FREMANTLE SAILING CLUB HISTORY
Fremantle Sailing Club traces its origins back to the late 1800s. There have in fact been three
“Fremantle Sailing Clubs” over the past 100 years or more.
Competitive sailing commenced in Fremantle in 1872 with a series of annual regattas
culminating in the formation of the Fremantle Yacht Club in 1885. This club conducted its
races in the vicinity of the mouth of the Swan River and the waters of the Outer Harbour.
Then, in 1897 the North Fremantle Sailing Club was established, and in 1900 changed its
name to Fremantle Sailing Club. This club was based in the river, and sailed mainly in the
waters around Point Brown - about where the Stirling Bridge joins the bank of the Swan
River.
Two clubs at the port with similar names provoked adverse comment from one yachting
reporter, but this was solved in 1902 when the two clubs amalgamated to form the West
Australian Yacht Club. This arrangement worked well for five years, but eventually a group
broke away and formed - or perhaps, re-formed - the second “Fremantle Sailing Club”. But
that was short-lived, and by 1908 the Fremantle clubs were described as “extinct”. It was
not until twelve years later that an attempt was made to form another yacht club, and when
it was (in 1920) it was named the Port Yacht Club. History then repeated itself, and the club
had had a change of heart and changed its name to Fremantle Sailing Club in the following
year. Hailing the formation of this new club, the press confidently predicted that it had a
bright future. They were right, for that is the quite remarkable club that we are today… But
there were many highs and lows along the way.
The South Beach Era
This club conducted its racing in the waters just south of the southern breakwater of the
present Success Harbour. It was known as South Beach then, just as it is today, but the
scene was very different. South Beach was one of THE places to go. In its heyday of the
1920s it had a jetty with a shark-proof enclosure; a railway station that brought visitors from
as far away as Midland and beyond; the Hydrodrome change rooms/tea rooms; and an
amusement park. The coastline with its Norfolk Island palms and lawn went much further
out to sea than it does today.
The Club conducted its races from the South Beach Jetty and apart from the races
themselves, the coming and going of the yachts generated much interest amongst the public.
Initially the Club did not have a clubhouse, but that was solved in 1923 when the Fremantle
Council gave the Club a somewhat dilapidated building known as Field’s Bathing Shed. It was
a wooden structure that had originally come from the Long Jetty, and the arrangement was
that the Club could have the building if it would remove it themselves. They also leased a
piece of land from the Fremantle Council at the foot of Scott Street, - about where the
present crossing over the railway lines are into Success Harbour. Members formed weekend working bees, and after a lot of effort, they succeeded in dismantling the building,
floating the sections down to the Scott Street site, and then re-erected it. The whole
exercise took eighteen months, and the new clubhouse was officially opened at a Smoke
Social in June 1924. It may not have been much, but for the very first time a Fremantle yacht
club has a home that it could call its own. South Beach and the Sailing Club prospered for a
time, and the Club ran dances in the clubhouse as part of its social programme and as a
money raiser. The building was also in demand by other groups for a variety of purposes.
The Club had a busy programme of weekly races, family picnics to Garden Island, and
regular overnight (men only), “Billy Runs” to Garden Island. However, eventually the years
and gales took their toll, the appeal of South Beach diminished, and one by one the jetty, the
shark-proof fence, and the Hydrodrome were demolished. South Beach was dying, and the
Club could see that it needed to make plans to move.
In August 1939, two blocks of residential land on the corner of Marine Terrace and Louisa
Street came on the market. The then Commodore, Joe Cooper, saw the potential of these
as a future site for a clubhouse, and proposed that the Club purchase them. The members
were willing, but the Club had no money, so Joe and another leading member, Les Cook,
put up the money and bought the land in the Club’s name. On 4 September - almost a
month later - Australia was at war. The Second World War resulted in a dramatic drop in
Club membership as men joined the services, and the Club suffered a decline in attendance
and patronage of its dances. It struggled on, but in January 1942 — and without notice to
the Club — the army demolished the clubhouse, as it was deemed to be a security hazard
in the event of an invasion. Meetings were then held intermittently in a boat shed for the
remainder of the war.
