Friday, 29 April, 2022
Thinking of selling? You know who to call
12546541-HC17-22
Honouring their service
Beach access for all
Little Mick says thanks
40-page liftout Property Guide
PAGES 3 & 7
PAGE 10
PAGE 47
INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
65 years a Noosa life saver It was a fitting end to an extraordinary 65 years of surf life saving for Ron Lane when his colleagues formed a guard of honour the length of the beach to pay tribute to an absolute Noosa legend. From his last shift posted at the radio tower to the club house, the club’s life member faced his final life saving duty with enthusiasm, good humour, commitment and dedication as he had every challenge in his many roles with the Noosa Heads Life Saving Club. Story pages 4-5
Ron Lane ends his last shift in the radio tower after 65 years life saving at Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club.
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Lifesaving move By Keith Jackson
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When the final vote of a drawn-out Noosa Council meeting was taken last week, it put the seal on a much longer project to bring a new surf lifesaving club to the Peregian community. Eight years after the club ran out of cash and was wound up with the lease on its building passing to Noosa Council, a new entity had emerged to keep Peregian Beach safe. The Council’s decision to authorise its chief executive officer to enter into negotiations for a 10-year lease to Peregian Beach SLSC was the
outcome of a long and fraught community effort led by Peregian resident Leigh McCready, who always believed the surf club could be reestablished. But such a revival was something never previously achieved in Queensland. Once gone, surf clubs stayed gone. “It’s been a journey,” McCready said. “It consumed me for over four years after I organised a petition to gather support to re-start the club. That advocacy showed just how great the community support was - more than 1500 people wanted to get their surf club back.”
McCready - also a lifesaver and previously a director of Noosa Heads SLSC and Peregian Nippers coordinator - was under no illusion about the scope of the task ahead. Her first step was to talk with former Peregian club committee members, the board of Noosa Heads surf club, lifesavers and Peregian business people, after which she could plan the way forward. “It was clear to me that Peregian families must have a voice in this project. So I decided to start a local residents’ association, Peregian Family & Friends, to provide a focal point for the project. After all, a new club would be pa-
trolled by our own community, local children would learn surf skills and it would eventually develop into a social hub for the community. “As we began the long journey to re-establish the club, I’m very proud that our first tangible act was to get Nippers back on the beach after a three year absence.” McCready allowed herself a deep breath as she reflected on what, at the time, seemed an impossibly complex task. It was the backing of the community that made the difference, she said. Continued page 8