Jim King. “Like a lot of metro surfers my brother Bruce & I spent part of our youth surfing and socialising in the Mandurah region.It was a stepping stone before travelling further down the coast to the South West.
This is a collection of our memories & images of good times shared with our City Beach Surf Riders club mates. The comments are mine unless stated otherwise.”
1960s Fun Times Mandurah
In the 60s metro surfers made day/weekend trips to Mandurah chasing waves and fun times.
En route to Mandurah there were beach break to explore. In Mandurah there were fun sand bank peelers in the right conditions and south of town there was an assortment of waves on offer.
After a surf, we dined on fish n chips on the waterfront before indulging in the local social life. Social activities centered around parties with the local girls, Sunday sessions at the Esplanade pub and during the annual Kanyana Carnival there were paddle board races on the Murray River.
1966 Rob Halliday’s Fiat & Steve ‘Sheepdog’s’ Cockburn’s Holden panel van in unsealed Avalon Beach car park. Photo Norm Bateman.1966 Robyn Mac & friends ‘girls party’ camping weekend Mandurah. Photo Robyn Mac.1966 Robyn Mac & friends ‘girls party’ camping weekend Mandurah. Photo Robyn Mac.
Bruce King. “On a 60s surf trip to Mandurah, Phil Henderson and I took a 5-gallon keg of beer in the back of a mate’s Mini-Minor as refreshment for the trip….and we charged our mate for the pleasure of our company on the trip! Another time, Phil and I purchased a 5-gallon keg of beer in Mandurah and got our mate to drive us to a Nightclub in the city & return. We treated our driver poorly 😊.”
1967 Michael ‘Midge’ Semple splattering contents of canned food on Sheepdog’s back in beach car park with Norm Bateman, Rob Farris, Gayle Franks, Kevin O’Dwyer and Dribbles looking on.Photo Trevor Burslem.1967 Browneyes & Rob Halliday beach car park antics with Dribbles looking on. Photo Trevor Burslem.1967 Fig leaf fashions near the Peelhurst Ruins at Golden Bay. (Originally known as Peelhurst renamed Golden Bay in1985). Photo Trevor Burslem. L-R Jim King, Rob Farris, Norm Bateman, Steve Cockburn & Bruce King.
Bruce King. “Circa 1967, my brother Jim and I had a beer with Gerry Humphries and the Loved Ones Band in the front bar of the Old Brighton pub. Later Sheepdog and I (and a horde of others) broke through the fence and into their concert at Mandurah Oval.Unfortunately, we didn’t get to enjoy the concert as the Constabulary were after us and we had to make a quick get-away in Dennis Baker’s Mini Minor.”
1960s Main drag in Mandurah with Old Brighton pub in the centre. Photo courtesy of Lost Perth. Note drinkers sitting on roof of the pub and the stack of Malibu’s on the roof of surf wagon parked in the street.1967 Norm Bateman surfing Surf Beach Easter LWE. Trevor Burslem pic1967 Jim King surfing Crystalina beach break. Photo Trevor Burslem
In the 60s you were allowed to drive your car on the beach at Long Point and Surf Beach. We pushed our cars across the soft beach sand and drove along the shoreline until we found the best shaped waves. On one occasion, I stayed too long in the water and when I returned to the beach discovered the tide had come in and my Ford Anglia was axle deep in salt water☹ …I sold it not long afterwards! We also had great fun towel surfing on the water’s edge behind Kevin ‘Dirty Odes’ O’Dwyer’s work ute.
1967 Surf Beach park-n-surf. Snapshots CBSR Super 8 movie film. Left. Rob Halliday’s Fiat being pushed across soft beach sand.. Right. Jim King’s Anglia & Rob Halliday’s Fiat parked on the shoreline.1967 Surf Beach towel tow-ins. Snapshots CBSR Super 8 movie film. Left. Dirty Ode’s work ute loaded to the gunnels with surfboards. Right. Phil Henderson towel surfing on his mum’s best beach towel behind Dirty Ode’s work ute.
