In June 1977, 12 Maroochydore Lifesavers participated in an official tour to Hawaii and California. Nine of the 12 became Life Members over the next 30 years. The very first Tour, in a number of respects, marked the beginning of a spectacular third ‘Golden Era’ which has continued over the following half-Century:
The idea for a US Tour was hatched in 1976 by then-Club President, Mal Pratt and then-Club Secretary Ralph Devlin. Mal Pratt OAM and Ralph Devlin AM KC are currently Maroochydore Surf Club’s Life Governors, and their partnership in Club leadership has spanned 50 years.
THE FIRST TOUR
The Tour began in Hawaii, where much fellowship – and T-shirt swapping – marked a sensational visit to America’s tropical isle.
Then on to Long Beach, California. Our members saw the Lifeguard HQ at Long Beach – with a rack of 20 rifles in a locked cabinet! The reason, our Lifesavers were told, was that gang activity broke out from time to time on Long Beach and firearms were sometimes needed to disperse the crowd….! Until the Long Beach Police arrived, anyway.
Then to Huntington Beach, where our Rescue and Resuscitation Team gave a display near Huntington Pier. This was on the very spot that our first Australian Representative, John Rigby, was a member of the 1965 Australian Surf Team who gave an identical demonstration.
Then on to the Orange County Games at Newport Beach, where the HQ of the Californian Lifeguards and the US Surf Life Saving was situated. Our team watched Dory racing for the first time – A Dory had two men rowing it, with no rudder. The Lifeguards wore helmets and gloves. They were more unpredictable than our Australian Surf Boats.
Then finally to San Diego for our last destination. What a magic City! The Surf Club Team visited a ‘ballgame’ – we would say Baseball – in front of a huge crowd. You can’t get more American than that.
A memorable Tour which helped set the course of Maroochydore SLSC into the modern era, where our Club is one of the most respected brands in World Life Saving.
THE FIRST OUTCOME OF THE 1977 USA TOUR
An enduring relationship with the US Lifeguards and the Californian ‘Junior Lifesavers’ has also spanned the last 50 years. There have been 4 more US Tours, in 1983 and when the Tours resumed in the 2020s under the leadership of Life Member Wade Lee. Wade led the most recent US Tour in July 2024 with 25 of our Youth members and 10 Adult Chaperones.
THE SECOND OUTCOME – ON THE PERSONAL LEVEL
US Champion Iron men Tim Harvey, Mitch Kahn and Kevin Taylor competed with distinction for Maroochydore SLSC between 1979 and 1986, and with Tim Harvey again competing at our 2016 Aussies Masters. In the intervening years many other US Lifeguards have visited Maroochydore.
THE THIRD OUTCOME
Out of the US Tour of 1977, the idea was born for Maroochydore to bid for the 1980 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships. The idea began as a thought bubble in the mind of Mal Pratt and was carried through by Life Members Bard Claffey OAM, Ralph Devlin and an Army of Club Members.
The 1980 Maroochydore ‘Aussies’ is still acclaimed today as the ‘greatest Aussies ever’ by those old enough to have been in attendance. It was of course the event at which Grant Kenny of Alexandra Headland SLSC won the Junior-Senior Ironman double – a feat still not replicated today.
But by far the best outcome of this chain of events was that many old members and their families, impressed with Maroochydore’s ‘revival’, flocked back to the Club to help run the Aussies. Today, Maroochydore SLSC is a powerhouse of Australian Surf Life Saving – and it all began with the 1977 US Tour!
