Surf City, Sydney

Sydney surfer Rick Collins sent in this 1968 photo of his MGB with a nifty set of bespoke board racks, on a road trip somewhere out of town, taken by his girlfriend. Photo courtesy Rick Collins

I took the opportunity to ask Rick a few questions about his inspired invention…

Cool pic and great idea – I’m wondering what kind of niche market would there have been for surfers with MGs in those days…?

Carrying a board was a real problem if you wanted to take a passenger.

Can you tell me a few things about them like – where did you make them, or have them made?

The board racks are home made – just needed a tube bender, some welding & some tubing. Looking back on it they were knocked up pretty quickly and were not really that well made however they did the job. They would definitely not have passed a RTA roadworthy inspection. They were fairly secure and could travel at speed however were not quite so secure with the hood up.

The board looks like 66/67 vintage, was it yours and if so what was it…?

It was an older board that I bought secondhand. I did not know how old it was or what type it was. Back in those days as long as it did the job, I would not have asked too many questions.

Where was this pic taken and was it taken for promo purposes or just a random photo…?

Not exactly sure where it was taken however I am pretty sure it was near one of the beaches along the South Coast. It was just a random photo taken at the time.

Who took the photo?

It was taken by my girlfriend Novello (who became my wife – and still is my wife).

It looks like you’ve got a trailer hooked up. Where were you off to…?

Surfing the South Coast. It was an interesting trailer for carrying around all the surf gear etc.. It was fully sheet metal covered all over with no windows and two lockable back doors. It was about 2m long, 1.5m wide & about 1.4m high inside. We could half stand up inside. It used to belong to a baker who used it as a spare on his bread run. He had it custom made. It must have looked really ridiculous being towed by the MGB however back then, at that age, that did not matter.

Where was your surfing base in Sydney…?

The Northern beaches mostly between Mona Vale and Palm Beach depending on the surf, conditions etc..

Would it be OK for us to post your photo on our blog and use it in the exhibition…?

No problem – glad someone can enjoy it. Nobody has looked at it for probably over 40 years. I am just pleased that I was able to find it after reading about your exhibition.