Coogee Beach and Randwick Rugby Club - a historical perspective

A snapshot of Sydney, frozen in time

THE fashions might have changed over the past 100 years but remarkably the sandstone wall and dressing sheds that surround Coogee beach remain intact. The image of The Esplanade at the eastern Sydney beach, taken before Federation in 1901, is one of 205 to feature in a new book, A Nation in the Making: Australia at the dawn of the modern era.

Coogee was connected by electric tram to the city in 1902, guaranteeing an influx of "surf bathers" and spectators. Five years later, the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club was formed and a clubhouse built in 1910. "Note the public dressing sheds below the sea wall and also the relaxed attitude towards gender relationships - the bane of many an observer of Colonial life - evident in the girls in the middle foreground," the book's author Alasdair McGregor writes.

The photograph comes from an original collection of pre-Federation glass plate negatives assembled by Sydney bookseller James R. Tyrell. His grandson, Bill Tyrell, sold the glass plates to Australian Consolidated Press, who transferred 2000 of the best preserved ones to copy negative and gave almost 8000 original plates to the Powerhouse Museum in 1985.

Published by Australian Geographic, the book will be available from November 21. Read more>.....

Historical notes regarding Randwick Rugby Club:-

The Randwick Rugby Club (Note: Not District RUFC) was formed in 1882 and is one of the oldest in Australia.
The Club has competed in first division competition from 1889 to 1899, in 1914 and from 1923 to date.
Randwick dropped out of first division when district rugby, as distinct from club rugby, was introduced in 1900
and played in what is now the sub-districts completion.

The Club fielded reserve and third grade sides in the years 1908-1914 with a firsts team in 1914.
There was no competitive rugby played during the WW1 years 1915-1918.
The original Randwick Rugby colours were red and white.

After WW1 the Randwick Rugby Club was reformed and played sub-districts football with success from 1919 to 1922.
Its home ground was the small Randwick Oval, now part of the University of New South Wales, at the corner of
High Street and Wansey Road. Then followed three important events in the Club' History:
In 1923 Randwick was re-admitted to the ranks of the NSW first division rugby clubs; in 1926 the Club moved to its
new home ground, Coogee Oval, where it has since remained; and, in 1928 the Club adopted its current colour of
myrtle green.

The change in the colour of the Randwick jersey arose in consequence of the admission in 1928 of St George Club
into the first division competition when they were allowed to wear the traditional colours of their district. Randwick
then transferred to myrtle green, the colour having been chosen from the destination signs displayed on the Coogee trams.