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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Culture and Customs
Recreation and Sport
Beach Culture

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Beach Culture

Subject

Breeding delinquents: Surf City 1963-1966

Parsley Bay: ‘One of the people’s playgrounds’

Tamarama

Bra Boys

Stomp

Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths

Parsley Bay Life Saving Club

Dolphins Point

Parsley Bay Reserve

Coogee shark net

Parsley Bay shark net

Bondi Australia the playground of the Pacific c1930

'Good to see Greiner's cleaning up the North coast...' 1989

1952 Miss Pacific finalists Mary Clifton Smith, Pamela Jansen and Judy Worrad, stand in front of surf boards on Bondi Beach

After a surf at Palm Beach, a sun bath c1926-1928

Avalon Beach 1930

Beach crowd whistled at models' French Costumes: Beryl Lawes and Pat Craig step out at Coogee in the new abbreviated French costumes September 1945

Beach culture at Palm Beach 1960s

Bodgie Styles for Spring 1951

Bondi 1997

Bondi Beach, Sydney 1894

Bondi Beach, Sydney 2006

Bondi Lady, Bondi 1975

Bondi Pavilion and Bondi Beach looking north c1939

Brief swim-suits banned at Coogee: Inspectors will order girls to leave beach September 1945

Bronte Baths c1915

Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths, Australian Town and Country Journal, 21 January 1888

Coogee Surf Tragedy: Four Lives Lost, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

Cronulla c1905

Entrance to Coogee Pier c1930

Felix, Bondi 1997

Fun on the beaches: surf-bathing in skirts October 1907

Fun on the beaches: surf-bathing in skirts October 1907

It is nice in the surf, but what about the men in the trenches? Go and help 1915

James Clarken, whose splendid work was largely instrumental in saving several lives at Coogee, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

Manly beach c1957

Maroubra surf bathing c1910

Massage on the beach, Bondi 1980s

Model Lorna King at Parsley Bay, on the cover of PIX, 21 January 1939

Nielsen Park, Vaucluse 1910-1960s

North Bondi Beach and carpark 1940s

On the Ocean Beach 'Them as wants the womanly woman can have her - the Manly girl is good enough for me' 1905

Racehorses Love Song and Cyprus exercising on Maroubra Beach September 1931

South end of Manly Beach, showing the shark tower, Manly Surf Pavilion and block of flats c1939

Surf boat launch, Bilgola Beach 1967

Surfers, Manly Beach 1958

Suspension Bridge Parsley Bay N.S.W. c1940

Tamarama Beach, forty years ago, a summer morning 1899

The Bath, Dee Why c1915

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

The Echoes band entertaining dancers at Surf City, Sydney 1963

The Hero of Coogee Beach 1922

The first Coogee shark net, December 1922

The three long board proponents c1950

WEA Summer School at Newport 1957

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Beach Culture

Breeding delinquents: Surf City 1963-1966

The venue Surf City in the former Kings Cross Theatre on Darlinghurst Road was accused of ‘breeding delinquents’ soon after it opened in 1963. Despite its short lifetime, the venue is crucial to the musical history of Australia. For three years it served as the spiritual home of Australian beat music, giving rise to mainstream pop stars and underground cult heroes whose influence remains today.

Parsley Bay: ‘One of the people’s playgrounds’

Parsley Bay is an inlet of Sydney Harbour bordered by Point Seymour and Village Point, and is the traditional land of the Birrabirragal people. In 1907 the bay and immediate surrounds became a public reserve, and it has remained ‘one of the people’s playgrounds’ ever since.

Tamarama

Marked with the rock carvings and middens of its traditional owners, Tamarama became the site of pleasure gardens and amusements in the early twentieth century.

