A RCHIVE The Archives and History Group

It has been a steady year of building for the Archives and History group while we work with the Club to establish the basic tenets for the group.

The A & H group now has an email address (archives@ sopyc.com.au) where members and the general public can contact the archives group directly. We also hope to have a page on the Club website where stories and images can be presented.

The first five or so years of the Clubs newsletters were sent to and preserved by the Battye library of Perth WA and we have been able to copy them for historical reference. Fortunately Peta Locke (PC David Locke) had preserved a good number of the Club Newsletters and Soundings from the late 1970’s onward and we are grateful for her care of these documents. These documents are in the process of being scanned by volunteers and will be available presently for people doing research on their families involvement with the SoPYC. Unfortunately, we have not been able to have these professionally scanned, but they are clearly readable for the most part and will be accessible to all members who wish to review the information contained. The Club’ s year books have been scanned and will be available for review as well

Through research on old files and honour boards, a new 50 year member has been recognized. John Goss who sailed with Ian Blankensee on Redwing V Australian Champions in the 14 ft Dinghies in 1975/76 as well as “Blue Chip”, a Y.W. Diamond for the Australian Championships in 1991/2. The Goss family instigated the request and the archives team was able to present membership with a compelling case.

Memories:

The Club hasn’t always had full catering facilities and the ladies of the Club kept the food flowing for the members after sailing with a small kitchen facility at one side of the old Club house and the post sailing events were often celebrated with the BBQs being lit and the members cooking their food and salads were part of the evening ritual. Made by the ladies committee initially, the demand grew until it was realized that the Club functions which were catered for by a mix of volunteers and paid staff could be brought inside and so a catering team was assembled and by 1976, catering was showing a profit for the first time.

But let’s be clear about this, the ladies committees were the heart and soul behind the Club, ensuring early on that the catering for cocktail parties and Melbourne cup lunches as well as the more mundane salads for the BBQs and the afternoon teas.

By 1984, the Club had moved to full catering, including Club functions with head chef, John Molcher being appointed to replace Elaine Brockwell who had been running the luncheons since the 70s. At the same time the post sailing BBQ was well engrained and an area was prepared on the eastern side of the ballroom and large gas barbeques were set up. They would be turned on once the sailors arrived back from the water and after results the families would settle down for a meal on the lawns.

During the late 1990s, the Webber roast meals arrived and evolved into Mariners Table and catered to the Club members and their guests on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Club did a roaring trade catering to sailors, their families and the newly arrived social members with the main bar and the quarterdeck filled with guests dining. The BBQs gradually fell away and were quietly dismantled and cleared away when the Promenade Marquee went up in the 2010s. 'Til another day

Richard Steuart The Archives and History Group.