Pittwater Life June 2022 Issue

Garden Life
Jobs this Month
June
Times Past
HOMES BY THE SEA: The first actual clubhouse
(the old cricket clubhouse from
Careel Bay) in the 1950s (main)
before replacement; the initial clubhouse
structure relocated from the 4th tee of
the golf club; the new clubhouse built in
1972 after the former burnt down; the
Club’s first Bronze Squad in March, 1941.
Slug fest
Garden Life
Lawns have suffered badly
though the wet Autumn
days. The ground has
been too wet to mow the
grass that is now long and
lanky. Once the ground dries
out, reduce the length of the
grass over a couple of cuts.
If you expose the roots and
we are lucky enough to have
a warm sunny day, the roots
will burn. The grass will need
to harden up slowly.
Colour bond
Winter gardens can be just
as bright and cheerful as
in Summer. Look around at
the trees and shrubs that
are flowering now. Scarlet
poinsettias, soft pink tree
dahlias, kangaroo paws,
bright yellow Xanthostemon
Expo Gold trees (below),
Camellias, multi coloured
pentas, begonias and
polyanthus. If you have a dull
spot in the garden visit the
nursery and look around.
Clean up
Clean up deciduous blossom
and fruiting trees this month,
once the trees are bare. Spray
with copper or lime sulphur
to destroy and fungal spores
after the wet Autumn season
before they affect the new
spring growth.
Tale of tape
Seed tapes are the easy way
to sow veggies but make sure
that you thin out the seedlings
as they grow. Choose the
strongest seedlings and pull
out the others. Overcrowding
stops development.
Harvest crops
Time to harvest root crops
now if you haven’t already
done so. Jerusalem artichokes,
sweet potatoes and potatoes
should all be dug. So that you
can plant your next crops.
Rain can bring out the strangest creatures. We all know
the leopard slug that helps to keep down the snail
population but how many have seen the enormous Red
Triangle slug? It is not uncommon, but it usually is only
seen in wet weather or at night. Unlike the leopard slug it
is vegetarian, living on lichens and mould. They’re usually
only found in damp leaf litter or in the bark of trees. After
all the rain these ghostly slugs are helping to clean the
mildew and mould from the pavers in my garden!
Lilium time
Plant liliums to flower for
Christmas. Read the packets
and choose carefully there
are many different varieties,
some for pots and others for
the garden.
Rust watch
Frangipani rust is hard to
beat. Clean up all fallen
leaves and destroy them.
Once the tree is bare spray
with lime sulphur to kill the
spore. Spray the soil beneath
and the surrounding area.
The spores lie dormant over
Winter to grow again in
Spring. A follow-up spray next
month will help.
Fruitful yield
Plant new strawberry plants
this month. They have very
pretty foliage and are great
ground cover plants in the
veggie garden to control
the weeds! Add some slowrelease
fertiliser to the soil
before planting and plant the
new plants 30cm apart. Tuck
them in with a mulch of straw.
Also consider a blueberry
bush. Blueberry Burst is the
best variety for our frost-free
area. They are easy to grow.
Feed them with Kahoona for a
wonderful crop.
Crossword solution from page 65
Mystery location: CRYSTAL BAY
Early days North Palm Beach SLSC
According to records
held at Surf Life Saving
New South Wales, in
the 1930s there was an early
attempt to form a life-saving
service and club at North
Palm Beach. It was called the
‘Surf Bathers Club’, made up
of surfing enthusiasts from
the camping area. Some of
these would have been ‘permanent
residents’ and some
transient or simply frequent
visitors as holiday makers.
They met initially in the Beacon
Store in 1939.
Later it became known
as the ‘Barrenjoey Surfers
Club’; however it was forced
to disband at the outbreak of
World War II due to a lack of
members.
Although it was never affiliated
with the SLSA of Australia,
10 members gained
their Bronze medallions in
1941 before it disbanded.
One group (of the usual six
in those days) passed on 23
March and a second group of
four (with two substitutes) on
14 December the same year.
In January 1941, Warringah
Shire Council (WSC) received
a request for permission to
form the Barrenjoey Surf Life
Saving Club (SLSC), specifically
to patrol the northern
end of Palm Beach.
The Council agreed to the
request, provided the Club
became affiliated with the
Surf Life Saving Association,
although there is no record
of this occurring.
Probably as the result of
the success of the first squad
in March 1941, the Barrenjoey
SLSC requested permission
to erect a small structure in
a central position overlooking
Barrenjoey surf beach for
the housing of a surf reel,
box line and box lifesaving
gear. The structure was to
be a temporary one because
the Club was hoping to get
permission in future to erect
a permanent clubhouse when
the Club began to actively patrol
the beach on Saturdays,
Sundays and holidays.
The group hoping to form
as the Club noted that the
Palm Beach Golf Club had
offered to give them a shelter
shed by the 4th tee later in
1941 if the group re-erected
the shed.
Council agreed to the
proposal but only after the
Works Committee approved
the site following an inspection
in company with the
Club’s representatives.
It’s clear they received approval
because later that year
in November the Council received
a request “… that the
front portion of the recently
erected surf sheds at Bar-
renjoey Beach be enclosed for
the purpose of protecting the
life-saving gear and offering
to bear the cost if the Council
will carry out the work”.
This shed is most likely the
one in the picture which appears
on the beach proper but
in the mid-1940s was replaced
by the Careel Bay cricket club
building on the site of the
present surf club. The club
shared the building with the
Palm Beach Kindergarten.
* Are you a family member
or relative who could add to
this story? Email readers@
pittwaterlife.com.au
TIMES PAST is supplied by
local historian and President
of the Avalon Beach
Historical Society GEOFF
SEARL. Visit the Society’s
showroom in Bowling Green
Lane, Avalon Beach.
Times Past
72 JUNE 2022
The Local Voice Since 1991
The Local Voice Since 1991
JUNE 2022 73