Bra Boys

Documentary film about the cultural evolution of the beachside suburb of Maroubra.

full record »

Stomp

Simple and energetic dance that became an Australian teenage craze in the early 1960s with the rise of surf music. Some councils tried to ban it as they feared buildings would collapse. In February 1964 45,000 people turning up to Lane Cove National Park for the Stomp National Championships.

full record »

Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths

full record »

Pleasure gardens, baths and aquarium constructed at the northern end of Coogee Beach. The original 'Coogee Palace' covered the whole block bound by Dolphin, Beach, Bream and Arden streets. A promenade was constructed in 1889 could accommodate 3,000 people. From the 1920s, parts of the site were leased to shopkeepers and residents. In 1935, the aquarium displayed the shark at the centre of the shark arm murder case. A conservation order was placed in 1982 and in 1984 the building's huge dome collapsed. In 1987 the building was restored and reopened as The Beach Palace Hotel. In 2014 the building was purchased by the Merivale group and reopened as the Coogee Pavilion, a restaurant and bar complex.

Parsley Bay Life Saving Club

Life saving club that patrolled the beach at Parsley Bay in the 1940s.

full record »

Dolphins Point

Point at North Coogee on the old Giles Gym site in Roddingham Reserve that was renamed Dolphin Point to commemorate the six members of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league club who were killed in the Bali Bombings in 2002. A memorial on the site lists the names of 20 residents of the Eastern suburbs who were killed in the bombings.

full record »

Parsley Bay Reserve

Public recreation ground at the head of Parsley Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs that was created by the NSW State Government in 1907 after resuming the land, formerly part of the Wentworth Vaucluse estate, in 1906. The reserve is adminstered by Woollahra Council.

full record »

Coogee shark net

full record »

Shark net which was built after the construction of Coogee Pier. It cost 6,750 pounds to build and stretched halfway across the bay and was attached to one of the pylons of the pier. The opening coincided with the unveiling of Giles' Ocean Baths and new surf sheds and attracted a crowd of 135,000 people. Within four months, the number of bathers had reached 800,000. Floodlights were installed and night surfing attracted 20,000 to 30,000 a night. The net fell into disrepair during World War II and was dismantled.

Parsley Bay shark net

Shark net installed across Parsley Bay in 1930 to create the Parsley Bay swimming enclosure. Installation was completed on 24 December 1930, and the net was periodically repaired and replaced after this. The structure was replaced by Woollahra Council in 1982 with a floating net that is removed every winter for maintenance.

full record »

Bondi Australia the playground of the Pacific c1930

full record »

By

New South Wales Government Tourist Bureau

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[ NRS-16410-1-3-[2B]-172]

'Good to see Greiner's cleaning up the North coast...' 1989

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3647462]

1952 Miss Pacific finalists Mary Clifton Smith, Pamela Jansen and Judy Worrad, stand in front of surf boards on Bondi Beach

full record »

By

William (Bill) Brindle

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1500, K1220]

After a surf at Palm Beach, a sun bath c1926-1928

full record »

By

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

Avalon Beach 1930

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an24770568]

Beach crowd whistled at models' French Costumes: Beryl Lawes and Pat Craig step out at Coogee in the new abbreviated French costumes ...

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Sunday Sun, 23 September 1945 (detail from article))

Beach culture at Palm Beach 1960s

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an24681563]

Bodgie Styles for Spring 1951

full record »

Almost-deserted Sydney beach (except for pretty, dark-haired Joan Francis) was chosen by bodgie David Roper, 17, to air leopard-skin trunks, with tail.

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(PIX, 14 July 1951, p30 (detail))

Bondi 1997

full record »

By

©

Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Bondi Beach, Sydney 1894

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6180, 24/7/90/19]

Bondi Beach, Sydney 2006

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0601-2106-38]

Bondi Lady, Bondi 1975

full record »

By

©

Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Bondi Pavilion and Bondi Beach looking north c1939

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

Brief swim-suits banned at Coogee: Inspectors will order girls to leave beach September 1945

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Sunday Sun, 23 September 1945)

Bronte Baths c1915

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a191056 / PXE 1028, f56]

(Mitchell Library)

Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths, Australian Town and Country Journal, 21 January 1888