When the wind was onshore in the city and there was a good swell running, we drove down to Mandurah and surfed small novelty waves on sand banks at Halls Head & Stewart St. (Man-made structures at the river mouth have altered the sand flow and may have impacted on the town’s novelty waves). We also surfed fun runners at Miami Beach during this period.
1967 Bruce King surfing Halls Head with his comments on back of photo. Images Trevor Burslem.1966 surfing micro waves at Stewart St Mandurah. Snapshots CBSR Super 8 movie film. Top: (Left) Jim King & Rob Halliday tandem (Right) Ron Moss head stand. Bottom: Browneyes walking the Malibu.1967 Miami Beach car park and Tea Rooms (now known as Falcon). Photo courtesy Len Dibben.1967 Jim and Bruce King surfing Miami Beach. Photo Trevor Burslem.
From 1967 to 1988 the town of Mandurah ran a Kanyana Carnival weekend to attract tourists to the Peel region. (Kanyana has an Aboriginal meaning of ‘Gathering of People’). The Carnival was the forerunner to the Mandurah Crab Fest which started in 1999.
In the early years surfers from Perth headed to Mandurah on the Kanyana Carnival weekend for a good time and to compete in the Paddle Board Races held in conjunction with the carnival.Contestants paddled Malibu boards over a course which ran from the Peninsula pub to the finish line near the old traffic bridge. The paddle races were popular with surfers and large numbers of spectators lined the riverbanks for the event.
In the inaugural year (1967) Cordingley surfboardcraftsman (and power paddler) Dave Ellis won the Open Division and Bruce King the Junior Division.
1967 Mandurah’s Kanyana Carnival Paddle Board Race winners Bruce King (Juniors) & Dave Ellis (Open). Photo Trevor Burslem.
In 1967 our board Clubput on a skurfing display at the Kanyana Carnival. We had never done it before, but the organisers didn’t know that when they programmed the event! We were towed up & down the river on our surfboards behind a speedboat provided by the organisers. We had a fun time and put on a show for the spectators lining the riverbanks.
1968 Norm Kitson & Glen Carroll with Bull Moss’s Morrie Minor on the coast Mandurah. Photo Colin Moss.
1968 Glen Carroll with John Arnold (South Aust) flower power board. Photo Colin Moss1969 Ross Utting and Craig Henfry with Ross’s Dad’s EK Holden station wagon Melros Beach. Photo Ross Utting.1969 Tom Blaxell Surfing surfboard comp Singleton Beach. Courtesy Doug White surf column Sunday Times.1969 Cat among the pigeons Mandurah caravan park. Photo Robyn Mac L-R Liz Taylor, Ron Moss & Jenny McLarty.
Bruce King. “When the waves were flat and/or the wind was howling onshore, we would play on a rope swing on the Murray River near Pinjarra while waiting for the afternoon session to start at the Ravenswood pub.”
1968 River swing on Murray River near Pinjarra. Left. Norm Kitson on rope swing. Photo Colin Moss Right. Phil Henderson dropping in on Bruce King.Photo Trevor Burslem.1968 Bottoms Up at river swing on Murray River near Pinjarra. Snapshot CBSR Super 8 movie film.
Happy memories from simpler times. 😊
Mandurah surf history
If you are interested in Mandurah’s surf history it is recommended you read the Mandurah Surf: The Characters & The Coastbook by Bruce Ellis. The book is available online.
Foreword
Jim King. “Like a lot of metro surfers my brother Bruce & I spent part of our youth surfing and socialising in the Mandurah region. It was a stepping stone before travelling further down the coast to the South West.
This is a collection of our memories & images of good times shared with our City Beach Surf Riders club mates. The comments are mine unless stated otherwise.”
1960s Fun Times Mandurah
In the 60s metro surfers made day/weekend trips to Mandurah chasing waves and fun times.
En route to Mandurah there were beach break to explore. In Mandurah there were fun sand bank peelers in the right conditions and south of town there was an assortment of waves on offer.
