Rod Slater was born and bred at Triggs and went to Scarborough High because that was the closest high school in the 60s.
Rod finished High School in 1966 and shifted down south with his surfing mates Buttsy and Choko in 1967.
In mid-1968 Rod headed over east chasing waves and adventure. This trend continued into the early 70s.
Circa 1969 Rod Slater was a member of North Coast Surfers Club which was formed by Greg ‘Thunder’ Laurenson, Robin ‘Skullcap’ Sutherland and Mike ‘Spike’ Wynne. Club members included Spike, Thunder, Skullcap, Hoody, Rod Slater, Gooselegs, John Paris, Pee Wee Vos, Dig Dighelli, Terry Garrett, Big Eyes, Wayne Jacks, Steve Gath, Daryl Gath, Russell Quinlivan & others.
Rod now lives in Bunbury WA.
1968 East Coast surf trip
In mid-1968 I caught a train from Perth to Sydney with surfer Rod McCarthy from Tweed Heads. There we met up with Keith ‘Jock’ Campbell and in his black FJ we drove up north to Coolangatta, surfing Crescent Heads and other beautiful places on the way. We stayed at Rod Mac’s house for a few days then shifted into the Coolangatta surf club. We surfed some ‘lovely’ winter Queensland waves and saw some very good surfers. We even got a job on a building site at Southport but that only lasted a day or two. One day we saw a car with WA number plates on it at either Snapper Rocks or Coolangatta, with a family and a couple of very young surfers in it. I believe it was the Bettenay bros.
Phillip Island surf trips
After a while we headed back down South and finished up at Phillip Island in Victoria, a place Jock had stayed at before. Jock had several nasty car crashes on the drive to the Island, not sure from where, hence the missing teeth in photos. Apparently in one such incident he drove off the road and straight up the guide wire holding the pole and then smashed to the ground. The whole time Peter Lummis was asleep on the back seat wrapped in a sleeping blanket. I believe they both walked away reasonably unscathed. We surfed and worked, more surfing than working. Especially through the winter months work was a little scarce. At this time besides Jock, Lum and myself, there were other WA surfers on the Island including Mal Read, Bob Shenston, Craig ‘Clarrie’ Brentwhite, John Balgarnie and Jamie Doig with visits from people like Peter Bothwell and many others. I think Fred Annesley and I may have stopped there on the way back from staying at Kirra after the Australian titles in 1969.
Phillip Island map courtesy Travel Victoria.
On subsequent visits to Phillip Island I travelled with Mark Waddell, with whom I lived and shared an abalone shelling job, working one day a week each. On my last visit, I travelled over with Mal Leckie and a young lady from Scarborough, Sue-Ellen Nyman. We stayed off the Island this time with a guy, Peter Connelly from Inverloch, who used to sand and finish boards with Greg ‘Pantsman’ Laurenson when he had his own business behind City drycleaners in Scarborough Beach Road, over the road from Hawke Brothers. On one trip Mark Waddell and I travelled from the Island to Tasmania in convoy with a Victorian surfer, Steve ‘Blue’ Nicholson, and then came back to WA with Blue. I believe Blue went straight to work for Tony Harbison on the holiday houses he built at Yallingup (Hideaway Holiday Homes). I think Blue may still be living Down South. On one occasion I helped a young surfer named Tommy Tyrell glass a board he had shaped, he went on to become a successful board manufacturer owning a company called Island Surfboards (purely coincidental).
One year when I was glassing for ‘Pantsman’ in Scarborough Beach Road, we decided to travel in Pants’ new Falcon panel van to Bells Beach for the Easter competition. There was Pants, myself, Peter Connelly, Steve ‘Sheepdog’ Cockburn and Rick Syme (I think that is correct!). On the way we stopped at Cactus and then went on to Bells and then Phillip Island. I remember Rick surfing exceptionally well at both Cactus and at Flynn’s Reef on the Island. My only memory of Bells was seeing Nat Young walking out of the bush/sand hills with his red setter and a big hat. I think he was going through an ‘anti competition’ phase, or something like that!
In my time there I had the great privilege to watch and enjoy a young Wayne Lynch surf Flynn’s reef on his backhand; a very young Mark Richard have a few sessions either before or after the Bells contest (can’t remember which); Mark Warren in his young heyday and many other good surfers who travelled through.
