By Cameron Weston
THE Altona Beach Pavilion and life- saving tower was officially opened on Friday, providing vital new facilities for a local club on the rise.
Altona Life Saving Club president Lars Murphy said the development would set up the club for a busy summer, which seems to have started early this year.
Mr Murphy said that as well as helping the club patrol the entire length of Altona Beach more effectively, the new pavilion and tower would also give it a chance to better connect with the local community. “The facilities are terrific. There will be a very large area for us. It is all state of the art,” he said.
“We really want to have a community feel, so these new facilities will really raise our profile and be great for the club.”
Mr Murphy said the club had picked up many new members recently, and the nippers youth program, which was all but abandoned because of a lack of interest, now had 70 members.
The club has also begun hosting social functions, which have been a huge success, and it is planning an open day in November and a beach cinema evening in January or February.
Altona was ranked fourth for “overall improvement in patrol efficiency” for clubs across Victoria, a feat of which Mr Murphy said he was especially proud.
“For a club that couldn’t really get a patrol together 18 months ago, that’s fantastic,” he said.
In a tribute to one of Altona’s most active community members, the main hall of the beach pavilion was officially named the Dick Murdoch Room.
