Mandurah's surf life savers will now be able to cast a keener eye over the waters thanks to a three-year trial introducing seven day a week patrol services to four of the city's most popular beaches.
Introduced by the City of Mandurah, the trial will see both the Mandurah and Port Bouvard surf life saving clubs ramping up patrols at Town Beach, San Remo, Pyramids and Falcon Bay from Monday, January 20.
The announcement comes on the back of a reallocation of state government funding.
Last year, the government agreed to a request from the City of Mandurah for funds originally allocated to a beach enclosure at Falcon, to be used for community-preferred lifesaving services at its popular beaches.
In total the state government has put $287,000 towards supporting the $553,329 contract, which will cover the cost of lifesaving patrols with options for additional services such as jet ski and inflatable rescue boats.
Acting fisheries minister and Mandurah MP David Templeman announced the trial at Town Beach on Friday morning, saying it was a significant step forward for beach safety in the city.
"These four beaches are very popular with families and visitors to Mandurah, and this means if you're going to be swimming (at one of the beaches), you will have safe coverage from Surf Life Saving WA personnel," he said.
"It's all very much focused on making sure that people can come down and enjoy what these beautiful beaches in Mandurah have to offer.
"We reckon we've got the best beaches in Western Australia, and we have lots of people who come here to enjoy them."
Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams was on deck to welcome the announcement.
"Mandurah has always been a place where people have connected with our oceans and our waterways, and now we will have some of the most patrolled beaches in the state," he said.
"This will create lots of opportunities for our locals to be able to get out and continue to enjoy the ocean as they have done forever in Mandurah, but it also puts us on the map as the place to come to if you want a safe, family experience on our beautiful coastlines."
Surf Life Saving WA general manager Chris Peck said the trial would allow local clubs like Mandurah and Port Bouvard to offer the most extensive patrols possible.
"There's a whole range of reasons why it's important to have these sorts of services, and it's an opportunity for people to feel safe, be safe and more importantly that means you're having fun at the end of the day," he said.
"We'd like to thank the state government and the City of Mandurah for the trust that they're putting into surf life saving for services to keep the beaches safe."
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
