Browns Bay Boating Club Inc |
The Browns Bay Boating Club was formed in 1973 by Dave Donaldson ( our Patron ) and a group of fellow boat owners who wished to have a communal tractor for launching their boats at Browns Bay beach. The Club became an Incorporated Society on the 5th December 1973 and based itself at the premises of Donaldson Engineering Ltd, in Anzac Road, Browns Bay. In 1973 the Club purchased it's first tractor, an International B250 diesel. This suffered greatly from the ingress of sea water and was replaced by a Ford 5000 a year later. In 1978 the second tractor also succumbed to sea water and was replaced by "Traqua". Traqua was raised up about one metre to keep the ingress of the salt water to a minimum, and recieved it's name as aresult of a competition amongst junior members of the Club. In 1996 Traqua Too was purchased. In 2005 Traqua was retired after a long service and replaced by C"Mantis. With the aid of a grant from Lion Foundation C'Mantis was purchased and Raised up in the modern version of the design used on Traqua. Almost from it's inception, the club was on the lookout for a suitable location overlooking the beach on which to establish a clubhouse. Eventually, in 1988, the Club purchased the Plunket building on the corner of Valley Road and Manly Esplanade, Browns Bay and leased the land on which it sat from the Council. After a long struggle over a number of years, and the establishment of a Charitable Trust, sufficient funds where identified to proceed with the new Clubrooms, this project was completed by the end of 2003, and coincided with our 30th Anniversary. The new Clubrooms are the headquarters of the Browns Bay Boating Club Inc and Coastguard Northshore, and also incorporate a new public toilet and changing room facility. The Building known as the Browns Bay Marine Centre, also houses the Coastguards rescue boat and the BBBC's two tractors.
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