1967

It was said that Tom Meagher lived “for Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and what it stands for”. Meagher was one of Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club’s (BSBLSC) great club legends, he received many awards for bravery - Certificates of Merit, Medals, Certificates from the Royal Humane Society and a Coronation Medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth - and was awarded Life Membership to Bondi SBLSC in 1932. He was the Chief Beach Inspector on Bondi the day of Black Sunday (6 February 1938).

Tom saw service in the Pacific during World War II. He established the Solomon Islands Surf Club on Torokina Beach in 1944 along with Club members Carl Jeppesen, Les Sampson, Dudley Wilson and Col Douglas. Makeshift reels and rescue equipment were fashioned from materials at hand until equipment could be sent from Australia. While there he trained and examined 300 Bronze Medallions.

There were many SLSA Instructional Teams on which he served and in 1939 he represented Bondi in the SLSA of Australia March Past Team. In 1954 Tom Meagher was presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal command Surf Carnival held on Bondi Beach.

Tom held the position of President of Surf Life Saving NSW and his best mate was Sir Adrian Curlewis. He was a healthy man, who never drank or smoked, a great leader who led by example.

The Meagher Patrol at the BSBLSC honours Tom's legacy including; Club Captain 1928 – 1932, Vice President 1936 – 1943, 1948 – 1951, President 1951 – 1960, Patron 1961 – 1963. He won 7 Australian Championships R&R Titles in 1924, 26, 29, 35 and 38, and was Belt Champion 1925 & 1926. He also represented Australia & NSW in Water Polo.

Meagher introduced a model of ‘preventative surf lifesaving’ that proved successful and by the beginning of 1938 the club was on track for many fewer rescues performed than had been the average for the decade. And he instigated the rule that every patrol captain hold an instructor qualification.

On December 12, 1941 Tom was involved in a daring rescue of a man and boy who were swept out to sea near the Bondi Baths. Relying on members of the public to man the line, he swam through the heavy break. Being inexperienced, the people on the beach started to pull him in before he got to the patients; he slipped the belt and swam to the struggling swimmers. Whilst struggling to keep afloat, a surf boat from North Bondi (manned by two clubmen, a member of the public and a 14 year old boy) came to the rescue. While the boat overturned in the big surf 25m from the beach, the two patients were returned to shore safely.

Courtesy Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club and the Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.