150 Years of Boom Town Ballina

Gae Ferris then...

Gae Ferris 2006
Gae Ferris now.

Interview with Gae Ferris (nee Selwood)

Winner of the 1964 Miss Summerland Beach Girl Competition

Aahh yes … the 1960s … a rather special ‘carefree’ chapter in time. Television had only recently hit our Aussie shores and … outdoors … a hearty innonence still prevailed across many elements of the Australian lifestyle.

Was it that we didn’t see the dangers … or was it simply that there were actually very few dangers in our midst as we looked at the world through our rather pointy, cats-eye sunglasses?

We’ll leave that one for you to ponder as you begin to re-live your own special memories associated with the events of the 1960s …

Many of those who enjoyed their early adulthood years in Ballina and Lismore in the 1960’s remember it best by Saturday night dances with big bands … and long, long days spent at the beach amongst dozens of brightly coloured beach umbrellas, transistor radios blaring the latest Top 40 tunes, bronzed lifesavers keeping a watchful eye on the waves … and the ever-popular Christmas holiday Summergirl Competitions held annually at Lighthouse Beach.

We recently spoke with the winner of the 1964 Miss Summerland Beach Girl Competition, Gae Ferris (nee Selwood) and she was able to paint a vivid picture as to what life in the 60’s in this special part of the world (“Summerland … the land that Winter forgot!”) was like … along with what it was like to capture such a highly sought-after beach girl honour.

Gae lived in Lismore and she recalls making the trek to the beach at Ballina on a regular basis …

“Almost every weekend in Summer, we’d make the trip across to Ballina and we’d spend the entire day at the beach. It was all about the surf and suntans in those days! I used to take my transistor radio with me to the beach, like everyone else, although I do particularly remember one of my radios as it was shaped like a ball! Usually, the radios came packaged in leather cases. These were the times when The Beatles, Crash Craddock and Bobby Vee - to name a few - were popular artists. On the local Lismore and Ballina scene, I remember bands like The Cyclones and The Astranotes.”

We asked Gae to tell us all about the 1964 Miss Summerland Beach Competition … what compelled her to enter … and what was it like to take centre stage and the main honours at this type of beach event in the 60s’?

“I was a dancer at this time and had been for 12 years or so. It was actually my dance teacher (a Sunday Mail beach girl winner herself) who encouraged me to enter the beach girl competition – she talked me into it! There was only one problem … I usually wore bikinis and it was recommended that beach girl contestants wear a one-piece suit. I ended up having to wear my dance teacher’s swimmers – swimmers with what they now refer to as ‘the little boy leg’, as they weren’t too high cut!

Each beach girl contestant was given a number to hold for the convenience of the judges. A lifesaver would then escort each contestant from the Surf Club house across to the stage area. I wore shoes with wedge heels – the kind that, funnily enough, has re-surfaced recently in the fashion trends. It was fabulous enough to make it through to the final that day … but when they called my name as the 1964 winner, it was very exciting! My prize consisted of a supply of sunscreen and a beach ball from one of the sponsors, and a small amount of cash. As the competition grew in popularity, the prize also grew into something bigger, like a return trip to Sydney. Just the honour of winning the 1964 competition, however, was wonderful. The audience at the beach that day was huge and photos were taken for the newspaper, of course. I kept my winner’s ‘sash’ for many years – royal blue with gold lettering and a gold fringe.

Due to my involvement in dancing … and prior to the beach girl competition, two dancing friends and I had formed a dance group who performed regularly on Channel 8 (now Channel 10) and as a result, the organisers asked us to perform a special number after the formal competition judging was over that day. We performed the ‘Hootenanny’ dance to the ‘Hootenanny Hoot’! Our dance outfits comprised a short purple cone-shaped skirt with braces, a matching purple and white gingham checked shirt … all completed by purple and white sneakers!”

We thanked Gae Ferris very much for the time she was able to dedicate to this interview … and left her trying to remember what outfit she changed into later that day as she set off eagerly in the direction of the evening dance. It was time for our 1964 MissSummerlandBeach Girl to … celebrate!

*Gae Ferris will be one of our very special invited guests present at the “Celebrating 150 Years of Boom Town Ballina!” Gala Dinner on Monday 6th November (from 6pm at the Ballina RSL), proudly brought to you by the Ballina Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc and Ballina RSL Club Ltd.

Do not miss your opportunity to take part in a magnificent Ballina community occasion that will be full of fabulous fun and reflection. Book your seat today by phoning the Ballina RSL Club on 6686 2544.

Proudly brought to you by Ballina Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc and Ballina RSL Pty Ltd