In the early 70s my brother Bruce King lived in Scarborough and was a regular ‘Weekend Warrior’ Down South (same as Bill Gibson, Prive, Ric Chan & others).
Bruce surfed and travelled his way through the 70s.
This is a snapshot of his lifestyle in the 70s.
Down South
Bruce was with George Simpson and his mates when Bears surf break was first surfed in August 1971.
Note: The name of this surf break has changed from the Surge in the 60s & 70s to the Bubble. I’m not sure who or when the name changed, but it has been that way since 2000.
Bruce – “On returning from an Africa/Europe trip in 1973 I worked at Cordingley Surfboards in Jersey Street Jolimont where Bill Oddy was the Owner/Manager. That is where Bill gave me permission to use his trail bike at Yallingup.
In 1973 I rode Bill’s trail bike to Bears on the coastal track from Yallingup.
Back then there was a rough dirt track leading from Rabbit Hill along the top of the cliffs. The hardest part was getting up the sandy hill at the back of Rabbits surf break, once you were over that the track was fairly solid.
Note: The rough dirt track Bruce is referring to is an old mine exploration track that runs along the cliff top from Yallingup to Sugarloaf Rock. The track now forms part of the popular Coast to Coast track.
Sometimes we tried to get up the hill in old Holden’s without success and would spend the entire day digging ourselves out of the bog. There were not many 4WD’s in the early 70s. The other way to get to Bears was to walk from Sugarloaf Rock.
In the early days Bears beach had a real menagerie of people including Charlie Pullella, Trevor “Yip Yip” Anderson, Laurie “Pup” Nesbit, Ronny “Ratshit” Jeffries, Steve “Horny” Campbell and other rascals. Some of the lads ran around naked. No one took water or any supplies but hit the Dunsborough Bakery big time after a day’s surfing. “
Surf Travel
Bruce’s made several surf trips to the East Coast in the late 1960’s before heading overseas in the 70s.
In 1972 Bruce and his SW surfing mates Peter McDonald, Micko Gracie and Bob Monkman set off on an overseas surfing adventure in South Africa (including J Bay and Cape St Francis) then went onto England, France, Spain and Portugal, surfing at many places.
L-R. Bruce, Micko Gracie, Peter Mac & Bob Monkman.
In 1976 Bruce travelled to Mauritius for about 3 months, then back to South Africa, surfing the Durban area before heading off to Swaziland, Rhodesia, Zambia, Botswana and southwest Africa.
Once upon a time
There was a time when Bruce and Taj’s mum Nancy Burrow dominated the Cove surf break at Yallingup. However, their aging bodies & increasing crowds have put an end to that caper, Nothing Lasts Forever. In the halcyon days Bruce was known as the Mayor of the Cove and the surf break was known locally as Nancy Left in recognition of her surfing performances.
Note: The name of this surf break has changed from the Bunbury Break (named after Bunbury surfers who rode the break in the 60s & 70s) to the Cove. I’m not sure who or when the name changed, but it has been that way since 2000.
Bruce and his surfing mates from the 1972 overseas trip meet annually to celebrate its anniversary and their birthdays at Bob & Jenny Monkman’s place in Dunsborough WA.
Bruce is retired and lives with his wife Anne in Dunsborough.
He still enjoys surfing & fishing in the SW.
Today is his 75th birthday 30 Oct 2024. Happy Birthday Bro😁.
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