1968 Phillip Island surf trip comments and photos
Rod – “This surf shop was on the Nepean Highway in Gardenvale. Klemm Bell also had another factory in Torquay.“
1968 the crew at Klemm Bell Surfboards in Gardenvale Vic. Rod Slater pic.
L-R – Peter Connelly, Reg Bell, Rod Slater, ‘Steve the Kid’ (not sure of his full name) and Terry Klemm.
1968 Phillip Island surfboards. Rod Slater pics.
(Left) Rod Slater with new Klemm Bell surfboard. (Right) Jock Campbell and Mal Read preparing for a surf at Cat Bay or Right Point.
Rod – “Not my proudest moment, but still a browneye in a small Woolamai tube!“
1968 Rod Slater surfing at Woolamai beach on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
1968 Rod Slater and Mick Maddren at Cat Bay carpark on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Rod – “Summerlands is now famous because it is where the Penguin Parades are held!“
1968 John Balgarnie’s Holden FB Ute on Summerlands Beach at Phillip Island. Rod Slater pics.
(Left) The crew with JB’s Ute. (Right) John Balgarnie and Craig ‘Clarrie’ Brentwhite with JB’s ute.
Rod – “Jock Campbell broke split windscreen somehow and he (in the brown jumper), Mal Read (yellow shorts) and Mick Maddren (on the bonnet) were dramatising a bit!“
1968 Phillip Island road drama, Rod Slater pic.
1968 Jock Campbell with his FJ and Mal Read at Cat Bay on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Rod – “We sometimes scored some nice beach breaks around the Bay beaches.”
1968 Phillip Island Keith ‘Jock’ Campbell and crew acting irresponsibly at Summerlands on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pics.
1968 Jock Campbell and one of the Kavanagh boys from Wonthaggi Vic at Woolamai Beach. Rod Slater pic.
1968 Victorian Peter Connelly (on the left) at Woolamai Beach on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Click on this link to view Rod and Mal Leckie’s memories of 1971 surf trip to Phillip Island Vic.
Rod Slater was born and bred at Triggs and went to Scarborough High because that was the closest high school in the 60s.
Rod finished High School in 1966 and shifted down south with his surfing mates Buttsy and Choko in 1967.
In mid-1968 Rod headed over east chasing waves and adventure. This trend continued into the early 70s.
Circa 1969 Rod Slater was a member of North Coast Surfers Club which was formed by Greg ‘Thunder’ Laurenson, Robin ‘Skullcap’ Sutherland and Mike ‘Spike’ Wynne. Club members included Spike, Thunder, Skullcap, Hoody, Rod Slater, Gooselegs, John Paris, Pee Wee Vos, Dig Dighelli, Terry Garrett, Big Eyes, Wayne Jacks, Steve Gath, Daryl Gath, Russell Quinlivan & others.
Rod now lives in Bunbury WA.
1968 East Coast surf trip
In mid-1968 I caught a train from Perth to Sydney with surfer Rod McCarthy from Tweed Heads. There we met up with Keith ‘Jock’ Campbell and in his black FJ we drove up north to Coolangatta, surfing Crescent Heads and other beautiful places on the way. We stayed at Rod Mac’s house for a few days then shifted into the Coolangatta surf club. We surfed some ‘lovely’ winter Queensland waves and saw some very good surfers. We even got a job on a building site at Southport but that only lasted a day or two. One day we saw a car with WA number plates on it at either Snapper Rocks or Coolangatta, with a family and a couple of very young surfers in it. I believe it was the Bettenay bros.
Phillip Island surf trips
After a while we headed back down South and finished up at Phillip Island in Victoria, a place Jock had stayed at before. Jock had several nasty car crashes on the drive to the Island, not sure from where, hence the missing teeth in photos. Apparently in one such incident he drove off the road and straight up the guide wire holding the pole and then smashed to the ground. The whole time Peter Lummis was asleep on the back seat wrapped in a sleeping blanket. I believe they both walked away reasonably unscathed. We surfed and worked, more surfing than working. Especially through the winter months work was a little scarce. At this time besides Jock, Lum and myself, there were other WA surfers on the Island including Mal Read, Bob Shenston, Craig ‘Clarrie’ Brentwhite, John Balgarnie and Jamie Doig with visits from people like Peter Bothwell and many others. I think Fred Annesley and I may have stopped there on the way back from staying at Kirra after the Australian titles in 1969.
