Our lifesavers rally to help Mallacoota colleagues

Thanks to Woolamai Beach Surf Lifesavers Will Slator and Elly Ryan, the Mallacoota Surf Life Saving Club has a new “mobile” base, after the original base was burnt during the summer bushfires.

Teaming up with Jayco Gippsland, and the Minderoo Foundation, and fellow members of the Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club, the pair has helped provide a new base for the Mallacoota Club.

The new hub was purpose-built by volunteers of Woolamai SLS Club from a caravan provided by Jayco.

The spacious 21-foot caravan will give Mallacoota SLC members a good operational base to work from this summer, with comfortable features including a modern kitchen, running water, electricity and a base radio to communicate with Life Saving Victoria.

The idea to build a new home for Mallacoota SLS Club came from the two 16-year-old high school students. Will and Elly, members of Woolamai SLS Club were both holidaying at Mallacoota during the summer bushfires.

“I’ve been going up to Mallacoota for eight to 10 years now,” Will said.

“I was holidaying there during the bushfires last summer when I noticed that the caravan that Mallacoota SLS Club was using was completely destroyed by fire. The people at Mallacoota SLS Club are awesome and really down to earth so my friend Elly and I decided to get the team at Woolamai SLS Club together to get them a new caravan.

“You can call it fate, but coincidentally I met Scott Jones, the National Sales Manager at Jayco at an event who was able to provide us with a caravan and then the project really took off from there,” Will said.

A team effort

“Surf life saving clubs in coastal towns are a vital part of the community and we feel very honoured to have been part of this amazing project with the team at Woolamai SLS Club and Minderoo Foundation,” said Paul Gunther, General Manager at Jayco Gippsland.

“We hope this new caravan brings some normality back for Mallacoota SLS Club ahead of the summer patrol season and we hope it brings joy to the community – a region that has been hit hard and is still rebuilding from the devastation of the summer bushfires.”

Stafford Smith, Vice President of Woolamai SLS Club applauded the work of everyone involved.

“I’m very proud of Woolamai SLS Club. It’s a network of awesome people that just give and give and give. This project is a true testament of how wonderful they are.

“In what has been a challenging year with COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, members of the club obtained a permit and donated their time to strip the inside of the caravan and recreate it into a purpose-built surf life saving base for Mallacoota.

“It was all done by volunteers of Woolamai SLS Club,” he said.

“There were many people involved in this project. Without this caravan, Mallacoota SLS Club will not have a base to work from this summer and we hope the community – who have suffered a lot – will be blown away with what we’ve created. We thank everyone who helped bring this to life including Jayco and Minderoo Foundation.”

Gratefully received

Simon Berry, President of Mallacoota SLS Club said the club was “truly grateful for the generosity of others”.

“It’s a massive upgrade from our old hub, which was a 1970s caravan. The amount of effort by Woolamai SLS Club and the donation by Jayco and Minderoo Foundation has been amazing.”

The new Jayco caravan will be situated on the point overlooking the beach and will be used as a lunchroom and modern first-aid facility.

“This means our members will have a comfortable place to stay and eat and it also allows us to function and do our job effectively,” said Simon.

The caravan was delivered by Jayco Gippsland, along with members of Woolamai SLS Club on October 31, a month before the start of the summer patrol season.

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