Uncle Jaffa's vague wandering Aussie Surf History.

[jaffa1949]

Since I was there as an innocent bystander , I can distill the writings and notes of other Australian surf historians.
I will give credit to my sources and references as I go. If there are links I will include them. Pictures from my collection and friends I will credit too:
Hopefully with the year and other Information. It will be quite a bit of work!
Are you interested ?

Establishing my credentials surfing Dee Why Point when I was 13, 1962.
I had been surfing 4 years.

That board was a 9ft 6inch solid Balsa pig board like this.

The was near the end of my High School Days 1967, a press photo of a good mate and the first Japanese exchange student at our school. The short board Revolution had begun and my 9' 6'' Bennet foarm board shows the first of many cut downs before it finally died.
Note the Greenough fin which could snap if you pushed the power in a bottom turn, = face plant!

Beyond High School the Vietnam Draft was waiting, conscription by lottery , I wasn't called up but did go on to lead a Hippy life for a while on the for north Coast of NSW.
Got to play snakes and ladders ( photo included for OS forumites)

My Intention is to take the history back to 1903 when surf bathing became legal during daylight hours. and come right through to the current era.
It will be an average surfer's take on how it happened around me, I have never been famous nor notorious just thoroughly hooked on surfing.

On board?

[oldmansurfer]

Sounds like a great idea to me

[BaNZ]

What color are those boardshorts? Every time when I look at old surf footage, it is black and white and feels like people are wearing plain white boardshorts lol. I'm guessing there wasn't many surfing brands back in your days?


You look like the hippies that I see in SoCal these days who lives in a campervan and carries a bong wherever they go.

[jaffa1949]

The board shorts were white, those were Platts, they also made corduroy and shorts we could wear to school, flat grey!
The hippy day shot was on a holiday from University, hairy surfer, dope smoking dropout and other names, draft avoiders etc, none of which rang true, but Vietnam war caused a huge rift between young and old , some never recovered.
Vietnam vers were not even accepted for many years sadly and the dropout tag still,sticks to some surfers!

Further about the surf brand, Ripcurl, Quiksilver and Billabong were start up brands from Australia , Hang Ten , Hot Tuna, Katins didn’t appear much but occasional someone who had been to California wore them.

I might post some original ads as historic reference

[BoMan]

Are you interested ?

Hell yeah!

[dtc]

I’m already annoyed the next update isn’t here!

[BaNZ]

The board shorts were white, those were Platts, they also made corduroy and shorts we could wear to school, flat grey!
The hippy day shot was on a holiday from University, hairy surfer, dope smoking dropout and other names, draft avoiders etc, none of which rang true, but Vietnam war caused a huge rift between young and old , some never recovered.
Vietnam vers were not even accepted for many years sadly and the dropout tag still,sticks to some surfers!

Further about the surf brand, Ripcurl, Quiksilver and Billabong were start up brands from Australia , Hang Ten , Hot Tuna, Katins didn’t appear much but occasional someone who had been to California wore them.

I might post some original ads as historic reference

Incredible. I don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing plain white board shorts these days. How time have changed!

The hippy shot was from university days? You looked like you were 30+. I also did not know Australia was involved in the Vietnam war, I thought it was just a US thing.

I did not know hang ten was associated with surfing. It's a very popular brand in Taiwan that is somewhat associated with migrant workers.

Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[jaffa1949]

I’m already annoyed the next update isn’t here!

Tomorrow

[jaffa1949]

For BaNZ 30+ the snake made me do my severe concentration look! 1970 ish that photo at Nimbin the hippy epicentre of Australia.

About wars, briefly Australia was WWI and WWIi before the US, we were in Korean war Malayan war and Vietnam, we are in the various middle east wars, my only political comment is respect to those who served . Vietnam US , Australia NewZealand, South Korea, war talk is often one sided!
Some famous Aussie surf champs disappeared to remote surf breaks around the coast. More about that later.

[Naeco78]

This is awesome thanks Jaffa! Great pictures.. that one with the snake looks like it's straight out of Morning of the Earth. Good stuff! Looking forward to reading more

[jaffa1949]

Deep beginnings before Jaffa was around
Australia became a country independent as opposed to being a colony of Great Britain on January 1 1901. Very white and very English in attitude and behaviours.
It is probable that the Australian Aboriginal who had occupied Australia for at least 50,000 years as 200 or more nation groups may have had swimming and body surfing as part of their culture among the coastal groups!
Surf bathing was not allowed during daylight hours until a newspaper editor defied the law and went bathing in 1903 at Manly.
Australia had indentured labour from kidnaped Pacific islanders ( read polite name for virtual slavery) one labourer from Tanna island in the group of Islands now Vanuatu , by the name of Tommy Tanna taught surf swimmers to swim both freestyle and body surf!
Surfing had come to Australia .
Enough drowning occurred that something had to be done so in1907 Surf Life Saving clubs were formed, there is some argument as to which club was the first!
The clubs fostered great swimmers and water men good enough to compete and win at the Olympics.
This is where the friendships formed internationally brought Surfboard riding to Australia.
Next episode

[jaffa1949]

This is awesome thanks Jaffa! Great pictures.. that one with the snake looks like it's straight out of Morning of the Earth. Good stuff! Looking forward to reading more

Was in the MOTE time frame which certainly inspired my love affair with Indonesia and other island.
Research topic for all of you look up Peter Troy, his story is something to be marvelled at.
“To the four Corners of the World by Peter Troy” from Drifter Surf.
You can also look at “Stoked’ by Bob McTavish but that part of history comes a little later.

