60s photographs

1960s Elephants at City Beach

A scenic coast road ran along the beach front at City Beach from the 1950’s to early 70’s. The road started near the Floreat Beach Tea Rooms in the north and ended near the City Beach Tea Rooms at the south end. The coast road was used by beach goers and tourists.

Beach erosion was a problem with the coast road and the Tea Rooms so they were demolished during the 70s.

Photos: 1964 City Beach coastline. Photos courtesy of Cambridge Library Local Studies.
(Left) Coast Road looking south towards City Beach Tea Rooms.
(Right) Coast Road looking north towards Floreat groyne & Tea Rooms.

1964 City Beach coast road - Cambridge Library pics collage1_photocat

Members of the City Beach Board Club (CBBC 1953-57) and City Beach Surf Riders Club Inc (CBSR from 1961 onwards) used the City Beach Tea Rooms as their unofficial headquarters and beach hang-out.

Photo: 1965 CBSR crew outside City Beach Tea Rooms. L-R Kevin O’Dywer (dec’d), Jim King, Phil Henderson, Brian Brown (dec’d), Bruce King & Alan Cleaver (dec’d) & unknown sitting in front. Photo courtesy of Norm Bateman.

1965 City BeachTea rooms 6 NB pic (2)

Photos: 1966 CBSR grommets in the front of City Beach Tea Rooms. Photo credits Norm Bateman.

(Left) L-R Bruce ‘Lumpy’ King, Steve ‘Sheepdog’ Cockburn & Norm Bateman.
(Right) L-R Kevin ‘Dirty Odes’ O’Dwyer (dec’d), Lumpy King, Rob Farris, Sheepdog & Jim King.

1966 Sheepdog City Beach - NB pics collage_photocat

Elephants at City Beach

It was commonplace on weekends for CBSR members to hang on the wooden steps in front of the Tea Rooms and wave to passing tourists.

In the mid 60’s, some CBSR young guns took this social activity to a new level. Being well-hung young lads they performed an elephant impersonation to entertain passengers on a passing tourist bus. On a busy Sunday afternoon they stood out the front of the Tea Rooms waving to the passengers on a passing tourist bus. They flared out the pockets of their shorts like elephant ears and with their fly’s unzipped, they swung their “willy’s” in the breeze like elephant trunks. It was comical to see the busload of smiling oldies casually waving to them, then seeing their looks change to awe (or admiration) as their heads swivelled around to gawk at the elephant routine as their bus drove slowly past the Tea Rooms.

They may have been naughty boys, but they could surf.

Photos: 1960s CBSR crew surfing metro waves. Photo credits Trevor Burlsem & Ric Chan.

Top: Norm Bateman & Phil Henderson.
Middle: Howard Johnson (dec’d) & Sheepdog.
Bottom: Bruce King & Ronald Moss.

cbsr 8 collage_photocat

They were fun times (-:

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