Bondi
Profiles
Bondi Beach Bondi Junction North Bondi
Advertising Promotions
News
The
Blue Cafe (Bondi Beach) wins Media Man and Cafe News
Media 'Cafe Of The Month' award; Runner ups: Billy's
Car Espresso (Maroubra Junction), The Lion and Buffalo
(South Coogee) and The Crabbe Hole (Bondi Icebergs
Club - Bondi Beach)
Profiles
Bondi
Chamber of Commerce
Bondi
Beach North Bondi
Earth
Hour at Bondi Beach Australian
Surf Movie Festival
Advertising Opportunity - This website attracts approx 50,000 hits and impressions per month
Bondi
Rescue
Bondi
Beach (pronounced "BOND-eye" with a long
i, or /'b?nda?/) is a popular beach and the name of
the surrounding suburb in Sydney, Australia. Bondi
Beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central
business district, in the local government area of
Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs. Bondi, North
Bondi and Bondi Junction are separate neighbouring
suburbs.
The
Beach
Bondi
Beach is about one kilometre long and has many tourists
visit throughout the year. Surf Life Saving Australia
has given different hazard ratings to Bondi Beach
in 2004. While the northern end has been rated a gentle
4 (with 10 as the most hazardous), the southern side
is rated as a 7 due to a famous rip current known
as the "Backpackers Rip" (also known as
the "Bondi Tram" or the "Bronte Express"
because you would supposedly end up at Bronte - two
beaches south - if caught in it). In actual fact,
there are up to five rip currents operating along
the beach, the Backpackers' Express being the one
closest to the designated swimming area. There is
an underwater shark net shared, during the summer
months, with other beaches along the southern part
of the coast.
Sport
and Recreation
Bondi
Beach is the end point of the City to Surf Fun Run
which is held each year in August. The race attracts
over 63,000 entrants who complete the 14 km run from
the central business district of Sydney to Bondi Beach.
Other annual activities at Bondi Beach include Flickerfest,
Australia's premier international short film festival
in January, World Environment Day in June, and Sculpture
By The Sea in November. In addition to many activities,
the Bondi Beach Markets is open every Sunday. Many
Irish and British tourists spend Christmas Day at
the beach.
Bondi
Beach hosted the beach volleyball competition at the
2000 Summer Olympics. A temporary 10,000-seat stadium,
a much smaller stadium, 2 warm-up courts, and 3 training
courts were set up to host the tournament. The local
now actively discourages beach volleyball and has
forced groups of regular weekend players to move to
other beaches.
Lifesaving Clubs
Bondi
Bathers Surf Lifesaving Club is the world's first
surf lifesaving club and North Bondi Surf Lifesaving
Club is a federation club. Both clubs were founded
in 1907. Bondi members invented the surf reel and
many other icons of lifesaving. Surf Lifesavers from
both clubs were involved in the largest rescue ever
on a single day, known as 'Black Sunday'.
Bondi
holds the most Australian Surf Lifesaveing Championship
gold medals in R&R (rescue & resuscitation)
and North Bondi hold the most gold medals in March
Past.
Bondi Icebergs
The
Swimming Club's origin dates back to 1929 and owes
its origins to the desire of a band of dedicated local
lifesavers who wished to maintain their fitness during
the winter months. They formed the Bondi Icebergs
Winter Swimming Club and drew up a constitution and
elected office bearers. Included in the constitution
was a rule that to maintain membership it was mandatory
that swimmers compete on three Sundays out of four
for a period of five years.
The
Icebergs became licensed in 1960 and the members moved
from a tin shed into comfortable premises with Bar
and Poker Machines. A further update took place in
the 1970s enabling the Club to operate on two floors.
In 1994 female members were admitted and in 2002 the
Club opened their new premises. The Icebergs are the
only licensed Winter Swimming Club in the world.
Commercial
Area
Bondi
Beach has a commercial area along Campbell Parade
and adjacent side streets. Bondi Beach features many
popular cafes, restaurants and hotels, with spectacular
views of the beach. Hotel Bondi is a famous landmark
opposite the beach featuring a number of popular bars
and restaurants. The nearby Swiss Grande Hotel Bondi
Beach is also a landmark development opposite the
beach.