[BaNZ]

I could not believe surf bathing was illegal so I had to do some reading up.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newsl ... cbe05d7097

I knew very little on how Australians managed to turn itself into a great civilized country. Ever since I can remember, we were taught that Australia is the land of criminals and that's where we dump all the bad people.

I guess Mad Max cannot be real?

[jaffa1949]

Britain stopped shipping convicts to,Australia in 1868, freesettler came both for land and for gold, the State of Victoria was once the richest gold area in the world, early settlers came from everywhere including China for the gold!
Because surfing bathing was illegal,you could see how easily you could become a convict!
In 1914 just prior to WWI The great Hawaiian surferand Olympic swimming gold Medalist Duke Kahanamoku came to Australia and demonstrated surf riding on a board he shaped himself out of sugar pine, he surfed himself then took Isabel Letham as a tandem surfer.


This and the following items come from Surf Research and have the sources attached

There was to be an exchange journey of Sydney Surfers/ lifesaver but WWI intervened.
But the surfing bug had bit!

[Oldie]

Jaffa this is super. That Hippy picture is a nice contrast to your Austrian Trachten

[jaffa1949]

I came across an interesting post in the Real Surf forum that addresses all the research in Surfresearch about possible bias, it is worth sharing as it does point to preEuropean surf culture in the Aboriginal tribes around Sydney and north to e central coast of NSW.
Hey SURF RESEARCH how about you apply your Anglophilic focus to surfing by our Sydney region Guring-gai and Darawhal Kooris.
I know you find this unpallatable.
Hint; Start with Kayee mai Gal clan (Manly) at Bombora (place where waves Thunder) maybe quote a credible witness, say an Officer of His Majesty"s Navy or two (Easily found just look).
Also consider Marou-Bora and Wamberal (Wam-Bora) by Tarra Gal clan.
Dont be shy now ...you can apply your Menzies era view of the world to some real surfresearch.
- moondoggie, posted on Realsurf.com Forums, Friday Jun 01, 2012.

Many Aboriginal words survive as place names although anglicised, so respect and recognition to the elders of coastal country.
a couple of translations Kooris is an aboriginal peoples’ name in NSW , other names were applied to the people in other areas, district and clan names were different again, but the the Anglicised names in order Kuringai,Maroubra, Wamberal and Terrigal.

So Aboriginal surfing history is researchable
John Ogden has written two books on the Saltwater People both north and south of Sydney.

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes is a history of the colonisation and convict settlement of New South Wales ( Botany Bay ) as Australia was known then.

Interesting but confronting reading!

[jaffa1949]

Now the time when men were men and trees were frightened.

Between WWI AND WWII surf clubs were found at the beaches near most sizeable towns around the coast of Australia, some coast villages too.
Local fishermen often provided a boat and a boat crew for rescues and a surf reel and belt was used for swimming rescue, with a rocker stretcher and later the Holger Nielsen method resuscitation was used.

The Surf Life Saving Clubs Of Australia SLSCA, were strict almost paramilitary in training and requirements of behaviour and members had to do regular patrols of their beach. Strong skills at swimming and body surfing were required
Many many casual beach swimmers owe their lives to the lifesavers !

Why were trees frightened?
Copies of Duke Kanamoku’s board began to be made, solid at first and then hollow plywood and lacquered timber.so lots of new timber going to make boards.

These were a style of Painting on glass placards outside pubs in beach side suburbs, even when I was growing up from 1949.
They are in collections of museum art around Australia if they survived modernising old pubs.
Football, surf clubs and drinking were an integral part of many men’s culture until recently.

[jaffa1949]

Just a thought , if my history prompts questions I will try to answer them briefly about peripheral stuff and more about surfing stuff!

Meanwhile back at the river wave.

[jaffa1949]

Frightening trees Part 2.
What Duke Kahanamoku, his Brothers and Friends were riding

note the Author of the Photograph.
Boards are all solid and ideal for the waves from Castles all the way through to Waikiki.
Visit online the Bishop Museum in Honolulu

Tom Blake pioneered fins and hollow Frame and Wood veneer paddle boards on which he von many paddle races.

The two boards on the right of the picture were likely to be follow and their shapes probably inspired the shapes of Australian surf skis at this time.
The Popular Mechanics Magazine also featured do it yourself surf board building and the result or similar looked like this in Backyards around Australia. This where and when many of the early Surfboard companies started out Solid, hollow, Balsa, Foam.

With the rounded nose you can see the Drainage bung hole , often plugged with a Whisky bottle cork also the internal framing

Often there was a stainless steel handle at the real of the board , the non duckdiveable non turtle rollable board was pushed through waves by diving off the back and launching the board skyward in the hope of clearing the wave .
Other alternative was grip and hang on like hell while you got bounced all over.

You had to a serious waterman to be out there with this equipment.
You could paddle sitting Standing or kneepaddle without a paddle then you could ride seated or standing

[IanCaio]

Enjoying the historical reading, thanks for sharing Jaffa! Very awesome picture of you taming that snake!

I wonder if wooden boards used to last a bit longer than our foam+resin boards. I imagine it dinged less often but once it did it was much harder to recover it right?