Cronulla Beach is a patrolled beach on Bate Bay

Bate Bay

Bate Bay is a bay in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bay is south of the Kurnell peninsula and its foreshore makes up the beaches of Cronulla....

, in Cronulla

Cronulla, New South Wales

Cronulla is a beachside suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Sutherland Shire....

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Cronulla Pavilion and the Cronulla Lifesaving Club are two prominent buildings located close to the sand. Cronulla Park sits behind the beach. The Cronulla Rock Pools are between Cronulla Beach and North Cronulla beach. The Alley is the local name given to the area between Cronulla Beach and North Cronulla Beach

North Cronulla Beach

North Cronulla Beach or North Cronulla is a patrolled beach on Bate Bay, in Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia. The Wall is the local name given to the area between North Cronulla Beach and Eleoura...

. Shark Island

Shark Island, Cronulla Beach

Shark Island is a dangerous reef break about 100 metres off Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia. It comprises a rock ledge that is fully exposed at low tide....

is a dangerous reef break, located off Cronulla Beach.

History

Cronulla is derived from an Aboriginal word kurranulla, meaning 'place of pink seashells'.

Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club

The Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, was one of the first surf clubs established in Australia in 1907. The club had very humble beginnings in a tram carriage and today the clubhouse is housed in a magnificent art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 building on the beachfront, that was built in 1940.

Cronulla is one of the largest and strongest clubs in the surf life saving movement with 1,200 members, including 620 in its nipper ranks. Many lifesavers volunteer their time to patrol the beaches during the season from late September to late April. Cronulla has won three World Championships encompassing all rescue and Surf Life Saving competition and has consistently placed in the top 10 clubs at the Australian championships over the past 20 years.

Pop culture

Cronulla beach came to international prominence with the novel and film Puberty Blues

Puberty Blues

Puberty Blues is a 1981 Australian film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film is based on the 1979 novel Puberty Blues, by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, which is a proto-feminist teen novel about two 13 year-old girls from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, Australia...

.

See also

• Beaches in Sydney
  Beaches in Sydney
  Sydney's Beaches are located along the city's Pacific Ocean coastline and also its harbours, bays and rivers. Sydney is renowned for its beaches which, with its warm climate, attract people almost all year round....
  
  
• Wanda Sand dunes
  Cronulla sand dunes, Kurnell Peninsula
  The Cronulla sand dunes are located on the Kurnell Peninsula in the local government area of Sutherland Shire, Sydney Australia.The Cronulla sand dunes are a protected area that became listed on the NSW State Heritage Register on 26 September 2003.-History:...
  
  
• Guide to Sydney Beaches
• "Sand in our Souls - the Beach in Australian History" Leone Huntsman, MUP, 2001