**Updated 20 Nov 2020** Added Barry Young’s comments after Bill Gibson’s comments.
In 1975 WA owned Pipelines Legrope Co.
was formed by Helen & David Hattrick and John Molloy to
manufacture and sell legropes. A team of surfer’s hand made the legropes in a shearing
shed on a property at Wyadup Valley near Yallingup. The legropes were sold locally and
nationally through John Malloy’s Bali-Hai surf shop at Yallingup Beach.
Sunrise Beachware
(forerunner to Pipelines)
In January 1975 Helen & David Hattrick and John Malloy opened a beach wear shop in the old lurch cottage near Surfside at Yallingup. The shop had previously been used by surfboard builders Tom Hoye and David ‘Dappa’ Plaistaid of Sunrise Surfboards.
Later the shop’s name was changed to Bali-Hai Surf Hut and a Pipelines retail shop was also opened in Dunsborough.
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) – Robyn Rigg designed patterns for our swimwear range of Bali-Hai Bikinis. Robyn showed me how to sew the bikinis and I took over. We also opened a Pipeline beach wear retail shop in Dunsborough opposite the Bakery. It did not last long but was the forerunner to Pipelines legropes.
1975 Yallingup Sunrise Beachware shop. Helen Hattrick pic. 1975 Yallingup Sunrise Beachware shop. Helen Hattrick pic. 1975 Yallingup Sunrise Beachware shop. Barbara Miller (RIP) & Paul. Helen Hattrick pic. 1975 Yallingup. Name of retail shop in lurch cottage changed from Sunrise to Bali-Hai Surf Hut. Helen Hattrick pic 1975 Pipelines retail shop Dunsborough opposite Bakery. Helen Hattrick pic. 1975 Bali-Hai surf and Beachwear advertisement. Image courtesy of WASRA Spring Title Program.
Bali-Hai Hut retail surf shop Yallingup.
In 1975 Alan and Hattie Mills the lease holders of Surfside Store told John Malloy and David & Helen Hattrick that they would fund the building of a surf shop if John & the Hattrick’s helped with construction and run the surf business. The deal went ahead, and the Mills contributed $5k for materials while the others assisted with the construction phase.
The new
surf shop was built in front of the two small cottages on the south side of
Surfside. Steve Carroll was the builder; Tony Harbison did the roofing and
Michael Simpson built the internal loft and staircase.
In 1975 Helen Hattrick and John Malloy created the Bali-Hai Surf Hut name
and stocked the shop with surfboards, ugg boots, women’s clothes &
boardies. A lot of the items were made by Helen & John at Wyadup. Helen
crocheted bikinis and sewed board shorts.
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) –Quite a lot happened apart from the Legropes, I also made swimwear which we sold out of Bali-Hai and also wholesaled to the majority of surf shops around WA, it all went under the same umbrella.
1975 New Bali-Hai Surf Hut at Yallingup. Helen Hattrick pic.
Pipelines Legrope Co. factory Wyadup Valley Yallingup.
Simultaneously John Molloy and David Hattrick set up the Pipelines Legrope Co. factory at Wyadup Valley in 1975.
Helen
Sceney (nee Hattrick) –Manufacturing legropes was initially a cottage industry eg at night we would
sit in the lounge at Wyadup and knot the ropes that went through the rail
savers, we would also assemble the plastic swivel systems which would be sewn
into the webbing for the ankle straps, as well as the Legropes.
1975 Pipelines Legrope factory Wyadup Valley. Photo courtesy of John Malloy. Circa 1979 crew out front of the Pipelines Legrope factory in shearing shed Wyadup Valley. Helen Sceney pic. L-R Japanese visitor, Helen & Dave (friends from Melb), Helen Hattrick, Tim Brent, Dave Hattrick holding daughter Delta, Suzi Cooke, Steve Russo & Kevin Bancroft.
Kevin Bancroft – The above image was used in a Pipelines Legrope advertisement in Tracks magazine.
Helen Sceney (Nee Hattrick) – We made legropes in the shearing shed and bikinis in the house.
1975 Pipelines legrope Yallingup WA. Ric Chan pic. 1975 Pipelines legrope label and guarantee. Image courtesy of John Malloy
In 1976 there was a partnership disagreement and David & Helen Hattrick kept
Pipelines Legropes and John retained Bali-Hai.
