neale.

who serve the community to keep people safe. It’s great to be able to bring them together to celebrate the achievements of the club.” Ōtaki was the 14th surf lifesaving club to be established in New Zealand. If ever a surf club has had its ups and downs, it’s Ōtaki, which typifies the difficulties a club faces when it doesn’t have a large local population base to draw upon. It all began in February 1922. Because of the perceived danger to swimmers at Ōtaki Beach, Ōtaki Borough Council felt it should have lifesaving equipment and wrote to the Castlecliff surf club for information. Castlecliff’s club captain responded immediately with an offer of a complete set of lifesaving apparatus, which was gifted to Ōtaki Borough Council. This included a lifesaving reel, together with half a mile of line and brass swivel. He offered a demonstration, and suggested team aquatic sports (lifesaving carnival) be held on the beach. ‘We will form a surf club right there on the spot and take up a subscription towards its funds to provide necessary funds for a building and other gear’ Castlecliff’s captain wrote. On Saturday 11 March of 1922 a lifesaving carnival was organised by well known Ōtaki resident Byron Brown. This event was highly successful and garnered a huge crowd including visiting teams from Maranui, Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Worser Bay, Castlecliff (Wanganui) and Paekakariki surf lifesaving clubs. The following Wednesday a council meeting agreed that a Ōtaki surf lifesaving club be formed. The club continued through to the 1924–1925 summer, but not thereafter. There was talk of resuming late in 1930, and in January 1931 a tragedy at the beach made the need very clear. The deaths of 2 locals shocked the town and in February a new club formed, taking over the assets of the old one, but it was the Depression and when summer 1932 ended, so too did the club. Finally, in 1939 the club reformed but war was declared and men were needed overseas. It is ironic that women were not accepted as members until 1974. The first women’s club in New Zealand was formed in 1932 and during the war women helped patrol the beaches, but not in Ōtaki.

Life Members Napier and Lynn McFedries cut the cake generously donated by Ōtaki New World.

The club was dormant for 14 year and only reformed late in 1953, operating out of the beach pavilion. However it soon became clear that rooms of our own were urgently needed, and in August 1955 they began negotiations with the Ōtaki Borough Council to lease land to the north of the Marine Pavilion. A gear shed with lookout tower, and a separate changing room were in use by the end of 1957, the building having cost a total of £2700. Patron Dave Foster said this was when the club really took off. To raise finance clubbies had an annual sale and accepted donated goods. Neale Ames remembers they ran housie for many years and had carnivals at the beach at Christmas time. There were beauty parades and dancing on Boxing night and New Years Eve in the Memorial Hall that were always very popular. The club used to have a lot of good social events and to this day, they still do. In July 1987 the clubrooms and most of the lifesaving equipment were destroyed by fire, believed to be arson. Club members were devastated but were humbled and heartened by the immediate and generous support from their community. Thanks to overwhelming support from our amazing community, the new building was rebuilt in just 7 months in time for the Central Regional Championships held in February 1988 and attended by over 500 people. More importantly, the club didn’t miss a beat with patrols maintained over the season.

Ernst Papps Page 5

Gardening Page 14–15

Maoriland Kai Page 24

Continued on page 3

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Local sports Page 28

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