Images(4)

KURRANULLA on its trailer as it was when donated to the ANMM. Note the diagonal deck planking,…

Kurranulla

Vessel numberHV000017

Owner Australian National Maritime Museum

Vessel type Surf Boats (1913 - 2007)

Builder Roy Philllips and Son

Previous owner Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club

Designer Roy Philllips and Son

Date1964

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 7.46 m x 1.67 m, 0.26 tonnes (24.5 ft x 5.5 ft, 0.26 tons)

DescriptionKURRANULLA is cold moulded in construction, a mathod the builder Roy Phillips was very expereicned with. It represents the final evolution of the double-ended hull form. The surf rescue boat is a type that has been developed in early 1900s, when a double-ended hull shape was designed and built as a prototype specifically for surf rescue work. Demonstrating the ability to work off the beach through the rough water, it was adopted by the Manly Life Saving Club and then other clubs in Sydney as their standard type. Gradual improvements were made over many decades.

The crew are seated in a staggered arrangement on thwarts, while the sweep stands aft steering with a very large oar. When coming ashore through the break, and surfing on a wave, the crew leave their rowing stations and stack aft near the sweep to keep the stem up as the boat speeds toward the beach propelled by the wave it has caught.

The surf rescue craft also raced at surf carnivals and their crews were a significant part of the surfing scene throughout the country. The double-ended hull form was replaced with faster hulls that featured a tuck stern with a narrow transom, a design that was first introduced in the late 1940s.

KURRANULLA was built for the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club and used by them for many years before becoming part of the National Maritime Collection at the Australian National Maritime Museum. In 2006 it is featured in the Watermarks Gallery at the Museum, suspended in the gallery.
SignificanceThe surf rescue boat KURRANULLA is a timber, open boat built in Sydney in 1964. It was built by Roy Phillips in Balmain, and is one of the last double-ended craft built and then used with surf life saving patrol work as its principal task. It is an example of the typical wooden craft used for many years before fibreglass construction became the accepted method for their production.

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