John continued to sell Pipelines legropes through his Bali-Hai shop.
In 1976 John worked up north on the Dampier to Tom Price railway for two
years. During this time, he ran Bali-Hai from Boxing Day to Easter then would
close the shop for winter and head back up north.
After 2 years working on the railways John started roofing work with the
Simpson bros (George, Michael & John).
In 1981 John handed the Bali-Hai Surf Hut to pioneer South West surfboard builder Tom Hoye. Tom ran his retail surfboard business at the shop until Drew Brent-White took over circa 1985.
Creatures of Leisure leg ropes and accessories began circa 1987/88 in Dunsborough with John Malloy, Gabby Ahern, Patte Ostberg Thompson and Greg Hood, but that’s another story.
1977 Pipelines legrope ‘Red Power’ model. 1979 Pipelines promotion at The Action Sports Retail Trade Expo.
In the late
1970s Pipelines Legrope Co. became renowned for raunchy advertisements in surf
magazines.
Late 1970s Pipelines advertisement in national surf magazine. Courtesy of John Malloy Late 1970s Pipelines Australia advt from Ballina NSW in Surf World Photo Annual No.7
Mark Moody – Pipelines; a company
that ‘could have’ become bigger than Ripcurl….
I still have one of the first cords made +
Pipelines brought about the solid cord leg rope with no rope inside tubing! I
often think it came about as a few of us locals used to steal the traffic
counter tubing across the road & tie a cord at either end then put glass
rovings on tail to attach cord!! These were a blessing in those early days as I
used a cord like this at Uluwatu in 73/74…..there were many test pilots of
these cords & David Seaward being one who worked on the design/ production
line as well as testing the limits of the cords + a great surfer &
gentleman in the water to boot!!
I still remember a testing day at solid Injidup @
2-3mtrs closing out, throwing our boards away to try & break them- lotsa
laughs + high tide back wash was insane….(ask Dave Hattrick, he broke his
nose on back wash take off that day!) Pipelines waz a major player in those early SW
surfing days along with Tom Hoye….
1979 Pipelines Legrope Co Australian Design Award winner. Media article courtesy of Helen Hattrick 1979 David Hattrick Pipelines Legrope article in Daily News. 1979 Pipelines Legrope advt featuring acknowledgements from top Australian surfers. Image courtesy of Helen Hattrick
Wyadup Valley Social
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) –David & I lived in the Wyadup farmhouse built by Jack Prowse in the
1940s. It had an inground swimming pool which was not functioning at that time.
The crew used to have parties in the gardens, hang speakers in the trees and
dance in the pool which was like an amphitheatre.
1975 first Xmas Wyadup Valley. Helen Hattrick pic Incs Jack Kahatala, David Hattrick & John Malloy 1976 David & Helen Hattrick with Japanese guest at Wyadup Valley. Helen Hattrick pic. 1979 Pipeline Legropes crew outside the farmhouse at Wyadup Valley. Photo by Barry Williams. Image courtesy of Robyn Rigg. Back row: David Hattrick and unidentified couple. Front Row: Delta Hattrick (Helen’s daughter), Helen Hattrick, Robyn Rigg, Kamala Brennan (Christine’s daughter), Christine Brennan & Vicki Bamford.
Not all those in the above photo worked for Pipelines but were friends and locals of the area. Robyn Rigg worked as a seamstress at Wyadup. Chris Brennon didn’t work at Pipelines but was a friend.
Bill Gibson – I scored the little two roomed cottage out the back of Wyadup House for $5 a week. What a place! Heaven on earth. Couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to the South West.
Then I got this offer of a job in Busselton while I was living in Wyadup
Valley, it was just the best place to live. The first year I was there I surfed
Injidup Car Park about 5 times a week. I got to know the tides and had about 2
hours of surf at Car Park daily, it was great fun. The view of the valley down
to the ocean is fantastic. David Hattrick got in a partnership with Ian Cairns
for a while and had a couple of Surf Expo’s early in the piece. They were good
mates. Dave Hattrick had a 175hp trail bike and we used to race it across the
dam wall, up the hill and down the paddock and come around and throw this right
angle hook and drive across the dam wall. We did this circuit. Dave was pretty
good at it, I was shit and never a motor bike rider, but Cairnsy was a nut. He
could do it in half the time. He was a big boy on this little 175hp Yamaha, and
he went friggin fast! One side of the dam went into water and other side
dropped 20ft. We had stop watches and used to time ourselves.
