1973 Lefthanders surf shack

Background

In the early 70s surfers were living on the beach at Lefthanders surf break located in Southwest WA.

Young City Beach surfer Frank ‘Little Big Eyes’ McVeigh lived in a beach cave for a whole summer.

And Californian ex-pat Pat Bloomer and his American mates built & lived in a timber shack on the beach.

Both summer residences were located south of the Lefthanders surf break.

Pat Bloomer “In 1973 three Americans guys (Rick, Jim Cox & unidentified) & I built a surf shack out of driftwood timber and some sheets of tin on the beach. We got hessian & clear plastic covering from a carpet place in Bunbury for free. We spent $3 on nails at the hardware store and scrounged the tin sheets from abandoned sheds. It took us nearly a week to get the materials and hammer it into shape. We built bunk beds and put carpet on the sand floor. It only had 3 walls and was built against the sandstone cliff to utilise its natural shape for a fireplace. There was a large picture window from which we checked the surf. There was also a small window near the top bunk which allowed an early morning surf check without getting out of bed.

We had to carry in our supplies of water, food, utensils, bedding & boards. It was so isolated we could go days without seeing another soul. We lived in the shack for 3 months until Easter when weather conditions deteriorated. At times, some girls stayed with us in the shack. It was just fun, fun, fun.

There was no dirt track to Lefthanders at that time, we had to walk from the existing car park. I remember watching Tony hardy surf Lefthanders, he was an amazing surfer. We were the first to surf Cobblestones surf break. It was a long trek over cobblestones from Big Rock.”

In 2006 Surfing World magazine (Issue 280) published an article on Pat & the boys living in the beach shack. It was titled ‘The Way we Were’ by James Cox.