History of the Torquay SLSC
Following preliminary discussions held by a group of early surfers in the camping area at Torquay, during December 1945, a decision was made to form a surf club. The inaugural Meeting of interested parties from the local Shire, Foreshore Reserve, Improvement Society and campers, was held in the 'Palace Hotel' Torquay on the 4th January 1946. As a result of this meeting the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club was duly formed.
From an initial membership of twenty-nine (29) we now have almost 1000 current members. The original clubhouse, costing $5235 and built by voluntary labour was officially opened on the 1st December 1946, complete with lifesaving equipment, mostly donated, valued at $20. This building, plus all the extensions carried out over the ensuing years, was completely destroyed by a disastrous fire in the early hours of the 9th July 1970. The existing clubhouse was completed in 1978 and remains one of the largest and most utilized buildings of its type in the country.
Torquay Surf Life Saving Club is the largest, oldest and most successful club in Victoria and is recognized globally as part of the Torquay surfing identity. Many notable events have been hosted by Torquay SLSC including the 1956 Australian Championship and Olympic Carnivals, 1996 Australian IRB Championships, rounds of Kellogg's National Surf League, Nutri-Grain Ironman and Uncle Toby's Super Series events, and many Victorian State Championships.
There have been as many as 1500 rescues on our beach (in the initial years many went unrecorded) while preventative action by patrols has deterred thousands of others from imminent danger. There have been thousands more cases of first aid treatment, both recorded and unrecorded, during this period.
Torquay is one of the most successful clubs in Australia in competition, with 26 gold medal victories at the Australian National Surf Titles, including our most recent being back-to-back successes in the Under 19 R&R Event for 2001 & 2002. The club has won World Surf Boat Titles on two occasions as well as a World IRB Title in 2000.
Over two hundred and fifty members have been selected in Victorian State Teams to contest Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, "Wieland Shield" teams competing against American Lifeguards here in Victoria and the west coast of the U.S.A., and the Trans-Tasman Trophy competition against the Canterbury District of New Zealand. Six members have been selected to tour overseas with Australian Surf Life Saving teams while 27 club members have represented Australia at Olympic Games.
