SANE marks 35 years

A DRIVING force behind the preservation and ongoing protection of Bells Beach and its coastal reserve is in the process of recording its 35-year history.

Surfers Appreciating the Natural Environment (SANE) formed in 1988 during the perceived mismanagement by then Barrabool Shire of what’s now known as the Bells Beach Surfing Recreational Reserve, but its decades-long fight for the areas preservation is yet to be formally documented in full.

SANE member Gordon Stammers is one of those spearheading the project and is behind the recently launched crowdfunding campaign that has been set up to help cover the costs of employing a researcher and writer for the book on the group.

“We’ve mapped out a rough guideline, we want the book to cover the early historical beginnings, and all the progress we’ve managed to pull off…we’ve got so many press clippings, boxes of photos of things like protests,” he said.

“A lot of famous surfers have been involved and there’s a great, rich story to tell about who we are.

“We were the ones who created the marine park and lots of other stuff… we were parking cars in front of graders, in the very early stages, we were getting hauled off by police.”

Mr Stammer said the collating and committing of SANE’s history to book form will help serve as a template for future custodianship of the world famous coastline.

“We’re all getting to the end of our surfing careers,” he said.

“Part of the goal is to nurture the next generation to look after the area… GORCAPA (Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority) is getting ready to take over management of Bells reserve and we want people to know the history of the area.”

SANE members envisage the project will take between 12-18 months to complete, and Mr Stammers said early interest in the book had been promising.

To contribute to the project, head to bitly.ws/AW5r