Starbucks Australia (2024) mug: Been There Series
This Australia mug from Starbucks' Been There Series writes AUSTRALIA in dark red capitals above Bondi Beach and Bells Beach lettering, a spotted shark, a Shipstern Bluff wave, a red van with a surfboard and a sun.
- Series
- Been There Series
- Place
- Australia
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- Not confirmed
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The wrestler who cut a track to Bells Beach
In 1960 Joe Sweeney, an ex-Olympic wrestler and Torquay Surf Lifesaving Club member, organised the building of an access track to Bells Beach [1]. Until then the roads were winding sand tracks, impossible for the heavy cars and long boards of the day [2]. Club members had already carved a rough track along the cliffs on their motorcycles in the 1950s [3]. According to the Torquay historical society, Sweeney hired a bulldozer and extended it to the beach [4]. The first contest was meant for late 1961 and slipped to the Australia Day weekend of 1962 [5]. Sweeney was not done. He later made the Bells trophy himself, and kept making it every year until his death in 2015 [6]. The beach was named long before any of this, for William Bell, a Geelong grocer, councillor and mayor [7]. The cliff and beach lettered Bells Beach on the Australia mug (4) may be that stretch of coast.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
AUSTRALIA in dark red capitals with a dotted texture across the top.
- 2Bondi Beach
A striped deck chair and the lettering Bondi Beach sit at the left.
- 3Spotted shark
A long shark with a spotted back swims across the middle.
- 4Bells Beach
A yellow cliff and beach carry the lettering Bells Beach at the right.
- 5Shipstern Bluff wave
A large pink wave is lettered Shipstern Bluff beneath it.
- 6Red van
A red van with a yellow surfboard on its roof sits at the lower right.
- 7Sun
A yellow sun with rays sits beside the handle.
- 8Coffee cup
A white to-go cup with a dark green circle sits at the lower left.
The photo shows the front only. The back, the opposite side and the underside are out of view.
Collector notes
- This is the red Australia mug with named surf spots written on it: Bondi Beach, Bells Beach and Shipstern Bluff. Our checklist also has a green Australia Been There mug with a koala and kangaroo.
- A white to-go cup with a green circle is drawn at the lower left of the front.
Before you buy
The photo shows the front only, so the back, the other side and the underside are not visible. This is the red Australia mug lettered Bondi Beach, Bells Beach and Shipstern Bluff. Our checklist also lists a green Australia Been There mug with a koala and a kangaroo.
Sources
- Victorian Heritage Database: Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve
- Victorian Heritage Database: Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve
- Torquay & District Historical Society: Bells Beach
- Torquay & District Historical Society: Bells Beach
- Victorian Heritage Database: Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve
- Torquay & District Historical Society: Bells Beach
- Torquay & District Historical Society: Bells Beach
