Surf City, Sydney

Don’t forget to dig up info on the inaugural Bobby Brown Memorial held at Sandshoes in 1968 and won by Midget. Here’s a photo of the formidable Sharks (formed 1978) lifted from outdoor interp panels recently installed on the south Cronulla boardwalk.

Here’s a line-up of shiny new balsa chips, photographed at Manly by John Tanner in 1958. None of these boards could’ve been much more than a year old. There’s even what looks like a pinline railed hollow ply ockanui on the end. Would be nice to identify the young woman un-nerving the lads at Manly.

image from National Archives Of Australia, via online Dictionary of Sydney

Thanks to Ray Moran at the South Steyne Lifesavers Club and the Manly Daily for this great slideshow…

image from South Steyne SLSA picture archives

In 1974, the sloppy joe, with full length front panel surf graphic and contrasting sleeves, tied around the waist or tucked into a pair of grey levi cords, was de rigeur. I owned one with a slightly distorted purple duotone of a guy about to get killed on an insane take off at Waimea.

Wish I had’ve kept it…will be looking out for more treasures like this…

A good example of the ‘standard’  egg-shaped popout, produced in large quantities by Shane from around 1970.

Photo of Shane Standard taken at the Bondi Single Fin meet Nov 2009

Get a grip on that tumescent triple stringer and gird those cashed up, superannuated boomer loins. This ain’t no beer, its an elixir of youth – all over again. Here’s to endless summers, uncrowded breaks, boyish dreams, nimble joints and dependable erections… cheers!

Longboard beer poster at the Watsons Bay Hotel.

Pop art, counterculture, beach pollution, unionism and the evil foreign menace are equally troublesome in this bleak 1971 cartoon originally published (so far undated) in the Australian newspaper.

‘This is the Dawning’ by Collete, from Stop Laughing this is Serious

The cartoon was spotted at Rozelle Markets in Jonathan King’s Stop Laughing this is Serious! a social history of Australia in cartoons, 1980.

Met Damion Fuller of Deus Ex Machina today and discussed angles, themes and options. Damion suggested the show might consider how surfing, surf culture and a love affair with the beach has given Sydney a distinctive social identity.

Crowd surfing from Sydney’s Big Day Out website

Certainly surfing has transformed culture in numerous ways, influencing fashion, advertising, literature, music, bands and to some extent a particular way of thinking about and carrying ourselves – typified in a kind of laconic individualism, self mockery, informality and iconoclasm.

Tony Edwards’ Goodvibes image from the amazing miles ago web site

Damion Fuller also runs the great Board Collector web site.

Here’s a twist on the early 60s board bans and clubbie/surfer biffo. Interesting article in today’s herald about signs put up by Manly council aimed to curb aggression and wise up hodads.

Herald image from this article

Hoping to hear three quarters of the original Sydney surf band the Atlantics at the Basement next week.

image from http://www.milesago.com/artists/atlantics.htm

Their big hit Bombora went berzerk in 1963. Read more about them here.