Before surfing and beach volleyball there was Beachobatics (2024)

By Jenna Good

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Its fanatical surfers and perfect waves are famous across the world.

But back in the 1930s, Bondi Beach's golden crescent of sand was where most of the action took place.

Still keen on fitness, Australians would entertain themselves by climbing on top of one another to do what was known then as 'Beachobatics'.

These amazing black and white shots illustrate how gymnasts and even novices, would show off their strength and agility by creating human pyramids as well as a variety of impressive balancing acts for fun.

Magnificent! Twelve Beachobatic hobbyists create a brilliant spectacle on Bondi Beach as they balance on top of each other

Gravity defying: A Beachobatic fan appears to levitate above a fellow gymnast in this incredible shot

Head to head: Two men show off their strength as one gymnast holds onto the other man's waist as he pointed his towards the sky

These vintage pictures were taken in the 1930s and early 1940s, when the sea looked notably devoid of surfers.

The sport had been introduced to Australia around 1915 but it wasn't until the 1950s that the introduction of fibreglass Malibu surfboards made it more mainstream.

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Instead, beach-goers would be enthralled by agile men and women making impressive acrobatic shapes and pyramids, sometimes in large groups of ten or twelve.

Leaning tower: One man takes the weight of three men and a woman, who makes balancing on top of them look easy as she waves her arms in the air gracefully

Fit: A couple perform a few Beachobatic moves in front of two young boys who watch them in awe

Enchanted: A young boy looks at a man and woman as they create a beautiful pose on Bondi Beach in 1935

Wheels: Girls in Rhonrad wheels rolled across Bondi Beach during the mid 1930s

Amazingly strong: One older looking man balances the weight of two women and another man, who all stem from his feet

During this pre-wartime era The Graham Men's Gymnastic Club, which had formed in Waverly in 1921, fully embraced the past time of Beachobatics, and took their art form to Bondi in the 1930s.

Amateur photographer George Caddy, who lived in Bondi, photographed friends and people he met, but most interestingly gymnasts, who had taken their hobby to the beach.

Sadly, Beachobatics has since died out but the sport was a big deal back in the day when his pictures were taken from 1936 to 1941.

Backflip: In mid air, Beachobatics enthusiast Peggy Bacon was captured during a backflip at Bondi Beach

Somersault: One man is pushed into the air by his friend to produce a somersault at Parsley Bay

Upside down: A man strays off the sand to perform a somersault in the sea

Press photographer Sam Hood and his son Ted Hood were also known for their Beachobatic photography at beaches including Bondi, Tamarama and Parsley Bay.

Throughout the late 1930s, the club's Beachobatics craze was at its height, literally, with people making huge human pyramids.

Around this time, there were around 30 fitness clubs in Sydney alone, which were all part of a movement before the war in which people believed personal fitness contributed to a nation's wealth and health.

So interesting are these photographs, showing us a window into beach life back then, that the State Library of New South Wales has regularly displayed exhibitions of the works.

Graceful: A woman smiles as she is held in the air effortlessly by her male gymnast companion at a beach in Sydney

Airborne: Two men in their swimmers spring themselves from the sand in unison

Feel good pursuit: Six women looked in their element as they perform in the sand with big smiles on their faces

Entertaining: Two men show off their skills to a crowd of people who looked enthralled by the pair

Catapult: Two men throw another man in the air who performs a somersault at Parsley Bay

Unbelievable: Two men perform what looks like the impossible as one man balances on another man's fingertips

Holding the pose: A host of young women in their bathing suits point their toes in unison at Sydney's Tamarama Beach

Leapfrog: Even Sydneysiders who were not gymnasts had a go at the beach activity

Synchronized: The local theatre Chorus girls lie on the sand to make a clock face pattern with on leg in the air

Before surfing and beach volleyball there was Beachobatics (2024)
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