The place is special! The parties that went on in that place were
legendary. It always had crew calling by checking up on gossip, wanting to go
surfing or just wanting to chill. Helen Smith alias “Spotty”, ruled the biggest
kitchen in a corner of the house that soaked up the sunshine in the winter.
Always something delicious to eat. Spotty was brought up in Victoria as the
daughter of a publican that owned the Torquay Hotel. She knew how to entertain.
Eventually she fell for the smooth talking Dave Hattrick and were married at a
loose ceremony at the house. The celebrant was a local bachelor farmer Bob
Stafford. He rocked up in a Hawaiian shirt with a ten gallon cowboy hat and a
pet goanna with a diamond collar in tow. Just outrageous. Needless to say, the
reception was beyond reality. Man, there were some far out souls in that crowd!
Barry Young – Jude and I spent the odd weekend at Wyadup with Bill and Kay Gibson and others. It was a drop in type of place and had the first classic stone fireplace I had seen in the lounge. Remember a lot of great cosy fires with different crew and sleeping on the lounge floor in sleeping bags. We built our place on Yallingup Hill soon after this period but started a regular poker night at Wyadup with Al Bean, George Simpson, John Malloy, Ray Knott and Michael Simpson and me. Forty five years later we all still get together about twice a year to play. I was also the WA agent for Pipeline for a few years up in Perth selling to the very few surf shops that had just started to sprout up. I struggled with the idea of wearing one for a while even though I was selling them, but convinced myself after my board hit nearly every rock possible at South Point one day after losing it.
Pipelines
Legrope Co. Commonage Road Yallingup
Helen Hattrick (nee Sceney) – In 1979after being at Wyadup Valley for 5 years, David and I purchased a rural property at the top of Commonage Road in Yallingup from Gerry and Claire Guinness and set up the Legrope factory there. Patte Ostberg Thompson was like head girl!! She was a gun on the sewing machine…. taught by me of course!
Patte Ostberg Thompson – Yes, the master taught me and boy did we have fun!!! Thanks Helen…xo
John Malloy – Helen and Patte
Osteberg Thompson were amazing seamstresses and designed and sewed the legrope
straps.
1970 Gerry & Claire Guinness’ farm Commonage Road Yallingup (pre Pipelines Legrope Co). Image courtesy of Emily Tymms. 1974 Surfers Mark Favell and Andrew Jones with Andrew’s new Ducati on Guinness farm Commonage Road Yallingup (pre Pipelines Legrope Co). Julie Favell pic
In 1980 David
and Helen Hattrick split up, Pipelines Legropes was wound up and the factory in
Commonage Road sold. David travelled to America and Helen moved to Dunsborough and
managed the Dunsborough Hotel.
Commonage Coffee Co. café now resides at the former Pipelines factory site at 855 Commonage Road Yallingup. The business is run by Reece and Emily Tymms.
2020 Commonage Coffee Co café on the site of former Pipelines Legrope factory. Image courtesy of Emily Tymms.
A big thank you to Helen Sceney, John Malloy and all the other contributors.
**Updated 20 Nov 2020** Added Barry Young’s comments after Bill Gibson’s comments.
In 1975 WA owned Pipelines Legrope Co. was formed by Helen & David Hattrick and John Molloy to manufacture and sell legropes. A team of surfer’s hand made the legropes in a shearing shed on a property at Wyadup Valley near Yallingup. The legropes were sold locally and nationally through John Malloy’s Bali-Hai surf shop at Yallingup Beach.
Sunrise Beachware (forerunner to Pipelines)
In January 1975 Helen & David Hattrick and John Malloy opened a beach wear shop in the old lurch cottage near Surfside at Yallingup. The shop had previously been used by surfboard builders Tom Hoye and David ‘Dappa’ Plaistaid of Sunrise Surfboards.
Later the shop’s name was changed to Bali-Hai Surf Hut and a Pipelines retail shop was also opened in Dunsborough.
