Surfboards of the ’60s

In the early 60s Malibu surfboards constructed of balsa or fibreglass/polyurethane foam were the weapons of choice.

At this time, there was no balsa or fibreglass surfboard business in WA and most of the Malibu boards were imported from Gordon Woods and Barry Bennett Surfboards in NSW. Some keen WA surfers made balsa or polystyrene foam (coolite) boards in their backyards.

Jim Keenan: “My first Malibu board was a Gordon Woods balsa with a centre stringer for added strength. Balsa was imported from South America and was expensive to say the least. My board if I remember right cost about 30 quid and represented approximately five weeks salary. On a relative scale that would put a new board at approximately $10,000.
I well remember the Californian lifeguards performing at Torquay and Sydney in 1956. They certainly created surfing history with the introduction of Malibu surfboards into Australia.
We were so isolated in those early days, as the ‘septics’ had been riding Mals way back in the forties. Those bloody Gidget movies stuffed up surfing because it revealed the lifestyle and as a consequence a greater participation.”

*1961-62 Unknown and Kevin Ager (age 13) with **hollow ply boards** at Leighton Beach. Photo Kevin Ager.*

1961 North End Board Club members with balsa and imported/home-made fibreglass Malibu surfboards at Scarborough. Murray Smith pic.
L-R Peter Longley, Jim Mackenzie, Jim Breadsell, W Smith, Geoff Culmsee, B Sales and B Hunt.

In 1962 Brian Cole and Barry ‘Joe’ King started King & Cole Surfboards in Roydhouse Street Wembley and commenced making the first fiberglass Malibu surfboards to cater for the local market.

Brian Cole: “We used Bennett blanks and at that time Bennett Surfboards were experimenting with coloured foam. They blew foam with different colours and some of their surf boards had dual colour foam. Previously most fibreglass boards were coloured white to cover the discolouring in the foam.”

*Early 1960s Rob Malcolm’s first **fibreglass pig board** (manufacturer unknown) in backyard Cottesloe. Photo Rob Malcolm*.

1962 King & Cole surfboard shop in Wembley. Brian Cole pic.
L-R Artie Shaw and Brian Cole holding King & Cole Malibu boards. The King & Cole shop sign was painted by surfing sign writer Ray Geary.

Later in 1962 Dibben & Cole (Claremont & North Freo), Cordingley Bros (Mosman Park & Subiaco) and other surfboard manufacturers followed King & Cole and started manufacturing fibreglass surfboards in WA.

Early 1960s Dibben Cole Surfboards North Fremantle.
**Left:** 1962 Leon Cole, Dave Ellis, Julian Mazzetti and Len Dibben. Len Dibben pic.
**Right:** 1964 Ian Barsden with Dibben Cole surfboard on down south surf trip. Arthur Sherburn pic.

Early 1960s surfboard shapes.
**Left:** 1964 Ash Jones and Theo Mathews with repaired Malibu surfboard at Mosman Park. Theo Mathews pic
**Right:** 1962 Norm Kitson of Floreat with his Peter Docherty designed 9 ft 10” balsa board. Norm Kitson pic.

1960s Len Dibben Surfboards North Fremantle.
**Left:** 1960s Len Dibben with Malibu surfboards at his North Freo shop. Len Dibben pic.
**Right:** 1965 State Women’s Champion Teena Christon with her Len Dibben Surfboard at Miami. Photo courtesy of Teena Christon.

*1962 Cordingley’s surfboards factory Hay St Subiaco. Dave Ellis working in gloss room. Dave Ellis pic.*

*1964 Rex Cordingley shaping Malibu boards in Cordingley’s surf factory Hay St Subiaco. Jennie Cordingley pic*

Murray Smith. “Scarborough surfer Wes Day imported McDonaugh Surfboards from Brookvale NSW into WA in the 60s. l rode McDonagh Surfboards from 1961 until I started shaping at Hawkes (Osborne Park) in 1967. Same time as Greg Laurenson started shaping at Cords (Subiaco).“

*Aug1965 State Winter Championship winners Murray Smith, Jenny Shackley & Dig Deghelli with **McDonagh** **Surfboards** (NSW) from agent Wes Day at Scarborough. Photographer unknown.*

Ian ‘Mitch’ Mitchell: “In 1966 at age 14, I got my first ever surfboard. It was an 8’11” Cordingley from 329 Hay Street Subiaco and cost $88. I was concerned it was too short and would spin out. My Cottesloe surfing mate Phil Taylor had a 9ft surfboard.“

*1966 Ian ‘Mitch’ Mitchell with new 8’11” **Cordingley** **Surfboard** in his Cottesloe backyard. Photo Ian Mitchell*

In 1967 you could purchase a new custom surfboard with surfboard insurance from an established manufacturer for approx. $100.