After a surf, we dined on fish n chips on the waterfront before indulging in the local social life. Social activities centered around parties with the local girls, Sunday sessions at the Esplanade pub and during the annual Kanyana Carnival there were paddle board races on the Murray River.
Bruce King. “On a 60s surf trip to Mandurah, Phil Henderson and I took a 5-gallon keg of beer in the back of a mate’s Mini-Minor as refreshment for the trip….and we charged our mate for the pleasure of our company on the trip! Another time, Phil and I purchased a 5-gallon keg of beer in Mandurah and got our mate to drive us to a Nightclub in the city & return. We treated our driver poorly 😊.”
L-R Jim King, Rob Farris, Norm Bateman, Steve Cockburn & Bruce King.
Bruce King. “Circa 1967, my brother Jim and I had a beer with Gerry Humphries and the Loved Ones Band in the front bar of the Old Brighton pub. Later Sheepdog and I (and a horde of others) broke through the fence and into their concert at Mandurah Oval. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to enjoy the concert as the Constabulary were after us and we had to make a quick get-away in Dennis Baker’s Mini Minor.”
Note drinkers sitting on roof of the pub and the stack of Malibu’s on the roof of surf wagon parked in the street.
In the 60s you were allowed to drive your car on the beach at Long Point and Surf Beach. We pushed our cars across the soft beach sand and drove along the shoreline until we found the best shaped waves. On one occasion, I stayed too long in the water and when I returned to the beach discovered the tide had come in and my Ford Anglia was axle deep in salt water☹ …I sold it not long afterwards! We also had great fun towel surfing on the water’s edge behind Kevin ‘Dirty Odes’ O’Dwyer’s work ute.
Left. Rob Halliday’s Fiat being pushed across soft beach sand..
Right. Jim King’s Anglia & Rob Halliday’s Fiat parked on the shoreline.
Left. Dirty Ode’s work ute loaded to the gunnels with surfboards.
Right. Phil Henderson towel surfing on his mum’s best beach towel behind Dirty Ode’s work ute.
When the wind was onshore in the city and there was a good swell running, we drove down to Mandurah and surfed small novelty waves on sand banks at Halls Head & Stewart St. (Man-made structures at the river mouth have altered the sand flow and may have impacted on the town’s novelty waves). We also surfed fun runners at Miami Beach during this period.
Top: (Left) Jim King & Rob Halliday tandem (Right) Ron Moss head stand.
Bottom: Browneyes walking the Malibu.
From 1967 to 1988 the town of Mandurah ran a Kanyana Carnival weekend to attract tourists to the Peel region. (Kanyana has an Aboriginal meaning of ‘Gathering of People’). The Carnival was the forerunner to the Mandurah Crab Fest which started in 1999.
In the early years surfers from Perth headed to Mandurah on the Kanyana Carnival weekend for a good time and to compete in the Paddle Board Races held in conjunction with the carnival. Contestants paddled Malibu boards over a course which ran from the Peninsula pub to the finish line near the old traffic bridge. The paddle races were popular with surfers and large numbers of spectators lined the riverbanks for the event.
In the inaugural year (1967) Cordingley surfboard craftsman (and power paddler) Dave Ellis won the Open Division and Bruce King the Junior Division.
In 1967 our board Club put on a skurfing display at the Kanyana Carnival. We had never done it before, but the organisers didn’t know that when they programmed the event! We were towed up & down the river on our surfboards behind a speedboat provided by the organisers. We had a fun time and put on a show for the spectators lining the riverbanks.
L-R Liz Taylor, Ron Moss & Jenny McLarty.
Bruce King. “When the waves were flat and/or the wind was howling onshore, we would play on a rope swing on the Murray River near Pinjarra while waiting for the afternoon session to start at the Ravenswood pub.”
Left. Norm Kitson on rope swing. Photo Colin Moss
Right. Phil Henderson dropping in on Bruce King. Photo Trevor Burslem.
Happy memories from simpler times. 😊
Mandurah surf history
If you are interested in Mandurah’s surf history it is recommended you read the Mandurah Surf: The Characters & The Coast book by Bruce Ellis. The book is available online.
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