Beverley Whitfield

Shellharbour resident Beverley Whitfield, born in 1954, was an Australian Olympic swimmer and record holder.

She grew up in Shellharbour and attened Shellharbour Public School until the pursuit of her dream took her first to Sydney and later to the American town of Midland, Texas. From the age of 11 she was coached by Terry Gathercole, recognised as Australia’s finest breaststroke coach.

In 1969, after he became head coach at Midland, she joined him, boarding with his family and attending a local high school. It was a costly mission, unassisted by any kind of sponsorship and paid for by her family. Later, on her return to Australia, Gathercole arranged for her to join Don Talbot’s squad.

She won a gold and bronze medal representing Australia in the breaststroke events at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Germany. She also won three gold medals in the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and two silver medals in the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.  Shellharbour Council held a Civic Reception in Beverley's honour on her return from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. 

Beverley later worked as a youth worker for the New South Wales Department of Youth and Community Services in Shellharbour and Wollongong.

Shellharbour City Council is keeping alive the inspirational story of the local Olympic gold medallist and record holder, through an award program, "The Beverley Whitfield Award" for budding champions of the pool. The award was introduced in 2001, and is now presented annually to the senior male and female swimming champions at each of the primary schools in the Shellharbour Local Government Area.

Known as the “Darling of Shellharbour”, sadly Beverley died in 1996 at age forty two. Her funeral was attended by many Australian Sporting Champions.

Beverley's name and achievements have been honoured in the Shellharbour Hall of Fame.

 

Olympic gold medal winner Beverley Whitfield with Mayor Keith Grey and Mrs. Grey. Photo - Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries

Above: Beverley Whitfield showing her Olympic Gold Medal. (Photo: Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries)


  

Above: Opening of the Beverley Whitfield Pool named in her honour in Shellharbour, 1994.

Below L to R: Edgar (Dunc) Gray, Mayor Cec Glenholmes, Beverley Whitfield, Andy Gerke and Terry Gathercole.

(Photos: Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries)

Shellharbour Rock Pools

The driftway at Shellharbour Villlage has always been used in the summer months for recreation purposes, and in the 1880s people began to push for the construction of rock baths. The community did not like ‘the evils of the day’, described as ‘men and youths bathing in a state of nature on the open sea beach’. It was suggested they ‘compel every bather to use a proper bathing costume similar to those in many European countries’.

In 1894, the Shellharbour Progress Association chose a site for rock baths between the jetty and the former cemetery, at the Shellharbour foreshore.

Regulations allowed ladies to bathe for 2 hours in the morning, and from 3-5 pm. Men bathed before 7 am and after 5 pm. The sexes would alternate in the baths by the use of a system of flags.

Bathing became the order of the day and they were soon taxed to their capacity in the summer months. Rock baths attracted tourists and the beautification of the foreshore by the planting of trees drew attention.

On Arbor Day in 1895, the Shellharbour community united to plant the Norfolk Island pine trees that adorn the harbour today. The trees thrived and were cared for by the progress association.

Visitors became more frequent and a tourist handbook issued by the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company in 1905 said ‘of all the delightfully secluded spots on this patch of coast none has become more popular than among visitors than the pretty little township of Shellharbour, standing on a gentle rise overlooking the sea’.

Head down to Shellharbour Village over the Christmas break! It’s a beautiful spot.

Information – Bayley, W, 1959. Green Meadows, Shellharbour Municipal Council.

 

Gwen Allen at the rock pools, Shellharbour Village c.1920
Tongarra Museum collection

Kaleen Allen and friend at the rock pools, Shellharbour Village c.1920
Tongarra Museum collection

Kaleen Allen at the rock pools, Shellharbour Village c.1920
Tongarra Museum collection

Children at the Bass Point rock pools
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries

Oil at Mount Terry

During mid to late 1962, a drill site was located about 100 metres to the west of Jamberoo Road at the foot of Mount Terry. The operator was Farmout Drillers.  The stakeholders included Farmout Drillers, Consolidated Oil and Woodside.

The site was designated as "Stockyard Mountain No.1”, as it was attempting to intercept a formation which rises to create that landmark.  The rig was about 180 ft high with a dam on the southern side to hold water used for drilling.

At the time, Bob Grey had a part time news-camera job with WIN TV and stories from the site were a regular feature on the local news.  Bob found the site supervisor, a geologist, to be a relaxed and friendly chap who was happy to explain the working of the operation at any time.

The operation struck gas although obviously not in sufficient quantities.  One piece of their equipment was known as the electric log. Its purpose was to monitor the amount of gas coming to the surface in the returning drill mud. In normal operation, there was a more or less constant stream of small bubbles which registered as a slight wave on the recorder.

One morning Bob noticed that the previous night's recording showed the wave suddenly increasing until it appeared to go off the paper. When he mentioned this he was asked not to tell anyone about it.  About a week later the operation was  cancelled and the rig left.

He suspected the sudden cessation was necessary because the gas was not potentially commercial but still interesting enough for the operator not to want to share the information with others.

If the drilling had continued, they would have been obliged to send a core sample to the federal government who were partially funding oil exploration at that time. The information would then have been public knowledge.

Information gratefully provided by Bob Grey.

 

Drilling for oil at Mount Terry 1960s
Donated by Bob Grey

Shellharbour aerials

We have some great aerial photographs in our collection. These ones are from 1948 – 1964 and show just how much Shellharbour City has changed in such a short time.

To view more aerials in our collection go to the Shellharbour Images link  below

http://photosau.com/Shellharbour/scripts/home.asp

Killalea (The Farm) and lagoon 1948
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour Libraries

Lake Entrance and Warilla Beach 1948
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour Libraries

Tongarra Road to Shellharbour Village 1956
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour Libraries

Barrack Point 1948
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour Libraries

Mount Warrigal 1958
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour Libraries