The world famous Bondi Beach Sydney Australia is most iconic and famous of beaches in a country literally blessed with some of the best beaches in the world. Bondi Beach is approximately 1km in length and a mecca for local Australians and tourists who are seeking sun and surf. The word “Bondi” is aboriginal for “water breaking over the rocks”. Surfers come from far and wide and skaters hone the skills on the awesome promenade that stretches the beach. Bondi is not just about a beach with golden sands that are literally filled with people from all walks of life it also has fantastic cafes, bars and restaurants that reflect the stylish cosmopolitan location.
During the early 1800s swimming in Bondi was controversial and convicts were not permitted to swim due to the dangers that Sharks and Stingrays presented as well as reasons of decorum with bathing in the ocean being officially banned between the hours of 9.00am and 8.00pm. The attitude moving into the 19th century shifted considerably with the view that the beach was in fact a great place for relaxation, health, leisure, and democracy where all could enjoy equally. The popularity that the Australian beach lifestyle had saw the world’s first formally documented surf lifesaving club, the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club, was formed in 1907. Surf patrol members wearing their distinctive red and yellow quartered caps first appeared at Bondi that summer and still to this day on Bondi Beach and on other Australian beaches these colours are a permanent reminder of that famous and iconic institution that was born in Bondi. Today Bondi Beach is a very safe place for people young and old to enjoy and is particularly well managed by the lifeguards who patrol the beach and the Waverley Council who are responsible for the area and local community.