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) – Robyn Rigg designed patterns for our swimwear range of Bali-Hai Bikinis. Robyn showed me how to sew the bikinis and I took over. We also opened a Pipeline beach wear retail shop in Dunsborough opposite the Bakery. It did not last long but was the forerunner to Pipelines legropes.
Bali-Hai Hut retail surf shop Yallingup.
In 1975 Alan and Hattie Mills the lease holders of Surfside Store told John Malloy and David & Helen Hattrick that they would fund the building of a surf shop if John & the Hattrick’s helped with construction and run the surf business. The deal went ahead, and the Mills contributed $5k for materials while the others assisted with the construction phase.
The new surf shop was built in front of the two small cottages on the south side of Surfside. Steve Carroll was the builder; Tony Harbison did the roofing and Michael Simpson built the internal loft and staircase.
In 1975 Helen Hattrick and John Malloy created the Bali-Hai Surf Hut name and stocked the shop with surfboards, ugg boots, women’s clothes & boardies. A lot of the items were made by Helen & John at Wyadup. Helen crocheted bikinis and sewed board shorts.
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) – Quite a lot happened apart from the Legropes, I also made swimwear which we sold out of Bali-Hai and also wholesaled to the majority of surf shops around WA, it all went under the same umbrella.
Pipelines Legrope Co. factory Wyadup Valley Yallingup.
Simultaneously John Molloy and David Hattrick set up the Pipelines Legrope Co. factory at Wyadup Valley in 1975.
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) – Manufacturing legropes was initially a cottage industry eg at night we would sit in the lounge at Wyadup and knot the ropes that went through the rail savers, we would also assemble the plastic swivel systems which would be sewn into the webbing for the ankle straps, as well as the Legropes.
L-R Japanese visitor, Helen & Dave (friends from Melb), Helen Hattrick, Tim Brent, Dave Hattrick holding daughter Delta, Suzi Cooke, Steve Russo & Kevin Bancroft.
Kevin Bancroft – The above image was used in a Pipelines Legrope advertisement in Tracks magazine.
Helen Sceney (Nee Hattrick) – We made legropes in the shearing shed and bikinis in the house.
In 1976 there was a partnership disagreement and David & Helen Hattrick kept Pipelines Legropes and John retained Bali-Hai.
John continued to sell Pipelines legropes through his Bali-Hai shop.
In 1976 John worked up north on the Dampier to Tom Price railway for two years. During this time, he ran Bali-Hai from Boxing Day to Easter then would close the shop for winter and head back up north.
After 2 years working on the railways John started roofing work with the Simpson bros (George, Michael & John).
In 1981 John handed the Bali-Hai Surf Hut to pioneer South West surfboard builder Tom Hoye. Tom ran his retail surfboard business at the shop until Drew Brent-White took over circa 1985.
Creatures of Leisure leg ropes and accessories began circa 1987/88 in Dunsborough with John Malloy, Gabby Ahern, Patte Ostberg Thompson and Greg Hood, but that’s another story.
In the late 1970s Pipelines Legrope Co. became renowned for raunchy advertisements in surf magazines.
Mark Moody – Pipelines; a company that ‘could have’ become bigger than Ripcurl….
I still have one of the first cords made + Pipelines brought about the solid cord leg rope with no rope inside tubing! I often think it came about as a few of us locals used to steal the traffic counter tubing across the road & tie a cord at either end then put glass rovings on tail to attach cord!! These were a blessing in those early days as I used a cord like this at Uluwatu in 73/74…..there were many test pilots of these cords & David Seaward being one who worked on the design/ production line as well as testing the limits of the cords + a great surfer & gentleman in the water to boot!!
I still remember a testing day at solid Injidup @ 2-3mtrs closing out, throwing our boards away to try & break them- lotsa laughs + high tide back wash was insane….(ask Dave Hattrick, he broke his nose on back wash take off that day! ) Pipelines waz a major player in those early SW surfing days along with Tom Hoye….
Image courtesy of Helen Hattrick
Wyadup Valley Social
Helen Sceney (nee Hattrick) – David & I lived in the Wyadup farmhouse built by Jack Prowse in the 1940s. It had an inground swimming pool which was not functioning at that time. The crew used to have parties in the gardens, hang speakers in the trees and dance in the pool which was like an amphitheatre.
