A HISTORY OF WEST COAST ANGLING CLUB

The club was first formed in 1904 under the name of the “West Australian Angling Club” (WAAC) and has been in existence ever since, changing its name and becoming incorporated in 1970 to the “ West Coast Angling Club (Inc)”. It was the first fishing club in Western Australia and indeed in Australia as far as can be ascertained, to own its own boat.

James Innes, a Scot, and friends met at the Criterion Hotel in Perth early in 1904 and founded the original club. James had arrived in Queensland as a 13 year old immigrant and made his way to the WA Goldfields where he was involved in mining at Coolgardie. He later moved to Perth and ran the Norwood Hotel in East Perth.

Members of the original club initially hired planked row boats from Tilleys Boatshed in East Fremantle, tied them together to form a chain and rowed them just outside the mouth of Fremantle Harbour to catch Dhufish, Skippy and Whiting.

The WAAC later purchased the old harbour ferry “Cooee” from funds and member donations and renamed it the “Western Angler”. It proved unsuitable for use outside the Fremantle heads due to its shallow draught and eventually sank. It apparently still lies deep in the mud below the south landing adjacent the Fremantle Traffic Bridge in East Fremantle.

As a result of the loss of the Western Angler, which had served the club well for many years despite its seaworthiness (or lack of), the WAAC commissioned, in 1926, Sam Lawrence (a well known local boat builder), to construct a 35ft long, 10 ton carvel planked sea boat with a 10ft beam. The engine was an Invincible 3-cylinder 30/50 hp, petrol which delivered a cruising speed of 6 -7 knots.

This was launched from the boatyard situated on the riverfront at the Esplanade, Perth in 1928. It was named the James Innes in recognition of the founder of the club.

Its original moorings were next to famous craft such as Zephyr, Emerald, Dauntless, Dawn – L, Invincible, Sambo and Henley all built by Tilleys.

At the outbreak of World War 11, the club offered the James Innes to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who accepted the offer and together with boats from various Swan River clubs, it was used as a patrol boat.

She was modified to provide a forward wheelhouse, her hull was strengthened and she was renamed P20 with a hull number of 724 and armed with a .303 Vickers machine gun and carried 8 x 25lb Depth charges. Old members of the Naval Auxiliary Patrol (NAP) regarded her as the best sea boat in the squadron of 60 vessels.

The James Innes served as Picket boat with NAP and was used alongside famous troop carriers as the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Mauritania and Niew Amsterdam when the called into Fremantle on their way to and from the Middle East. She also escorted Submarines from the US and Dutch navies into Fremantle Harbour after those craft had escaped from naval bases in the Philippines and Indonesia and later provided escorts for RN subs returning from the Mediterranean and Ceylon.

The James Innes was returned to the club at the end of hostilities and was used for fishing until 1950 when the Main Roads commandeered her for work on the rebuilding of the Causeway. The club was paid a fee of 25 Pounds ($50) per week and she was used as a tender for the barges towing planks up and down the river until being returned to the club in 1953. During the intervening 3 years the club was forced to hire various craft to serve its members in their quest for fish. She was returned in a very bad state of repair and again the club had to raise funds for a refit and a new engine, the 4th engine in the years the club owned her.

The James Innes continued to serve the club well but in 1970, due to the need to expend considerable sums, a Deed of Agreement was entered into by the members. This resulted in the clubs name being changed to the West Coast Angling Club (WCAC), which is its current name.

In 1982 the need for urgent repairs and refit became a necessity again and a quote was obtained from a shipwright to carry out the repairs. The quote of $30,000 was far beyond the clubs resources so the then club President, John Treloar, undertook to negotiate with the Department of Youth Sport and Recreation for a grant to buy a new boat. Grants to fishing clubs were not the order of the day but the fight continued until 1984 when the department awarded the WCAC a Dollar for Dollar grant to buy a boat. The WCAC is the only fishing club to receive such assistance.

The James Inne was eventually sold and in 1984, the Jo Lynne, an ex Crayboat, was purchased from R Mc Kiesick and R Dunstan in Two Rocks. Once it had been equipped with modern aides like GPS, Echo Sounder, EPIRB, Radio etc, it was used to serve the members fishing pursuits. Unlike the James Innes, whose gunwales were deeply scored by the heavy cord lines used to land the “biggies”, the Jo Lynne put to sea with a crew armed with rods and reels but still the good catches continued.

In 2000 the Victoria Park Angling Club merged with the WCAC and over the following years, the boat was upgraded several times, more recently with Mayflower and Broome Time until we purchased Thalia 11 in April 2009. Thalia 11 is currently penned at Two Rocks where members fish on Tuesdays in shallow water for Whiting, Skippy and sometimes catch Dhuies and Snapper and on Sundays where the members travel further out looking for Dhuies, Baldchin, Snapper, Breaksea and big King George whiting.

Welcome aboard – May you as a new member, enjoy the great fishing that has been the lot of those who have supported the club in the past.

"Promote and encourage the sport of angling generally"