As servicemen returned to civilian life following the end of the War, the Club’s membership
grew quite rapidly, so much so that in September 1946 it purchased a surplus dormitory on
North Quay that had housed United States submariners during the war. The land at Louisa
Street was levelled by volunteers, and the building was then demolished and re-erected on
the Club’s site by a commercial contractor. The official opening took place in November
1947. The Club had re-commenced its weekly dances at the RSL hall in Fremantle some
time prior to this, and they were then transferred to their own premises. It was just like the
old days at Scott Street, only better. The dances grew in popularity and their revenue
became a vital part of the Club’s income.
The Louisa Street Era
As servicemen returned to civilian life following the end of the War, the Club’s membership
grew quite rapidly, so much so that in September 1946 it purchased a surplus dormitory on
North Quay that had housed United States submariners during the war. The land at Louisa
Street was levelled by volunteers, and the building was then demolished and re-erected on
the Club’s site by a commercial contractor. The official opening took place in November
1947.
The Club had re-commenced its weekly dances at the RSL hall in Fremantle some time
prior to this, and they were then transferred to their own premises. It was just like the old
days at Scott Street, only better. The dances grew in popularity and their revenue became a
vital part of the Club’s income and the annual picnics to Garden Island continued. The Club’s
social amenities included dartboards, quoits, a table tennis set and a pianola. The fleet was
predominantly moored at the foot of Louisa Street, and races started and finished opposite
the new club house.
As the fleet expanded to include various classes, class flags were an added responsibility.
Things were going so well that they even had to decline the offer of trophies from local
businesses.
A boatshed was the next requirement, and the Club won the tender to demolish and
remove a large shed that was part of the old Castlemain Bottling Works in Riverside Drive,
East Fremantle. Busy bees soon had the building demolished and re-erected alongside the
clubhouse.
While all this was going on, a number of local youngsters had formed their own club and
were sailing home-made dinghies in the same waters. Their club was named The Fremantle
Junior Sailing Club, and they had a Commodore, a Secretary, designed their own blazer
badge, wrote articles for a yachting magazine, met in one of the kid’s bedroom. Their craft
were often sheets a corrugated iron pinched from somebody’s back fence, with a broom
handle for a mast, and sometimes wire from clotheslines were used as stays.
Without a keel, these home-made boats could only run with a fair wind, so they would start
up near Robb Jetty and sail down the coast with the sea breeze. The members of the senior
club often stood on the rocks and watched the kids sailing down and frequently placed bets
on them. A close relationship developed and the kids often helped the men on the busybees around the Louisa Street clubhouse. In time they were invited to amalgamate with the
senior club and become the Junior Section.
In the meantime the Club had installed a slipway and had conducted a very successful
inaugural Captain Hector Waller HMAS Perth Memorial Race in memory of the skipper and
men who were lost when Perth was sunk in a memorable battle with the Japanese in
Indonesia. The Club was at its zenith and the future looked rosy, but it turned out to be
very bleak.
In 1960 the Government of the day decided to construct a sheltered harbour for the
growing fishing fleet. Over the next few years the breakwater of what was to become
Fishing Boat Harbour was constructed and the waters in front of the Clubhouse reclaimed
to create building blocks for services associated with the commercial boats. The Club found
itself landlocked and desperately looked around for an alternative site. Nothing eventuated.
Membership fell away, races were discontinued, and the Club with a clubhouse and no
water found itself to be nothing but a dance hall.
Eventually the Club was offered temporary launching facilities by way of a boat ramp at the
southern end of the newly created Fishing Boat Harbour, and the scrap of land at the
southern side of the breakwater where it joined the land ― i.e. the north-east corner of the
present day Club where rubbish is stored. With nothing better on offer the Club reluctantly
accepted the offer.