Phillip Island map courtesy Travel Victoria.
On subsequent visits to Phillip Island I travelled with Mark Waddell, with whom I lived and shared an abalone shelling job, working one day a week each. On my last visit, I travelled over with Mal Leckie and a young lady from Scarborough, Sue-Ellen Nyman. We stayed off the Island this time with a guy, Peter Connelly from Inverloch, who used to sand and finish boards with Greg ‘Pantsman’ Laurenson when he had his own business behind City drycleaners in Scarborough Beach Road, over the road from Hawke Brothers. On one trip Mark Waddell and I travelled from the Island to Tasmania in convoy with a Victorian surfer, Steve ‘Blue’ Nicholson, and then came back to WA with Blue. I believe Blue went straight to work for Tony Harbison on the holiday houses he built at Yallingup (Hideaway Holiday Homes). I think Blue may still be living Down South. On one occasion I helped a young surfer named Tommy Tyrell glass a board he had shaped, he went on to become a successful board manufacturer owning a company called Island Surfboards (purely coincidental).
One year when I was glassing for ‘Pantsman’ in Scarborough Beach Road, we decided to travel in Pants’ new Falcon panel van to Bells Beach for the Easter competition. There was Pants, myself, Peter Connelly, Steve ‘Sheepdog’ Cockburn and Rick Syme (I think that is correct!). On the way we stopped at Cactus and then went on to Bells and then Phillip Island. I remember Rick surfing exceptionally well at both Cactus and at Flynn’s Reef on the Island. My only memory of Bells was seeing Nat Young walking out of the bush/sand hills with his red setter and a big hat. I think he was going through an ‘anti competition’ phase, or something like that!
In my time there I had the great privilege to watch and enjoy a young Wayne Lynch surf Flynn’s reef on his backhand; a very young Mark Richard have a few sessions either before or after the Bells contest (can’t remember which); Mark Warren in his young heyday and many other good surfers who travelled through.
1968 Phillip Island surf trip comments and photos
Rod – “This surf shop was on the Nepean Highway in Gardenvale. Klemm Bell also had another factory in Torquay.“
1968 the crew at Klemm Bell Surfboards in Gardenvale Vic. Rod Slater pic.
L-R – Peter Connelly, Reg Bell, Rod Slater, ‘Steve the Kid’ (not sure of his full name) and Terry Klemm.
1968 Phillip Island surfboards. Rod Slater pics.
(Left) Rod Slater with new Klemm Bell surfboard. (Right) Jock Campbell and Mal Read preparing for a surf at Cat Bay or Right Point.
Rod – “Not my proudest moment, but still a browneye in a small Woolamai tube!“
1968 Rod Slater surfing at Woolamai beach on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
1968 Rod Slater and Mick Maddren at Cat Bay carpark on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Rod – “Summerlands is now famous because it is where the Penguin Parades are held!“
1968 John Balgarnie’s Holden FB Ute on Summerlands Beach at Phillip Island. Rod Slater pics.
(Left) The crew with JB’s Ute. (Right) John Balgarnie and Craig ‘Clarrie’ Brentwhite with JB’s ute.
Rod – “Jock Campbell broke split windscreen somehow and he (in the brown jumper), Mal Read (yellow shorts) and Mick Maddren (on the bonnet) were dramatising a bit!“
1968 Phillip Island road drama, Rod Slater pic.
1968 Jock Campbell with his FJ and Mal Read at Cat Bay on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Rod – “We sometimes scored some nice beach breaks around the Bay beaches.”
1968 Phillip Island Keith ‘Jock’ Campbell and crew acting irresponsibly at Summerlands on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pics.
1968 Jock Campbell and one of the Kavanagh boys from Wonthaggi Vic at Woolamai Beach. Rod Slater pic.
1968 Victorian Peter Connelly (on the left) at Woolamai Beach on Phillip Island. Rod Slater pic.
Click on this link to view Rod and Mal Leckie’s memories of 1971 surf trip to Phillip Island Vic.
Thanks Rod for sharing your memories and photos.
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