The naming of “Mile Beach Club” may not be what you first imagine. To provide some insight as to how Mile Beach Club got its name, let me just recall the first conversation I had with my lovely wife Joanne in the naming of this adventure.
Chris: Jo listen, I think I have just come up with a clever idea, the name and theme for our around Australia trip and it’s not to just be North South East and West.
Joanne: Oh really, what is it?
Chris: Well let me tell you the name first and then I’ll explain the idea and what we are going to do. Right then, the name is going to be Mile Beach Club.
Joanne: Well you can forget about that idea right now, I’m not going to play any part of your sick plans to …
At this point it is probably best to just move forward and I will explain the rationale behind the mile beaches. The real connection to the mile beach theme, comes from the fact that I spent most of my childhood growing up in a coastal township in Tasmania called Seven Mile Beach. The township was named after the adjacent beach which extends for seven miles across Tiger Head Bay. Seven Mile Beach is about 15km to the east of Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania. The township was quite remote when I was growing up.
Seven Mile Beach had about 200 people living in the township when we first moved there back in the 1960’s. At the time, we didn’t have town sewage or water supply. For the first few years my family depended on rainwater tanks for our domestic needs and a sewage pit that had to be pumped regularly. More recently things have become civilised but ever since we moved there it has been the location for Hobart’s main airport and the Royal Hobart Golf Club (RHGC). The Golf Course was one of the principle reasons my parents moved to Seven Mile Beach. Our family and ancestors have a close affiliation and connection to the sport of Golf.
So, during my childhood apart from playing lots and lots of golf, I had a very carefree existence pursuing other outdoor pleasures. With my two younger brothers, I spent a lot of time exploring the open country around our neighbourhood with friends; riding our bikes along the pine forest tracks and beach; climbing the massive sand dunes; fishing off the rocks below Single Hill and especially during the summer time – swimming and playing cricket on the beach.
I guess I have always enjoyed visiting and exploring beaches. So, one day it got me thinking how many beaches in Australia are named something Mile Beach. Using Geoscience Australia Discovery and Delivery System – Place Names Search. I discovered there were 48 beaches around Australia with such names. From Ninety Mile Beach on the Eastern Victoria coast to Mile Beach in Tasmania which is very close to where I grew up.
So our plans are to visit every beach in Australia that is named/titled “something” mile beach. When we visit each beach I plan to travel the length of the beach, photograph and document some observations.
Some interesting facts about these beaches:
- There is at least one “Mile Beach” in each state and territory of Australia.
- There happens to be a beach “Four Mile Beach” located about 200km inland from the coast on Lake Hindmarsh in Western Victoria and also one in central highlands of Tasmania.
- The longest mile beach in Australia is not really Ninety Mile Beach (Vic) but is Eighty Mile Beach (WA) which is 140km miles long making it the real longest beach in Australia and one of the top five longest in the world.
The “Club” bit of the name could be considered marketing spin or hype on my part. However, Joanne and I will join an exclusive club if we manage to achieve the aim of this project. Lots of other intrepid explorers set out with ambitious and unique goals so why not us. I also think projects or missions like this take you further off the beaten track and has the potential to open new and amazing experiences.
There are 48 beaches that meet the naming criteria. Details of the location and specifics of the beaches can be found in Mile Beach Reports.
