The original version of this blog was posted 9 December 2015. This version has been reformatted and contains additional information and photos.
1960s-70s West Coast Surfboards
In the late 60s & 70s West Coast Surfboards in Fitzgerald St West Perth was run by surfboard craftsman Bob Gardiner and partners Mick Layzell & Eddy Warner.
1973 West Coast Surfboards factory/showrooms in West Perth. Photographer unknown.
Initially Mick shaped, Bob glassed and they both worked on sanding and ding repairs. It wasn’t long before Eddy Warner (Southern Surfriders) joined the team. In 1972 Barry Day (City Beach) glassed, sanded & polished boards. State Surfing Champion Ian Cairns (Southern Surfriders) also shaped some boards for West Coast in the early 70s.
West Coast Surfboards attracted a stable of fine surfers in Ian Cairns (dual World Champion), Peter ‘Spook’ Bothwell (dual State Open Champion), Barry Day (Duke Kahanamoku Award winner) and talented free surfers Dave Beamish and Terry Jacks.
1966 Bob Gardiner profile West Coast Surfboards media article
Bob Gardiner shaped all of Peter ‘Spook’ Bothwell’s West Coast surfboards. Peter was WA State Open Men’s Champion 1968-69 and a member of Sand-n-Sea Board Riders Club in WA at that time.
Peter ’Spook’ Bothwell. “My introduction to Bob Gardiner was through David Beamish with whom I was friends with. It was after I won the 68 State Title on my John Arnold which Malcolm Loch organised for me, that Beamish introduced me. Bob made me a board to ride in the Australian Titles, in Sydney. The board was based on Midget’s pintail which I rode when he was at Yallingup in 68. Bob Gardiner made every board I rode for years. Terry Jacks also rode them. Mick Layzell who was an original Southern Surfrider was also a partner and an influential design collaborator. Other surfers who surfed the ‘Coasters’ were Al Fixter, Neil Peacock and Dave Plaisted to name a few. The thing about Bob was he was interested in the process, the surfers themselves, surfboard design and everyone respected him for it. Northbridge was a different place back then.”
1969 Peter in the shaping bay with Bob Gairdner at West CoastSurfboards.1969 Peter Bothwell with West Coast Surfboard at South Point Cowaramup. Photographer unknown
Peter Bothwell. “In 1969 WA surf photographer Greg Woodward took a snap of me free surfing Injidup car park on a small day. Bob Gairdner and Mick Layzell from West Coast Surfboards in West Perth liked the image and made Greg’s photo into a decal for their surfboards. The decal was used on single fin surfboards from 1969.”
1969 West Coast Surfboards decal featuring Peter Bothwell surfing Injidup. Image courtesy of Jock Bahen & Peter Dunn
Greg Woodward. “I always saw that pic of Peter ‘free surfing’ as one of the early photos of re-entries tried in the West – don’t know for sure – but I remember it was a big deal when surfers started doing them!”
1969 Peter Bothwell free surfing Injidup car park on a West Coast single fin. Photo Greg Woodward.
Cowaramup surfer Jock Bahen has been mentored by the likes of the late Warren Thompson & Peter Dunn (Funs Back Surf Shop Yalls) and has won seven Whalebone Longboard Classics at Isolated surf break at Cottesloe.
Jock has a 1969 West Coast Surfboard with the decal featuring former WA State Champ Peter Bothwell. The stringer-less board is a rounded pintail with a single fin.
Jock Bahen. “This was my father Tim Bahen’s first custom surfboard. He purchased the board second hand in a city surf store in 1969, sold it in the 70s to a mate in Geraldton, then rescued it off a trailer going to the tip in 1988. It was used by the whole family and was my first surfboard age 12. I cut the Greenough fin in half so it wouldn’t hit the reef at 2nds reef Cottesloe.“
Jock Bahen’s 1969 West Coast Surfboard featuring Peter Bothwell decal.Photo Jim King
Barry Day. “In 72 Ian Cairns shaped me a slide slipper surfboard based on his own blue coloured Midget Farrelly slide slipping surfboard. It was a wonderful board and we had a lot of fun together“
1972 Barry Day at Yallingup surf contest with his Ian Cairn’s shaped side slipper board with platypus nose and red colour design. Rod Slater is crouching next to Barry. Photo Ric Chan.
Barry rode an Ian Cairn’s shaped West Coast Surfboards 6’2” area rounded pin with twin fins when he won the 1972 Duke Kahanamoku Award, recognising outstanding performance and sportsmanship at the Australian Surfing Titles held in NSW.
1972 Barry Day surfing Guillotine surf break on a West Coast Surfboard. Photo Tom Collins.
Ian Cairns rode a West Coast Surfboard to victory in the 73 Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships (de facto professional World Championship) held at Laniakea in Hawaii. Refer Ian Cairns source Wikipedia. Surfboard photo unavailable.
Barry Day. “Either Bob or Ian shaped Ian’s blood red coloured Smirnoff board and I glassed and sanded it. In 1974 Kanga shaped me a 6’8” x 19.5” single fin swallow tail board at West Coast Surfboards. I made the fin, glassed, sanded, gloss coated, polished and then waxed & surfed the board😊.“
1974 Barry’s West Coast swallow tail surfboard shaped by Kanga. Photos Jim King. This board is on display at the WA Surf Gallery Aravina Estate Yallingup.
1974 Barry Day footballer/surfer working at West Coast Surfboards. Image courtesy of The Daily News.1973 West Coast Surfboards Factory West Perth. Customer Craig Howe & shaper Bob Gardiner. Photo Craig Howe.2010 Old boys’ reunion at Marybrook function. Photo courtesy of the late Loz Smith. L-R Loz Smith, Barry Day & Bob Gardiner.
