LIFE-SAVING AT ORETI BEACH

Southland Times, Issue 23677, 28 November 1938, Page 12

LIFE-SAVING AT ORETI BEACH

OPENING OF CLUB’S SEASON INTERESTING DISPLAYS OF WORK GIVEN The good work done by the Oreti Surf Life-Saving Club at Oreti Beach was referred to by Mr G. C. Broughton, a member of the Invercargill City Council, in declaring the club’s season officially open at the club house at Oreti on Saturday afternoon. There was a big attendance of members and visitors. During the afternoon displays of land drill and surf life-sav-ing were given by the members and the general high standard of these displays was appreciated by the visitors. The excellent condition of the club’s reels and material and the smartness of the members’ costumes were also praised. “The interest of the City Council in the club is much appreciated,” said Mr A. J. Kingsland, president of the club, in welcoming and introducing Mr Broughton. “The club has the interests of the beach at heart and we are pleased to see the council taking such an interest in the affairs of the club.” Mr Kingsland commended the work the City Council was doing at the beach and said that what was needed was a definite scheme for the development of the beach so that each year something more could be done. It was the policy of the Life-Saving Association to get local bodies to supply buildings for the clubs, he said. The clubs would supply the material and gear through their own efforts. “It is necessary for modem lifesaving to have an Australian surfboat,” said Mr Kingsland. “These boats cost between £6O and £l5O and are much quicker for surf rescue work than swimming. ' The club intends to try to arrange a carnival in January with the object of purchasing one of these boats.” PATROL UNIFORMS There had been some criticism last Season about the patrolling of Oreti beach by the club, said Mr Kingsland, but this was mainly due to the confusion of the public over the official patrol uniform. It was explained that the navy blue, red-striped costume was the club’s recognized costume but that it was not the patrol costume. This season there would be two patrol costumes: in fine weather a navy blue costume with three diagonal , white stripes and with a reel badge on the front would be used by the patrol; in cold weather a blue jersey with the word “patrol” in red letters on the back and front would be worn, it was “Between 1927 and 1937,” said Mr Kingsland, “deaths on New Zealand’s roads averaged 196 a year and deaths from drowning averaged 144. The average age of the persons who died by drowning was 22. This big number of deaths is evidence that the life-saving clubs have valuable work to do and as the members do voluntary duty they deserve the support of the whole community.” “Everyone knows that the Oreti Surf Life-Saving Club does good work,” said Mr Broughton. “The club members work and practise with the object of saving human life—that is very commendable.” Mr Broughton also said that the club members performed a valuable service by locating and extinguishing fires in the marram grass. These occasional fires would soon ruin the sand-protection work if they were not extinguished immediately. BEACH IMPROVEMENTS “The City Council has in mind a long-term policy for improvements to the beach,” said Mr Broughton. “The drifting sand problem is being thoroughly tackled and we can confidently expect improvement in the near future. “I would like to wish the club a successful season and I hope the weather will be a bit kinder in the future than it is today,” said Mr Broughton. Great interest was shown in a land drill demonstration given by J. Cameron, R. Duthie, J. Poole, M. Jenkin, K. Cockerell and W. Chambers. This team gave an efficient and smart display of the methods used to break the~clutches of a drowning person, of the different ways of swimming with a patient and of resuscitation. This team was the one which won the life-saving shield for secondary schools of Otago and Southland in Dunedin recently for the third time in succession. This trophy was presented by the Royal Life-Sav-ing Society for competition among secondary schools. The surf life-saving exhibition given on the beach was carried out smartly by the following team:—R. Glennie, patient; K. Shaw, beltman; I. Mitchell, first line; R. Duthie, second line; K. Cockerell, third line, and A. Mair, reel. In spite of the cold wind the display was smart and thorough, the boys showing the results of much practice in their accurate movements.