The Great Aussie Surf Carnival of 1988 is regarded as the biggest event in Thirroul Surf Life Saving Club’s 115-year history – and now the story of the volunteers who ran it will be captured in a book.
The carnival was held at Thirroul Beach on January 8, 1988 as part of the 16th World Scout Jamboree and now, to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the event, Thirroul SLSC Life Member Ross Taylor has penned a book called Is the Impossible Possible?, a retelling of the planning, preparation and logistics that helped bring the major one-day event to fruition.
The Great Aussie Surf Carnival drew a crowd of about 15,000 people from more than 80 nations and Thirroul Beach was abuzz with excitement as thousands of scouts prepared to compete.
“The carnival itself comprised 80 individual events, which is the biggest one-day carnival ever held in Australia,” Ross said.
“I think, to describe it, [it had] the same atmosphere as Sydney 2000 when we had the Olympic Games.
“Everybody was just that happy, that elated, there was not a bad word said.”
Though the carnival eventually came together seamlessly, it was not without its challenges. With a small committee of Thirroul SLSC members tasked with organising the event schedule, the arrival and departure of some 50 busloads of participants, and providing food for more than 10,000 scouts, Ross described the day as a “military operation”. Many said it could not be done.
“Everybody said what we did was impossible, or what we were planning to do was impossible,” Ross said.
“Throughout the [World] Scout Jamboree, we had 2000 scouts coming to the beach every day, and we – the surf club, that is – were looking after them, showing them what rescue equipment we’ve got, letting them use and ride in the rescue equipment, and we were doing exactly the same over at Cataract Dam while the others were down [at Thirroul].
“That went on for the full week, including the carnival.”
The 16th World Scout Jamboree was the first Jamboree to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and was moved from its traditional August date to January to coincide with our summer. Opening on December 31, 1987, and ending on January 8, 1988 with the Great Aussie Surf Carnival, the week-long event was also the first official event of Australia’s Bicentenary.
With most Jamboree contests across the week held at Cataract Scout Park and Cataract Dam, near Appin, Thirroul was selected to host the Great Aussie Surf Carnival due to its proximity to the tent city constructed at Cataract, and because Thirroul SLSC had assisted with water safety and Surf Life Saving training at the Australian Scout Jamboree four years earlier.
‘Is the Impossible Possible?’ will be released on the afternoon of Sunday, January 8, at Collins Booksellers in Thirroul and features the testimonies of many committee members – now in their late 80s – and the result of Ross’s years of research on the mammoth event.
Ross is proud to tell the story of a community triumph and the enormous team effort that was able to prove the naysayers wrong.
“It was absolutely superb, the day,” he said.
“Somebody smiled upon us."
For more information on the January 8 book launch, which is set to be attended by some of the committee members, keep an eye on Collins Booksellers Thirroul events page and Thirroul SLSC's website. Ross would love to see you there.