Surf City, Sydney

Surfboard with Windansea club livery in movie grab from Bill Moseley’s 1960s Bondi footage, courtesy Marilyn Moseley

The Sydney ‘branch’ of the famous Californian ‘Windansea’ board riding club was originally stacked with Bondi surfers, although its membership (by invitation only) of around 60 top riders, at the time this image was taken, included rising stars from all over the place. Like in California, the Sydney Windansea club was set up to win competitions, by handpicking its members and instilling club loyalty. The challenge of keeping this kind of club afloat, according to vice president Robert Conneely in a Surfing World interview (Nov 1965), is getting the mix right and setting common goals… ‘All of these radical guys are moulded together to form one strong body and they do make a lot of sacrifices for the club, but we don’t try to regiment them – they always remain individuals’.

The Surfing World, November 1965, courtesy Steve Abbott collection

Photo of David Bell, on a trip out of town back in 1976, courtesy David Bell.

Eastwood surfer David Bell in 1976 with his Ron Wade rounded pintail, that was, according to David, a pretty lousy ride. At this time, a typical beach day for him and his mates started at the crack of dawn with a bus and train trip to Circular Quay, gunning for the 7.30am Manly ferry, crossing the harbour with a high spirited pack of board carrying ‘westies’, before shuffling up the corso past sneering locals, along the beach and over the headland to Freshwater, where ‘there was usually a group of girls we were keen on’. A day’s surf at Freshie could also involve a quick hike over to Manly and back for an unbeatable pie. Obviously cars changed everything in the next year or so, with hunts for a wave stretching north as far as Narrabeen. Still surfing today, David and his 3 boys live less than 50 metres from the sand at Queenscliff. Take that you sneering locals…

Mid 60s photo of Newport teenager Dorothy De Rooy, doing it, somewhere in Sydney, courtesy Dorothy Vidgen

Absolute pleasure to meet Dorothy Vidgen (formerly De Rooy) and Marilyn Birmingham at Newport today. Both were passionate board riders, totally involved in the mid 60s surfing world. While they were lucky enough to kick around their home breaks of Long Reef and Collaroy with a tight group of accepting and respected surfers, they also recalled a broader hostility towards women board riders and regarded themselves as pioneers. Even today Dorothy cringes at the way photographers favoured shots of her leaving the surf rather than ripping across the face of a wave. ‘You know’, she says, ‘I just loved surfing so much…’

Sourced in CJ “Snowy” McAlister’s photo album, courtesy Surfworld, Torquay

Here’s a couple of deadset surfer girls – Tanya Binning and Phyllis O’Donnell – posing for the great Sydney solid-board surfer and toothpick veteran ‘Snowy’ McAlister on an unknown beach in the mid 1960s. Not long after this, Binning graduated from a competitive teenage surf rat to a series of minor movie acting roles in London and New Zealand. O’Donnell’s ‘just do it’ approach to surfing, both before and after her world title victory in 1964, has continued to inspire generations of women to defy the odds and take up the sport. Huge thanks to Craig Baird of Surfworld, Torquay, for letting us check out this album.

Can’t wait for the re-release of this great surf-doc, complete with deadpan narration, smoking soundtrack and on-the-money content.

Photo courtesy Stephen McParland

Here’s Concord surfer, surveyor and board builder Stephen McParland at work on what he reckons would have been a reject* blank from Dions, at Quintessance Surfboards, Cabarita, around 1974. Somehow Stephen found time to tape record bands, film mountains of surfing action, in between making boards, getting married, keeping ahead, to pull together the most staggering archive (and knowledge) of surf music and film in the known universe. Glenn A Baker reckons his contribution to music history and culture, mainly in print, is ‘titanic’. His output of books and reference works is mighty impressive- check em out here.

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.

Poster courtesy Barry Magoo McGuigan

Here’s a rare one…Back in 1963, Hawaiian pro wrestler and Sunset Beach local Val Valentine brought this surf movie to Sydney, backed by local Freshwater stirrer Lester Brien, among others. Cigar smoking Valentine screened the movie around town before big crowds, adding a wide angle lens for large auditoriums like the Rose Bay Wintergarden and narrating live commentary over music played from a reel to reel. The movie included local stars in action on the Hawaiian ‘northside’ such as Dave Jackman, Mick McMahon and Tank Henry. (info sourced in Albie Thoms Surfmovies 2000)

A stash of surf mags, private collection

Every so often, whilst sifting through the leaf litter of surf culture, blown up in surprising corners of the garden, the numbers align and good things happen. Here’s a pile of pre-loved mags, hot from California in 1961, uncovered by chance recently on Sydney’s northern beaches. Severson’s Surfer lit the flame, inspiring the short-lived copy-cat Australian Surfer in 1962, along with his movies, the hoaky teen flick Gidget and the eventual mastery of foam and resin by local guys like McDonagh, Bennett and Woods. Pretty soon the whole thing was ablaze and surfing went from an underground cult to a big time scene. For me, its kind of like gold at the beginning of a rainbow.

photo of Graham Beatson and Donald Griggs 1963, courtesy Graham Beatson

Here’s Graham Beatson from Hurstville (left) and his mate Donald Griggs from Penshurst, joint owners of a flashy new 9’3″ Ron Surfboard in 1963. The Sydney teenagers were keen Cronulla surfers although, as you can see from their pompadors, the boys were equally hip to the rock and roll scene, along with, as Graham tells me, a spot of ball room dancing. There goes the so-called tribal boundaries between rockers and surfers of the early 1960s. Graham’s kept the receipt from the time he collected the board showing it cost the guys 34 pounds. Ron Surfboards were based in Belmore, back from the coast and, not surprisingly, were popular with kids from the western suburbs. Look out for Graham’s board in the exhibition.