Bondi
Pavilion is a community cultural centre, located right
on Bondi Beach, which features a theatre, gallery,
rehearsal, meeting and function rooms, art workshop,
pottery and studios. Bondi Pavilion is the centre
for major festivals performances throughout the year.
History
"Bondi"
or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning
water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking
over rocks. The Australian Museum records that Bondi
means place where a flight of nullas took place.
In
1851, Edward Smith Hall and Francis O'Brien purchased
200 acres of the Bondi area that embraced almost the
whole frontage of Bondi Beach, and it was named the
"The Bondi Estate." Hall was O'Brien's father-in-law.
Between 1855 and 1877 O'Brien purchased his father-in-law's
share of the land, renamed the land the "O'Brien
Estate," and made the beach and the surrounding
land available to the public as a picnic ground and
amusement resort. As the beach became increasingly
popular, O'Brien threatened to stop public beach access.
However, the Municipal Council believed that the Government
needed to intervene to make the beach a public reserve.
It was not until June 9, 1882, that the Government
acted and Bondi Beach finally became a public beach.
Bondi
Beach was a working class suburb throughout most of
the twentieth century. Bondi Beach and the Eastern
Suburbs also became home for many mainly Jewish migrants
as people fled war and the Holocaust from Poland,
Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany, while
a steady stream of Jewish immigration continues into
the 21st century mainly from South Africa, Russia
and Israel. This characteristic can be noted by the
synagogues, kosher butchers and the Hakoah Club. During
the 1970s and 80s, it was renowned for its immigrant
New Zealander population. The Bondi Astra hotel, now
an apartment complex, was notorious as a place to
buy illegal late-night liquor and heroin.
A
major factor in Bondi's seedy image was the fact that
Sydney's Water Board maintained an untreated sewage
outlet not far from the north end of the beach, resulting
in the term 'Bondi Cigar' - a somewhat exaggerated
reference to human faeces floating in on the tide.
The sewage outlet was closed in the mid 1990s when
a deep water ocean outfall was built. In recent decades,
Bondi has become gentrified and is home to many famous
Australians such as media baron James Packer and TV
personality Larry Emdur. Numerous festivals and events
such as the annual Miss Bondi beauty pageant have
made Bondi Beach a popular destination among travelers.
Pop
Culture
Bondi
Beach has been used as a location for a few Australian
and International movies and television series.
* Bondi Rescue is a reality television series filmed
on Bondi Beach.
* Breakers was a television drama series filmed around
Bondi Beach.
* The Block is an Australian Television series, the
first season was filmed at Bondi Beach.
Population
Demographics
According
to the 2006 Census there were 29,920 persons usually
resident in the postcode area of 2026, which includes
Bondi Beach, Bondi, North Bondi and Tamarama. Country
of Birth of these residents was Australia 70.9%, followed
by England 6.0%, New Zealand 3.4%, South Africa 3.2%,
Ireland 1.4% and United States of America 1.0%. English
was stated as the only language spoken at home by
64.0% of persons. The most common languages other
than English spoken at home were: Russian 2.6%, Hebrew
1.4%, Spanish 1.1%, French 1.1% and German 1.0%. The
most common responses for religious affiliation for
persons usually resident were Catholic 19.8%, No Religion
19.2%, Judaism 15.1%, Anglican 10.3% and Eastern Orthodox
2.3%.
Notable
Residents
* James Packer, businessman
* Larry Emdur, TV presenter
* In March 2007, Waverley Council started proceedings
to evict a hermit from a site overlooking the beach.
Jhyimy "Two Hats" Mhiyles came to the beach
during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Since then he
has become something of a local celebrity for his
lifestyle and poetry recitals to visitors. Residents
and tourists put together a petition entitled "save
the caveman" of which allowed Jhyimy to continue
residing but under certain rules. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
News
Media
Man Australia organises "beach
stunt"
Australian
Surf Movie Festival premiers at Bondi Beach North
RSL Club
Paris
Hilton spotted at Bondi Beach
Jaime
Wright won Bondi Blonde
Lauryn
Eagle competed in Bondi Blonde contest
Profiles
Bondi
Beach
North
Bondi
Bondi
Chamber of Commerce
Online
Advertising Opportunity - This website attracts approx
1 million hits per month
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