1960-1964

OVERVIEW | PHOTOGRAPHS

Loading Images

Dillon malibu Scott Dillon Surfboards, Brookvale, 1960, foam, fibreglass, resin, timber stringer, reverse ‘D’ fin++

Women’s bikini Catalina by Kayser, US, c1960 Courtesy Kate Bruxner++

Jazz for beachniks vol 2 The Australian All Stars, Columbia, 1962 Courtesy Anne-Louise Falson. <br>Cover photograph © Estate of Ron Falson. Cover design © Sony Music Entertainment Pty Ltd ++

Scuba-diving wetsuit with ‘beaver tail’ Early 1960s Courtesy Geoff Cater++

Surfing World Edited by Bob Evans, Sydney, vol 1, no 1, September 1962 Private collection++

Ron malibu Surfboards by Ron, Belmore, 1963, foam, fibreglass, resin, timber stringer, wooden fin++

Women’s playsuit 1950–60 Manly Art Gallery & Museum++

Jackson malibu Jackson Surfboards, Caringbah, 1963, foam, fibreglass, resin, timber stringer++

Surf City cloth patch Early 1960s Mick Mock Collection++

Bennett malibu Barry Bennett Surfboards, Brookvale, 1964, foam, fibreglass, resin, timber stringers++

Men’s sunhat & Speedo Australia leisure shirt, early 1960s.<br/> Courtesy Manly Art Gallery & Museum and Naomi Barwick ++

Woods malibu Gordon Woods Surfboards, Brookvale, c1964, foam, fibreglass, resin, triple timber stringers<br> Courtesy Pete Shiel++

[ text version ]

Taking hold

Surf mania took hold after 1960 and the new decade saw Sydney claim surf culture for its own. Tabloids brimmed with stories of bikinied surfer girls, bottle-blonde beach bums and ‘surfie–rocker’ wars. Big wave bomboras and point breaks were ‘king’, but nowhere near as ‘gas’ as local stomps and the primal thud of surf music.
Following their American rivals, local surfers became entrepreneurs, producing Sydney’s first dedicated surf magazines and movies, and becoming the voice of the surfing community. Mandatory board registration was introduced in 1960, angering surfers and leading to ongoing hostilities on the beach.