1970s Southwest memories by Wendy Brine

Wendy Brine, a former Southwest resident who grew up in Bunbury, reminisces about the many weekends she spent in and around Yallingup during the early 1970s.

Wendy Brine. “I was a ‘surfie chick’ in the early 70s and have heaps of photos. My girlfriends and I spent many weekends in and around Yallingup as we lived in Bunbury and it was the halfway stop off point for a lot of the Perth surfers on a Friday night. The girls were Jo and Margaret Parry, Gabby Salitus and myself. We were all Bunbury girls.

Most of my pics were taken early 70s in and around Millbrook Farm and Yallingup. They include a few eastern states surfies living in the area and some locals you may recognise. George Simpson, Glen Lance, Errol Considine. Hans Kropp, who started the first French cafe at Yallingup and one image of the 1971 state champs at Margs. And another of Yallingup’s iconic one and only Surfside shop of the day.

There are also some pics in Bunbury of the local boys there, Terry Cornelius, Billy Crabb, Lloyd Horn and Peter Jones, Rex, (can’t remember his surname, but he was an amazing surfer in the day). Sorry about the clarity, old camera, old pics. 😊

At that time I had a red Mini Minor and remember Ronnie Ratshit borrowed it without my knowledge from my parents driveway and drove it to Yallingup on a Friday night. I recovered it the following day. Those were the days when we left our keys in the car!!! 😊

1970s George Simpson looking into Wendy’s red Mini Bunbury WA.

I was prompted to contact you after reading about Steve Campbell and Wendy’s wedding in Dunsborough during the 80s, as they stayed with me on Phillip Island Vic, the year I turned 20. If I remember rightly, they were visiting for a few months, I had been living there for a while, and we had a spare room. It was 1973 and us girls were riding inflatable surf mats at that time.

Great memories. 😊”