Club History
Kew Swimmers - 1930's
Kew Swimming Club began life as the Kew Amateur Swimming Club in 1925. Based at the newly opened Kew Municipal baths that opened late in that year. The club began with 12 members which had grown to 200 by 1932. In 1925 the club became affiliated with both the Victorian Amateur Swimming Association (VASA) and the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) at the same time. Thus making the club seventh oldest club in metropolitan Melbourne. During the years leading up to the Second World War the club provided coaching, teaching and training for those swimmers wishing to engage in the activities of life saving and competitive swimming. Shortly before World War II the club became affiliated with the Victorian Amateur Water Polo Association.
The club managed to come through the years 1939-45 in relatively good shape as many Victorian clubs struggled to maintain membership during the war years. Up until World War II the club membership had been predominantly adult based. In 1947 a junior coaching class was introduced and this enabled the club to grow its swimmer ranks in the post war years. By the time the “golden age” of Australian swimming in the 1950’s arrived the club had over 150 members. One of the juniors who joined the club during this period was Marilyn Wilson who became one of the club’s first Olympians, swimming the 100m backstroke at Rome in 1960 and winning a silver medal. Marilyn also set a world record for the 220 yards backstroke in 1960. Since the early days of the club the water polo division had been a major part of the club’s fabric. By the 1950’s this section of the club had developed into a strong competitor in state level competition. This was underlined further when club members Keith Wiegard and Mick Withers represented Australia in water polo at Rome in 1960.
The 1960’s was seen as a golden era for the club with Marilyn Wilson, Keith Wiegard and Mick Withers all taking part in the Rome Olympics. This helped lift membership to around the 200 mark and during this time the club would issue over 400 Herald “Learn to Swim” certificates during a season. The club won 85 medals at the 1962-3 state championships and had four members represent the state at water polo. In 1964 John Ryan became the fourth club member and Leon Wiegard the fifth to compete at an Olympic games in Tokyo. Leon went on to represent Australia at the 1968 and 1972 games also. This late 1960’s period also saw Graham White join the club from Swan Hill. Graham was to go on and represent the club at state, national and as an Olympian in 1968 and 1972. Graham was a member of the 4 x 200 metre relay team that won silver at Munich in 1972. He was also a member of the 4 x 200 relay team that set a world record at the Edinburgh Commonwealth games in 1970.
The 1980’s saw the club undergo several changes and challenges. During this period the club’s home, the Kew Municipal baths were replaced by the Kew Recreation
Centre. Sadly due to a change in the management philosophy with the new pool complex to one focused on recreational swimming the Kew Swimming club was forced to move out of what had been its home for sixty years. This required a move to Methodist Ladies College (MLC) and this move impacted on the club, as long term families moved on from swimming. The club faced the new challenge of declining membership and the change in the demographics of the area. This continued into the 1990’s as the club faced financial challenges, loss of coaches and less frequent committee meetings finally culminated in by the time the 1994-5 season opened the club’s registered swimmer numbers had dropped to only 15. The result being that at the 70th annual general meeting in 1995 it was proposed that the club be wound up.
Despite the existing committee’s intention to wind the club up, several parents who had only just joined the club sought and got an adjournment of the AGM and managed to prevent the passing of the motion. The new committee under Joffre Charles as President set about making the club viable. This involved re-establishment of regular committee meetings, re-establishing contact with Swimming Victoria and a recruitment drive through the Kew and Balwyn areas. The club moved from training at MLC to using the Strathcona Girls Grammar pool, a relationship that still continues. During this time the club’s swimmers medaled at both State and Metropolitan level. By the turn of the millennium the club was in the best state it had been for a number of years. Joffre Charles stepped down as President and Kevin Topliff as head coach in 2000. New coach John Sugden joined the club and the club’s swimmers continued to qualify for State Age and Open competition. Samantha Gilligan also qualified for national age, the first time in a number of years that Kew had a national swimmer. The club celebrated its 75th anniversary with a reunion dinner and the publication of the club history. Barry Crone succeeded Joffre Charles as President and the club continued to enjoy stable numbers and finances.
The first ten years of the new century have seen the club continue to provide an excellent environment for swimmers of all levels. This has been bought about through the work of Chris Thek as president, succeeding Barry Crone and then Craig Kipping becoming President in 2008. The appointment of Darren Tullberg as head coach to succeed John Sugden in 2008 combined with the availability of more training venues, the club now using pools at Strathcona, Camberwell Girls Grammar, Xavier College, Lauriston and the main pool at Boroondara Sports Complex. This has helped the club to produce state champions in Madeline Wild and Bree Harris together with state medalists in Bec Welsford, Jessica Kipping, John Chen and Lucy Levecke in recent years. The club also had its first swimmer qualify at national open level for many years in 2012 with Patrick Kipping competing at the 2012 Olympic trials. The club’s membership has stabilized over the past few years and the club’s coaching team under Darren Tullberg continues to develop the swimmers of the Kew area. Under current President Will Levecke the club has become an important part of the sporting landscape in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and continues to be active at metropolitan and state level. The club is proud of its history and contribution it has made to swimming in Victoria for over 85 years.
Reference: “A History of the Kew Swimming Club 1925 – 2000” – William Gourlay
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