*1967 Receipt for new Cordingley Surfboard. Image courtesy of Craig Henfry.*

During the 60s foam blanks used in surfboard production changed from triple red wood stringers to stringer-less models. Stringer-less blanks reduced the weight of surfboards but also made the board more susceptible to breakage in the waves. Improvements in the quality of foam blanks along with balsa and fibreglass stringers were light weight solutions to strengthen the boards again.

1966-67 Surfboards Bruce and Ross 1 — 1966-67 Cordingley’s surfboards with and without stringers.
**Left:** Bruce King (age 17) in Subiaco with his triple red wood stringer Cordingley’s surfboard. King family pic.
**Right:** Ross Utting (age 15) in Floreat with new 8’10” stringer-less Cordingley’s surfboard. Utting family pic.

*1967 **West Coast Surfboards** owner/shaper Bob Gairdner with light weight West Coast board in his parent’s backyard Hollywood WA. Photo Mick Layzell.*

1960s **Hawke Surfboards** Osborne Park.
**Left:** 1967 Gary Greirson (age 17) with his FC Holden and 11ft Hawke Surfboard at Melville. Gary Greirson pic.
**Right:** 1968 Hawke paisley surfboard pic courtesy of Henry Marfleet collection UK.

1968 Jacko Surfboards Rivervale.
**Left:** 1968 Jacko Surf Team at Cottesloe Beach. Rod Taylor pic.
L-R John Jakovich, Ian Cairns and Arty Sherburn
**Right:** 1968 Jacko Surfboards decal. Tom Collins pic.

In 1968 former World Champion Midget Farrelly (NSW) competed on a short rounded pin surfboard in an Invitational Event at Yallingup. This was the point where surfboard design changed in WA to shorter boards and Malibu’s became unfashionable until their revival in the mid 80s.

*1968 Midget Farrelly (NSW) on Yallingup Beach with the first Pintail short board surfboard in WA. Sally Jones pic.*

*1968 Shaper Greg Laurenson with Cordingley Featherweight pin tail. Photo Greg Woodward.*

Tom Blaxell. “Blaxell Team Rider Benton Moran won several surf contests on the pin tail board in next pic.“

*2011 Tom Blaxell with 1968 **Blaxell Surfboards** pin tail short board at City Beach board club reunion. Tom Blaxell pic.*

*1968 revolutionary surfboard article in Doug White’s Wave Length column in The Sunday Times.*

*1968 Glen Carroll with **John Arnold** (South Aust) flower power* *tracker surfboard at Mandurah. Photo Colin Moss*.

*1969 Scarborough’s Brian Trainer with his new **Midget Farrelly** board at Grace Town. Brian Trainer pic.*

Surfer/board designer Bob McTavish (NSW) refined V-bottom surfboards in the mid-60s.

WA surf photographer/writer Greg Woodward had an article published on WA Surfboard design in a 1968 edition of Surf International Magazine (USA). Greg’s photos of v-bottom boards appeared in the magazine…see below.

Jim King. “The concave design iun my board was based on a surfboard Howard Johnson (City Beach) bought back to WA from John Arnols Surfboards in South Oz. The v-bottom board didn’t turn too well, but it was fun to nose ride. There is footage in Bob Evans ‘High on a Cool Wave’ surf movie of me nose riding the board at the 1968 OZ Titles held at Warriewood NSW.“

1968 Cordingley V-Bottom surfboards in State surf contest at Trigg. Photos Greg Woodward.
**Left:** Norm Bateman surfing a Cordingley v-bottom board at Trigg.
**Right:** Jim King surfing a v-bottom concave nose rider board at Trigg.

1967 Cordingley Surfboard quiver J King — *1968 Jim King in Subiaco backyard with a quiver of Cordingley single fin surfboards. Photo courtesy of King family.*

In 1968 State Junior Champion Ian Cairns rode a short-single fin Jacko surfboard at the National Surf Titles held in NSW and won the Duke Kahanamoku Trophy for the most promising surfer at the event.