photo courtesy Dawn and Jack Eden
Another day, another discovery…this time in an old clippings file, brimming with loose ends, photographs, letters and press cuttings on the adventures of Manly surfer (snow skier and anglerman) Peter Clare covering the 50s, 60s and 70s. The photo shows a clever example of roadside signage promoting Sydney’s first ever so-called Surf Board Rally, held at Long Reef in the middle of 1958. Nat Young’s History of Surfing contained a similar photo (page 89) sourced from Snowy McAlister, but here’s an original print in perfect condition. Peter Clare grabbed one of the 3 or 4 malibus unloaded by visiting Americans in 1956 after their whirlwind aussie tours and boardriding demos that kicked off modern surfing. Jack Eden reckons he was a fine and gifted surfer although recalls him getting into a bit of trouble in Hawaii in the early 1960s, where it appears he set up a fishing charter business.