In 1907 the small lifesaving groups decided to form the New South Wales Surf Bathing Association. It was easier for this big group to raise money and deal with councils and governments. Later the group's name changed to the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia. Surf Life Saving Australia is the second biggest volunteer lifesaving group in the world, with over 70,000 members. The biggest group is in Germany, which has a population roughly ten times as big as Australia's.
ILS members share information and control standards for lifesaving around the world.
From early in the morning, crowds jostled for a place on the trams heading for Bondi. Huge breakers rolled in, and the lifesavers watched anxiously as a deep channel formed near a sandbank. At first a few swimmers went far from shore, but as the tide turned, the waves became smaller. Suddenly a huge wave swept in from the ocean, followed by another and yet another. Hundreds of terrified men, women and children were knocked off their feet.