Format: Place

Linked To

Places

Photograph

Depicted in (25)

Vertical File

Related documents (4)

Map

Related maps

PDF Document

Related documents

Map

StreetView

Recollections

Add

no stories yet

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

You are free to reuse and adapt this work providing the work is not used in a commercial setting and you attribute Sutherland Shire Libraries as the copyright owner without indicating that the Library endorses you or the work. Any other usage must be negotiated by contacting the Library. Please use the following attribution statement: Courtesy of the Local Studies Collection, Sutherland Shire Libraries

Tools

Download Add to My Collection Contact us about this Citation for this item

Cronulla Surf Life Saving Clubhouse and Pavilion

Main

Collection SummaryCronulla Surf Life Saving Clubhouse and Pavilion are located at the southern end of Cronulla Park. The facilities were officially opened on 17 November 1940 by Councillor Cecil Owen James (Joe) Monro.HistoryIn December 1938, at the meeting of Sutherland Shire Council, discussions concerning Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club’s proposed new clubhouse took place. It was suggested that the new premises be ‘constructed on the present site of the ladies’ dressing-sheds’ at South Cronulla Beach, and that a new structure for women be erected in place of the pre-existing clubhouse. Council also recommended that a new swimming pool be built close by and that its construction – and that of the clubhouse – be completed in time to coincide with the official opening of the Sutherland-Cronulla railway in December 1939.

Although approval was granted to the design and layout of the new clubhouse in June 1939, building works were postponed due to issues related to raising the necessary finances under the loan-grant scheme in the Sutherland Shire. Therefore, when the new railway (which opened in December 1939) brought record-breaking crowds to Cronulla on trains ‘packed to the doors’ from Sydney over the summer months, the new surf lifesaving facilities were not nearly finished. In the end though, the clubhouse’s construction delays worked to an advantage. As Councillor Monro explained in February 1940: ‘The unexpected influx of such large crowds of people to Cronulla, as a result of the new railway, has made it necessary for Council to review its proposed building programme at the beach.’ New plans were therefore drawn up to accommodate the surge in requirements.

The new clubhouse was unofficially opened on 1 September 1940 at the 33rd annual meeting of the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club; and then officially, two and a half months later, on 17 November in time for the summer surfing season. In opening the new building before a crowd of around 5,000 people, Councillor Monro said that its completion was ‘the consummation of another great achievement in the march of progress of the "best seaside resort in the world."’

The clubhouse and pavilion, constructed by builders Kell and Rigby and designed by architect AB Polin, are European Functionalist in style and featured an ambulance room, dressing accommodation, a main assembly hall, and a 15-metre-tall shark tower. The angular clock tower is reminiscent of many civic buildings of the era.

Almost 80 years later, Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club underwent a $7 million redevelopment that took more than three years to complete. Its facilities were reopened to the public in 2021.

Photograph

Cronulla Beach looking south

Storm damage to the sea-wall, Cronulla Beach, ca. 1950s

Storm damage, Cronulla Beach, ca. 1950s

Sea wall damage, Cronulla Beach, 1950

Storm damage at Cronulla Beach, 1974

Storm damage at Cronulla Beach, ca. 1940s

Cronulla Beach, looking south, sports complex and surf club on right, after 1975

North Cronulla Beach inspection, 1949

Cronulla Beach South, after storm, and Shelly Beach Pool, ca. 1948

Cronulla Beach South, looking south over Cronulla Park towards Surf Lifesaving clubhouse, ca. 1940s

Cronulla Beach South looking north along the rocks and beach, with Surf Lifesaving Club on the left and Cecil Ballroom and Cafe on the right, ca. 1950s

Surf Lifesaving Club building, Cronulla Beach, ca. 1940s

Cronulla Beach North looking south along the retaining wall, January, 1947 - March, 1949

Construction work in progress of the rock pool at Cronulla Beach, ca. 1941 or 1942

Cronulla Beach South, view looking south towards the surf lifesaving clubhouse, ca. 1941

Surf Pavilion at Cronulla Beach, ca. 1940s-1950s

Collapsed sea-wall at Cronulla Beach south, 1950

Vertical File

Cronulla Centenary Celebration

Cronulla - Maps

[Program] Cronulla Rock Pool

[Leaflet] Cronulla Esplanade and Seawall Upgrade Works 2012/2013

Map

Sutherland. 53 : part of B Riding, Parish of Sutherland, County of Cumberland

PDF Document

[Magazine] Community Purpose. Volume 1 (New Series), Number 2.

Cronulla Surf Life Saving Clubhouse and Pavilion

Details

CategoryPropertyGeolocation^[1]

Connections

PlacesCronullaCronulla BeachSubjectsCronulla Beach (N.S.W)Cronulla (N.S.W.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.Clubhouses -- New South Wales -- CronullaCronulla Surf Life Saving Club -- Buildings

Start typing here to find a location	Latitude	Longitude	Zoom	Actions

loading google map....

Save Cancel