Beaches of the New South Wales Coast A Guide to Their Nature, Characteristics, Surf and Safety

358 pages, 167 original figures, including 18 photographs; glossary, general index, beach index, surf index. This book provides the first description of all NSW ocean beaches. It is based on the results of the NSW section of the Australian Beach Safety and Management Program.It has two aims, first to provide the public with general information on the origin and nature of NSW beaches including the contribution of geology, oceanography, climate and biota to the beaches, together with information on beach hazards and beach safety.Second, to provide a description of each beach emphasising its physical characteristics including its name/s, location, access, facilities, dimensions and the character of the beach and surf zone. In particular it comments on the suitability of the beach for swimming, surfing and fishing, with special emphasis on the natural hazards.Based on the physical hazards all beaches are rated in terms of their public beach safety and scaled accordingly from 1 (safest) to 10 (least safe).This book will be revised in 2006.