Extract from: Full Fifty Years: And Fifty Very Full Years (P 46)

Mary Tapley (1987)

Another first for 1956 was the forming of the Walpole Yacht Club. Sometime before a young Manjimup man had left at Rest Point a VJ yacht, minus sails, that he had won in a raffle at Bunbury. Terry Swarbrick purchased the boat and got sails. With younger brother Harley, he enjoyed sailing, and recalling his and elder brother Tom's efforts as boys to sail with sails made from flour bags. They asked a visitor, State yachtsman Greg Rowe to give a demonstration in his sailing dinghy, in Swan Bay. This so fired the imagination of many of the spectators that they readily attended a meeting at Rest Point, chaired by Mr Rowe and the club was born in January 1956. By spring of the same year there were ten lightweight Sharpies, each with a crew of three and several VJs with two men to a crew, and soon after Harley Swarbrick acquired a fast moving Gwen 12.

At first, the club sailed in Swan Bay, but soon sought the deeper, wider waters of the Nornalup Inlet. They were granted a site at Coalmine Beach. A club house was built the same year with timber purchased from the closing Kent River mill and donated by the Swarbricks.

As usual the labour was voluntary, greatly assisted by workers and machinery from the mill and members. Bruce Burnside of Nornalup helped with his bulldozer and labour, others did whatever they could to help. Mr Terry Swarbrick recalls that his brother Tom.and Mr Pat Burton built the club jetty with the usual help. The need for a jetty had become obvious during an early visit by the Princess Sailing Club from Albany.

Noted State Yachtsmen fostered the club with frequent visits. A highlight in the regatta. of 1957, presumably the first regatta, was the presence of Dragon Class World Champion Rolly Tasker with a famous "Falcon". He came for several ·other regattas and at one launched "Falcon 4". Also at the early regattas were Brian Pearse with his famous "Red· Wings" and the fourteen foot State champion Syd Corser. Successive regattas drew entrants from all over the State including many champions.