There were many fundamental changes that occurred in the 1960's. Everyone in Western society at least, would have been affected by at least one of them even, if unassumed by an individual. The brink of nuclear war( Bay of Pigs Cuba), ramping up the war in Vietnam and South East Asia, The Cold War, the race to the moon, the beginnings of the change in societal norms for women as far as equal opportunity and paid employment, an ease in access and convenience of contraception, new fashions, wildly new music, the wider acceptance of recreational drug use, and the popularisation of surfing and later skateboarding as new technologies provided the means to the end.
I could not tell you how I got smitten with the surfing bug. The Beach Boys had nothing to do with it but my local library and Midget Farrelly did. Midget ,who was not one, was the essence of humble cool. A bronzed Aussie surf star who had the moves of a panther, if panthers liked water! He was a beauty to withhold and was always so fluid in his surfing moves. Nothing like some of the jerk masters on short boards you see today. You get worn out just watching some of them. Midget was pure style.
I read anything I could find on surfing and one day I had a nine foot six inch aircraft carrier in my possession. By modern standards you could have had a crew of four on board but the good thing about these old boards, you could just about catch any wave you wanted and with plenty of time to get upright and balanced before the wave you were riding had other options for you. Pearling...too far forward and the nose dived into the water ahead and you flew way forward over the front, hopefully not hitting the board as it rose out of the surf. Too far back and the brakes went on and maybe you slipped and got the full force of the board between your legs...ouch!!!Never think surfing is without its hazards.
I would have been about 11 or 12 years old and as I obviously could not drive, my mate and I would trudge down to the local waveless beach and paddle around, getting fast enough to be able to stand and ride albeit for a short space of time on the flat water of Karaka Bay. Now that might not seem impressive but when you consider the board weighed somewhere around 14kg and the beach was 2 kilometres from home....and we had fun, sometimes for hours. In the weekend if I was lucky we might head out to a beach with surf for the day. Mum was always keen for Sunday to be a family day. Orewa and Karakare on the west coast of Auckland were standard haunts with Muriwai a choice on occassion. In those days you could drive onto the beach at Orewa and Muriwai after carefully checking the tide. You could too at Karekare but we never risked our car there.
Surfing at Orewa. I look about 12 years old. No surf reports available in those days so you made the best of what you had which in some cases was not much. This board was a foam fibreglass board with a wooden stringer through the centre. It possessed one large solid fixed skeg or fin at the back, and a rounded tail. A good general board.
Muriwai. Full sun exposure, no wetsuit or rash suit.
Getting ready to head off from home in Glendowie. No green paddocks in the background now.
I would surf any where and any time. This is Ohope near Whakatane. Weather was never an issue and a good storm would always provide some waves! I am 14 years old or so here. My board is now an 8ft 6 inch "short board". Wayne Parkes, a famous New Zealand surfer, had designed the board, fibreglass over foam, no stringer with an adjustable and removable fin. New means of manufacture meant the board was much lighter than before and way more manouverable on the waves but still with enough buoyancy for a big fella like me and still not too hard to catch waves.
A rare time at Piha. Always too busy and crowded in the waves; not my style! The pants I am wearing are cut down cotton navy issue which I have then dyed yellow. They were just heavy when wet but boardies were still yet to come. And still not leg rope. If you lost your board, you had to swim to get it!
Pakiri Beach East Coast, north of Auckland. A bit of a mission to get there in those days but good waves generally as the beach was one of the first on the east coast to fall outside the shadow of the Coromandel Peninsula. I appreciate whatever photographs I have of this time but Dad did not want his camera to be damaged by the wind and waves so most shots are at a distance.
Another day at Pakiri with my brother and Mum. Mum would have ensured we had a good feed whilst we were there.
Tokerau Beach, Doubtless Bay, Northland. My first encounter with a shark whilst out the back which I think in hindsight was a dolphin. You do not argue with a fin. And my first neck / head injury after crashing out of a wave and hitting the bottom on my head. Saw stars but obviously survived.
Kelburn, Wellington. Reglassing my old board that was starting to show it's wear and tear.
This is in the Wairarapa near Wellington. Things of note in the photo are the company car, old style roof racks and the board is now a 7ft 6 in board with hard rails and two air channels built into the base so as to collect air and make the ride faster. The tail was pointed and the board was very light. It flew! It had a detachable fin if you could be bothered and finally a leg rope!
Heading out in Wellington. Full steamer suit with gloves and booties. Should really have had a hood as the currents that swept into Wellington were from the Antarctic and were damn cold. I think every time I surfed in Wellington which was very often, I suffered from hypothermia as I always stayed out way longer than I should hoping for one more wave.
I had a scab on my left knee that lasted for over two years...almost healing then bleeding after a surf as you whacked your knee into the board as you were standing handily removing the healing cap over the wound.
Whilst living in Auckland, I surfed all the way up the East Coast, the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, through to Gisborne. On the West Coast, Kariotahi, Karekare, Piha and Muriwai. I also lived in Wellington where the proximity to waves was so much better and there was always a wave. I surfed most days and developed my strength and ability. I was a travelling salesman at the time and used my time to get the business as required but also to get plenty of time to surf the far off places; the Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay , Mahia Peninsula, all the way again to Gisborne. On the west coast, Titahi Bay, all the way through to the wonderful Taranaki. Staying in New Plymouth, I even managed to still be out at 10pm one night with the light from the burning gas pipe at Ngamoto giving me enough light to navigate. Oh some beautiful memories.
I called this section "Chasing the Dream." It was a dream being able to surf some amazing places generally with no one else around. Feeling the awesome swells pulsing under you as you sat waiting for a rideable wave. Trying not to think about what might be eyeing your dangling feet from below. Sitting at Lyall Bay in Wellington with the jets coming in and out of the airport, the offshore wind standing the waves up high and blowing the spray over you so as they passed breaking, you were left in a deluge of "rain". Taking off at Houghton's Bay, heading for the rocks and hoping you could successfully turn to avoid being pummeled on the jagged rocks. So many rich times. Sitting out at the Mount watching the myriad of stingray beneath you in the clear waters. On a surf trip to Gisborne and munching on a Sydney Flat loaf of bread with a pint of milk. for dinner..the days intake. Surfing the Mount the day before the Nationals with the TV crews practicing for the big day on us. However, we never made the news!
But it had to end. When you have a family and they don't surf, it is pretty selfish I thought to disappear for hours on end to chase a personal passion. And there it is.
