Six decades ago, in an inland capital hours from the nearest ocean, a war hero and a handful of public servants did the improbable: they started a saltwater game fishing club.
As the historian for the Canberra Game Fishing Club (CGFC), Judy Sillis chuckled at the thought of those early inland pioneers feeling the need to prove their ocean credentials.
"They were probably considered interlopers," Ms Sillis said. "Game fishing has always relied on camaraderie and sharing information, and I think that was shown in those early years."
While the club is located 150 kilometres inland, its "local waters" stretch from Kiama to the Victorian border, centred around the NSW Far South Coast town of Bermagui.
The club has a rare arrangement: sharing the port of Bermagui with the Bermagui Big Game Anglers Club, "the only place in Australia where two clubs are allowed to share one port," Ms Sillis noted.
Trainee trade commissioner Ken Edwards spearheaded the effort after moving to Canberra in November 1962.
Drawing on his background with the Moreton Bay Game Fish Club, Edwards placed an advertisement in The Canberra Times, calling a meeting at his home in Griffith for anyone interested in forming a local game fishing club.
"Eight people turned up. Most of them he had co-opted from people he worked with, and seven of them showed interest in forming a game fishing hub. That was the beginning of 1963," Ms Sillis said.
Among the founding members was the late Air Commodore Vincent "Vin" Hill, a distinguished Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot who flew fighters in World War II and Korea, and Canberra Bombers in Vietnam.
"He was actually there that night at the very beginning and would become a president later on," Ms Sillis said.
"He's interesting in that he flew in three major conflicts, and it's interesting that he was there at the beginning of our club."
Over time, the club's membership shifted from predominantly public servants to tradespeople.
Ms Sillis explained that the club has included everyone from doctors to dairy farmers and retail workers, uniting "all sorts of people through their shared love for saltwater game fishing".
"Back in the early years, game fishing was very much an elite sport," Ms Sillis said.
"It was wealthy farmers and businessmen and people that could afford to go fishing, whereas going through the 1960s, it became more accessible to a wider variety of people.
"Today, it's people from every walk of life, and there are still public servants. There's a number of members who have young children who are bringing their kids through, and the family aspect is really strong."
The club retains its public service roots while fostering a strong family dynamic.
"The bulk of the members would be from Canberra, but over the years we have attracted members from Victoria, while some members have holiday homes in Bermagui and Batemans Bay," Ms Sillis said.
Despite their inland origins, the club's anglers quickly proved they were anything but amateur, even hosting the Canberra Yellowfin Tuna Tournament out of Bermagui for more than 40 years.
Over the decades, club members have contributed significantly to marine science, tagging and releasing more than 8000 fish since NSW Fisheries implemented a program in 1973.
The club has also built a formidable record on the water with three International Game Fish Association world records, 24 Game Fishing Association of Australia records, and 56 NSW Game Fishing Association records.
Records read like a ledger of monumental ocean battles.
There's Phil Pratt's 578kg black marlin, Roy Davies 180kg striped marlin and Fay Dunkley's 152kg striped marlin, and Gary Cairns' 272kg blue marlin.
But Canberra Game Fishing Club's history might have been lost entirely if not for a rescued box of records.
"The club started doing newsletters in 1978 and someone in their wisdom decided to keep a copy of all those newsletters," Ms Sillis said.
"This box was going to be thrown out, but the president at the time rescued it and it had been sitting in my garage ever since."
Noticing a lack of comprehensive history on the club, Ms Sillis decided to write one herself, diving into deep research, trawling through old newspapers, and interviewing former members.
"I thought it was important to do a book as it's important to keep that history," she said.
Preserving the history in a limited edition book, Ms Sillis has now published Lines In The Water.
They are $40 each (plus postage). To order, email secretary Debra Kemp (deb.kemp@pkis.com.au) or author Judy Sillis (judysillis@bigpond.com).