Incs Jack Kahatala, David Hattrick & John Malloy
Back row: David Hattrick and unidentified couple.
Front Row: Delta Hattrick (Helen’s daughter), Helen Hattrick, Robyn Rigg, Kamala Brennan (Christine’s daughter), Christine Brennan & Vicki Bamford.
Not all those in the above photo worked for Pipelines but were friends and locals of the area. Robyn Rigg worked as a seamstress at Wyadup. Chris Brennon didn’t work at Pipelines but was a friend.
Bill Gibson – I scored the little two roomed cottage out the back of Wyadup House for $5 a week. What a place! Heaven on earth. Couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to the South West.
Then I got this offer of a job in Busselton while I was living in Wyadup Valley, it was just the best place to live. The first year I was there I surfed Injidup Car Park about 5 times a week. I got to know the tides and had about 2 hours of surf at Car Park daily, it was great fun. The view of the valley down to the ocean is fantastic. David Hattrick got in a partnership with Ian Cairns for a while and had a couple of Surf Expo’s early in the piece. They were good mates. Dave Hattrick had a 175hp trail bike and we used to race it across the dam wall, up the hill and down the paddock and come around and throw this right angle hook and drive across the dam wall. We did this circuit. Dave was pretty good at it, I was shit and never a motor bike rider, but Cairnsy was a nut. He could do it in half the time. He was a big boy on this little 175hp Yamaha, and he went friggin fast! One side of the dam went into water and other side dropped 20ft. We had stop watches and used to time ourselves.
The place is special! The parties that went on in that place were legendary. It always had crew calling by checking up on gossip, wanting to go surfing or just wanting to chill. Helen Smith alias “Spotty”, ruled the biggest kitchen in a corner of the house that soaked up the sunshine in the winter. Always something delicious to eat. Spotty was brought up in Victoria as the daughter of a publican that owned the Torquay Hotel. She knew how to entertain. Eventually she fell for the smooth talking Dave Hattrick and were married at a loose ceremony at the house. The celebrant was a local bachelor farmer Bob Stafford. He rocked up in a Hawaiian shirt with a ten gallon cowboy hat and a pet goanna with a diamond collar in tow. Just outrageous. Needless to say, the reception was beyond reality. Man, there were some far out souls in that crowd!
Extract Bill Gibson’s surfing life – Part 1. 1955-1975 published 16 May 2018
Barry Young – Jude and I spent the odd weekend at Wyadup with Bill and Kay Gibson and others. It was a drop in type of place and had the first classic stone fireplace I had seen in the lounge. Remember a lot of great cosy fires with different crew and sleeping on the lounge floor in sleeping bags. We built our place on Yallingup Hill soon after this period but started a regular poker night at Wyadup with Al Bean, George Simpson, John Malloy, Ray Knott and Michael Simpson and me. Forty five years later we all still get together about twice a year to play.
I was also the WA agent for Pipeline for a few years up in Perth selling to the very few surf shops that had just started to sprout up. I struggled with the idea of wearing one for a while even though I was selling them, but convinced myself after my board hit nearly every rock possible at South Point one day after losing it.
Pipelines Legrope Co. Commonage Road Yallingup
Helen Hattrick (nee Sceney) – In 1979 after being at Wyadup Valley for 5 years, David and I purchased a rural property at the top of Commonage Road in Yallingup from Gerry and Claire Guinness and set up the Legrope factory there. Patte Ostberg Thompson was like head girl!! She was a gun on the sewing machine…. taught by me of course!
Patte Ostberg Thompson – Yes, the master taught me and boy did we have fun!!! Thanks Helen…xo
John Malloy – Helen and Patte Osteberg Thompson were amazing seamstresses and designed and sewed the legrope straps.
In 1980 David and Helen Hattrick split up, Pipelines Legropes was wound up and the factory in Commonage Road sold. David travelled to America and Helen moved to Dunsborough and managed the Dunsborough Hotel.
Commonage Coffee Co. café now resides at the former Pipelines factory site at 855 Commonage Road Yallingup. The business is run by Reece and Emily Tymms.
A big thank you to Helen Sceney, John Malloy and all the other contributors.
——————————————–
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