Margaret River surfer, sailor & surfboard craftsman Tom Hoye passed away 28 April 2021 at the age of 74.
Californian ex pat Tom Hoye arrived in the South West with his family in 1971 and opened the first surfboard shop in the Cape Naturaliste region in the Lurch Cottage next to Surfside Store Yallingup.
Surfside Lurch Cottage Yallingup
Tom Hoye. “In 1971 I headed to Yallingup to set up a surfboard factory. I arrived at Yallingup car park and asked Surfside Store proprietors Bernie and Eve Young, if they knew of any accommodation suitable for making surfboards. Eve offered me the small Lurch Cottage next to Surfside, it was ideal, and I started making boards in the cottage at Yallingup beach. I started the Lurch Cottage showrooms with 5-6 boards, two spring suits and some surfboard wax…it was the absolute minimum! This was the first surf shop opened in the Cape Naturaliste/Capes region of WA. Californian ex pat John Malloy ran the showroom for me. It was very early days and John had only been in WA for a few months.“
Smiths Valley Yallingup
Tom Hoye. “On the same day I was offered the Surfside Lurch Cottage at Yallingup in 1971, I drove down the old dirt track to Smiths Beach and saw an old House and shearing shed owned by a Mining Company. I thought it would be ideal place to live and make surfboards.
The next morning, I went into Busselton to see if I could rent the place from the Mining Company but was unsuccessful. Craig Brent-White and Hans Kropp rented the two stone cottages in Smiths Valley and Peter Kidd rented the old Coach House. Peter Kidd subsequently offered me the old Coach House in 1972.
In 1972 I moved to Smiths Valley and rented the Old Coach House and an old shearing shed. I set up a surfboard factory in the shearing shed with four rooms for shaping, sanding, glassing and gloss. I was making five surfboards a week and supporting my family.
I retained the Surfside Lurch cottage at Yallingup as my retail shop and sold my surfboards from there.”
Craig Brent-White’s Cape Naturaliste Vineyard in Smiths Valley now occupies the site of the Old Coach House. Tom’s surf factory in the old shearing shed and the Lurch cottage have been demolished.
John Malloy’s video
Californian ex-pat John Malloy captured 16mm black & white video footage of Tom Hoye shaping surfboards in the old shearing shed at Smiths Valley Yallingup in 1972. John kindly shared his video footage with Surfing Down South in 2020.
Editor.“I showed Tom the 48 years old video footage and he was thrilled! I recorded his audio comments for research purposes and subsequently added the audio to the video footage. Apologies for my interruptions.”
Click link to view video.
John Malloy’s video of Tom shaping in Smiths Valley 1972 Run time 4:27 min
Thanks to John Malloy for sharing the vintage footage. Tom Hoye RIP.
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