#12 The Burnie Bobblers and Collective Effervescence

Podcast creators Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour visit the Tasmanian north-west coastal town of Burnie and take a Sunday morning dip with the Burnie Sunrise ocean swim club. They're a creative, inspiring, courageous, brave and fun-loving ocean group who 'bobble' and swim. This tribe formed in early 2025, but already it's drawn a big, local following. Local GP, Dr Anastasiia Nikitina (Messieh), set the group up and now swims most days, and on weekends brings her famous home-made ginger tea to share. Anastasiia also introduces us to the concept of "collective effervescence". Teeny Brumby talks about her introduction to swimming with the group, and how she managed to get the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, to wetsuit up and join the group for an autumn swim. We also hear from Vas Harris. Vas sold her family home after her husband died in 2024 and decided to move back to the mainland. But the plans were binned after joining the Burnie Bobblers. This episode neatly captures what makes community swim groups so special; the connections, courage, conversations and fun.Features:Dr Anastasiia Nikitina (Messieh) - founder of the Burnie sunrise ocean swim club.Teeny Brumby - swimmer and Burnie City Council mayor.Vas Harris - swimmer and amateur photographer VasHarris https://www.instagram.com/vasharris?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=Z3VwM2MxdXp0bXk5