Colton Surf Lifesaving Events

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:21): I rise today to bring attention to two fantastic events that take place on an annual basis in the electorate of Colton: the Big Row under the stewardship of the Henley Beach Surf Life Saving Club, held this year on 2 February, and the Pink and Blue Swim organised by the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club, which took place on 9 February this year.

This year, 2019, was the 13^th edition of the annual fundraiser at the Henley Beach Surf Club, the Big Row. Each year, teams of surf lifesavers—male, female, young and some more senior—row 68 kilometres across Gulf St Vincent from Stansbury on Yorke Peninsula to the Henley Beach Surf Life Saving Club. The trip, weather-dependent, takes around eight hours. It was a little more last year as it was quite choppy but a little less this year given that it was flat and glassy.

Young nippers, the club's life members, community members, those who were doing a patrol at the time and sponsors all came out and welcomed this year's crew as they finished their journey onto Henley Beach. The 2019 Big Row raised $45,000 and $15,000 worth of in-kind contributions for the surf lifesaving club. All funds raised go toward the ongoing maintenance of the clubrooms and to ensure that the patrol and lifesaving community services that the Henley Surf Life Saving Club delivers can continue to be met.

The club, through me as their local member, wishes to acknowledge the fine work of Nicole Carey and Peter Oborn, the main coordinators of the event and, of course, the West Beach Community Bank for its continued support as the major sponsor of the Big Row. It has been the sponsor for 13 straight years and it even had a couple of its bank staff participate in the row this year, although I think they learnt very quickly that surf rowing is a little tougher than working at the bank.

The annual Pink and Blue Swim, hosted by the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club, raises funds for breast cancer and prostate cancer charities. While the weather this year was not the best—there was a significant storm system that passed through the West Beach area on that Sunday morning and unfortunately, due to the rough weather, the swim itself had to be cancelled and all participants were asked to walk—some 800 people still turned up and participated, which was a fantastic result.

The Premier was down there. I must admit that he and I were probably two attendees who were not disappointed that the swim did not take place. Despite all of this, over $75,000 was raised by the West Beach community and their sponsors, including the West End Community Fund, who matched dollar for dollar $30,000. Funds were split this year between the St Andrew's Hospital breast cancer unit and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Those funds, through the St Andrew's Hospital Breast Clinic, are going to assist the creation of an after-care office for patients along with other recovery-based patient care. For the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the money is going to be put towards two people taking part in a second-stage of cancer groundbreaking therapy trial that, if successful, will be able to assist many more people as they move towards a cure for the disease.

The club certainly wishes to thank their very dedicated and well-coordinated team who run the event. I commend the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club, a not-for-profit organisation in their own right, for the work they put in and the great cohesion the community has in raising the money that goes towards these great causes. All of that profit goes towards prostate and breast cancer causes.

With the time I have remaining, I would like to recognise the much-needed attention that has been brought to our coastline, in particular West Beach, over the past couple of weeks. It is something I have certainly been advocating for consistently since entering this place. I would also like to make a special mention of the City of Charles Sturt, which has been actively tending to West Beach, tidying up the beach and clearing metal spikes that have started to come to the surface, as part of its ongoing role in maintaining the beach on a day-to-day basis. I look forward to working closely with the council as we move forward to ensure that our coastline is improved, particularly in our area having long been neglected, and is made safe for people who visit our beautiful beaches in Colton.