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Australian Town and Country Journal, 21 January 1888, p137)

Coogee Surf Tragedy: Four Lives Lost, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 February 1911, p24)

Cronulla c1905

full record »

By

Broadhurst Post Card Publishers

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a105197 / PXA 635/197]

(Mitchell Library)

Entrance to Coogee Pier c1930

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Felix, Bondi 1997

full record »

By

©

Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Fun on the beaches: surf-bathing in skirts October 1907

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail, 23 October 1907, p1074)

Fun on the beaches: surf-bathing in skirts October 1907

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail, 23 October 1907, p1075)

It is nice in the surf, but what about the men in the trenches? Go and help 1915

full record »

By

David Henry Souter

Contributed By

Australian War Memorial

James Clarken, whose splendid work was largely instrumental in saving several lives at Coogee, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 February 1911, p24)

Manly beach c1957

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Museum of Australia

[Slide 177, via NMA's Flickr set]

(Raymond Morris Collection, courtesy of the photographer)

Maroubra surf bathing c1910

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a105567 / PXA 635, 565]

(Mitchell Library)

Massage on the beach, Bondi 1980s

full record »

By

©

Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Model Lorna King at Parsley Bay, on the cover of PIX, 21 January 1939

full record »

By

Ivan Wilfrid Ive

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIX 21 January 1939, via Trove]

Nielsen Park, Vaucluse 1910-1960s

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an23817203]

North Bondi Beach and carpark 1940s

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an23478424]

On the Ocean Beach 'Them as wants the womanly woman can have her - the Manly girl is good enough for me' 1905

full record »

By

David Henry Souter

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Bulletin, 20 April 1905 p 25)

Racehorses Love Song and Cyprus exercising on Maroubra Beach September 1931

full record »

By

Margaret Gifford

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a9727055 / PXE 1598 / Box 7]

(Album 06: Photographs of the Allen family, 1931)

South end of Manly Beach, showing the shark tower, Manly Surf Pavilion and block of flats c1939

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an23478422]

Surf boat launch, Bilgola Beach 1967

full record »

By

John Aloysius Mulligan

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an24397339]

Surfers, Manly Beach 1958

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1200, L26853]

Suspension Bridge Parsley Bay N.S.W. c1940

full record »

Contributed By

National Museum of Australia

[1986.0117.7556]

Tamarama Beach, forty years ago, a summer morning 1899

full record »

By

Contributed By

Art Gallery of New South Wales

[Accession No: 6535]

(oil on canvas, 99 x 59.7cm, Purchased 1938)

The Bath, Dee Why c1915

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a105226 / PXA 635/224]

(Mitchell Library)

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

full record »

By

Courtesy

Horwitz Publications

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 558/Box 49/nos. 58-65]

(Mitchell Library)

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

full record »

By

Courtesy

Horwitz Publications

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 558/Box 49/nos. 58-65]

(Mitchell Library)

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

full record »

By

Courtesy

Horwitz Publications

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 558/Box 49/nos. 58-65]

(Mitchell Library)

The Beach House Beatles performing at a 2UW Surf Music night at Surf City, Kings Cross February 1964

full record »

By

Courtesy

Horwitz Publications

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 558/Box 49/nos. 58-65]

(Mitchell Library)

The Echoes band entertaining dancers at Surf City, Sydney 1963

full record »

By

© By kind permission of

National Library of Australia

[PIC Online access #PIC/14971/6]

The Hero of Coogee Beach 1922

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The School Magazine, Part III for Class VI, May 1 1922, p1 via Trove]

The first Coogee shark net, December 1922

full record »

By

Arthur Ernest Foster

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a6415019 / ON 30/Box 55 No 675]

(Mitchell Library)

The three long board proponents c1950

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3548979]

WEA Summer School at Newport 1957

full record »

Contributed By

[From EM Higgins, David Stewart and the W.E.A. (Sydney, 1957)]

Recreation and Sport