Bonus Pic
Rachel Gardiner. “Such a joy to read this article about West Coast Surfboards and see all those wonderful photos of everyone. Thank you for putting this all together and am really super proud of my very cool dad, Bob Gardiner. Here is dad a few years ago at the WA Surf Gallery at Aravina Estate, Yallingup – a really lovely moment!”
2021 Bob Gairdner with 70s West Coast surfboard shaped by Ian Cairns at WA Surf Gallery Yallingup. Rachel Gairdner pic
Thanks Peter Bothwell, Barry Day, Greg Woodward and Jock Bahen for your contributions.
Foreword
The original version of this blog was posted 9 December 2015. This version has been reformatted and contains additional information and photos.
1960s-70s West Coast Surfboards
In the late 60s & 70s West Coast Surfboards in Fitzgerald St West Perth was run by surfboard craftsman Bob Gardiner and partners Mick Layzell & Eddy Warner.
Initially Mick shaped, Bob glassed and they both worked on sanding and ding repairs. It wasn’t long before Eddy Warner (Southern Surfriders) joined the team. In 1972 Barry Day (City Beach) glassed, sanded & polished boards. State Surfing Champion Ian Cairns (Southern Surfriders) also shaped some boards for West Coast in the early 70s.
West Coast Surfboards attracted a stable of fine surfers in Ian Cairns (dual World Champion), Peter ‘Spook’ Bothwell (dual State Open Champion), Barry Day (Duke Kahanamoku Award winner) and talented free surfers Dave Beamish and Terry Jacks.
Bob Gardiner shaped all of Peter ‘Spook’ Bothwell’s West Coast surfboards. Peter was WA State Open Men’s Champion 1968-69 and a member of Sand-n-Sea Board Riders Club in WA at that time.
Peter ’Spook’ Bothwell. “My introduction to Bob Gardiner was through David Beamish with whom I was friends with. It was after I won the 68 State Title on my John Arnold which Malcolm Loch organised for me, that Beamish introduced me. Bob made me a board to ride in the Australian Titles, in Sydney. The board was based on Midget’s pintail which I rode when he was at Yallingup in 68.
Bob Gardiner made every board I rode for years. Terry Jacks also rode them. Mick Layzell who was an original Southern Surfrider was also a partner and an influential design collaborator.
Other surfers who surfed the ‘Coasters’ were Al Fixter, Neil Peacock and Dave Plaisted to name a few.
The thing about Bob was he was interested in the process, the surfers themselves, surfboard design and everyone respected him for it.
Northbridge was a different place back then.”
Peter Bothwell. “In 1969 WA surf photographer Greg Woodward took a snap of me free surfing Injidup car park on a small day. Bob Gairdner and Mick Layzell from West Coast Surfboards in West Perth liked the image and made Greg’s photo into a decal for their surfboards. The decal was used on single fin surfboards from 1969.”
Greg Woodward. “I always saw that pic of Peter ‘free surfing’ as one of the early photos of re-entries tried in the West – don’t know for sure – but I remember it was a big deal when surfers started doing them!”
Cowaramup surfer Jock Bahen has been mentored by the likes of the late Warren Thompson & Peter Dunn (Funs Back Surf Shop Yalls) and has won seven Whalebone Longboard Classics at Isolated surf break at Cottesloe.
Jock has a 1969 West Coast Surfboard with the decal featuring former WA State Champ Peter Bothwell. The stringer-less board is a rounded pintail with a single fin.
Jock Bahen. “This was my father Tim Bahen’s first custom surfboard. He purchased the board second hand in a city surf store in 1969, sold it in the 70s to a mate in Geraldton, then rescued it off a trailer going to the tip in 1988. It was used by the whole family and was my first surfboard age 12. I cut the Greenough fin in half so it wouldn’t hit the reef at 2nds reef Cottesloe.“
Barry Day. “In 72 Ian Cairns shaped me a slide slipper surfboard based on his own blue coloured Midget Farrelly slide slipping surfboard. It was a wonderful board and we had a lot of fun together“
Barry rode an Ian Cairn’s shaped West Coast Surfboards 6’2” area rounded pin with twin fins when he won the 1972 Duke Kahanamoku Award, recognising outstanding performance and sportsmanship at the Australian Surfing Titles held in NSW.
Ian Cairns rode a West Coast Surfboard to victory in the 73 Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships (de facto professional World Championship) held at Laniakea in Hawaii. Refer Ian Cairns source Wikipedia. Surfboard photo unavailable.
Barry Day. “Either Bob or Ian shaped Ian’s blood red coloured Smirnoff board and I glassed and sanded it. In 1974 Kanga shaped me a 6’8” x 19.5” single fin swallow tail board at West Coast Surfboards. I made the fin, glassed, sanded, gloss coated, polished and then waxed & surfed the board😊.“
This board is on display at the WA Surf Gallery Aravina Estate Yallingup.
L-R Loz Smith, Barry Day & Bob Gardiner.
Bonus Pic
Rachel Gardiner. “Such a joy to read this article about West Coast Surfboards and see all those wonderful photos of everyone. Thank you for putting this all together and am really super proud of my very cool dad, Bob Gardiner. Here is dad a few years ago at the WA Surf Gallery at Aravina Estate, Yallingup – a really lovely moment!”
Thanks Peter Bothwell, Barry Day, Greg Woodward and Jock Bahen for your contributions.
Related content
1960s-70s West Coast Surfboards recollections by Mick Layzell posted 1 February 2023.
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