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Bondi Junction
Profiles
Sydney
Australia
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Blog
Bondi
Beach Media
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"
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