Maurice Barry was a prominent businessman in Brisbane. He obviously supported sport in a generous manner, as his name is associated with football, athletics, swimming and lifesaving. He became a prominent politician and his name appears on the plaque commemorating the opening of the Valley Pool in 1925...as the Mayor of Brisbane at that time of laying the Foundation stone. By the time the Valley Pool opened almost 12 months later, he'd been defeated by the man who opened the pool...William Jolly, after whom the Grey St bridge was later named. Barry Parade reminds us of Maurice, my partner Frances Paterson's maternal grandfather.)
The Barry Cup was a competition embracing a variety of events, and the participants ranged across ages which included school children and their school teams; Brisbane swimming and lifesaving clubs based at various baths around Brisbane as existed at that time; and outlying clubs such as the Bli Bli club which was holding its club activity in 1916 in the area around Dean's boat shed on Petrie Creek.
The provision of 'lifeguards' (to use a modern term...as the 1916 personnel were similarly paid for their service), resulted through the RLSSQ obtaining a couple of skilled personnel from these various Brisbane clubs to spend their Xmas or Easter break at the beaches which were being accessed at that time, but which did not have any established lifesaving club at the beach (eg the Mowbray Park swimming and lifesaving club based in the tidal baths at East Brisbane provided personnel for Burleigh Heads).
Whilst the Surf Life Saving from NSW was established at Coolangatta by that time, RLSSQ had designs on controlling all the beaches of Queensland from Tallebudgerra Creek north. This 'conflict of interest' was to cause much heartache to these organisations over many years until a National Surf Life Saving Association was formed in 1949.
