WA surfing and surf industry pioneer Brian ‘Coley’ Cole, aged 81, passed away on Friday, 28 May 2021.
Brian began surfboard riding at City Beach in the mid-1950s with mates from the City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club. With his mates, Brian surfed metro beaches and played a key role in pioneering surf trips to Mandurah, Rottnest Island, and Down South during the mid to late1950s.
In 1957, at the age of 18, Brian crafted his first surfboard—a 10-foot hollow plywood Malibu—in the backyard of his parents’ home in Wembley. Photos of his 1957 plywood surfboard follow.
In 1959, Brian’s passion for surfing took him to the East Coast beaches of Australia before embarking on overseas surf travel to France, America & Hawaii in 1962.
1957 Brian Cole (2nd from right) and his City Beach mates heading for a surf at Cable Station Cottesloe in a Morris 10 sedan. Photo Brian Cole.
Note. The plywood ‘Toothpick’ boards and ski stacked on the car were possibly the property of the City of Perth SLSC.
1957 Ian Scott & his Austin A40 with Brian Cole, plywood surfboards & WW2 flying suit at City Beach. Photo John Budge.
1957 Brian Cole’s homemade hollow plywood boards at his parent’s place in Wembley. Photo Brian Cole.
1957 Brian Cole (18) surfing his home-made 10ft plywood board at City Beach. Article West Australian Newspapers.
1957 Brian Cole surfing his home-made 10ft plywood board at City Beach. Photo courtesy West Australian Newspapers.
1957 Surfers ‘Hangin’ in car park at City Beach groyne. Owen Oates Holden FX ute, Brian Cole’s Morris Minor & Laurie Burke’s Triumph Mayflower. Photo Brian Cole.
Bonus Pics
Brian Cole. “There were no Oz surf magazines in the 50s, so it was purely “word of mouth” stories of East Coast point surf that filtered back to WA and saw me hitch a ride on a semi-trailer to Sydney in 1959.
First stop Sydney, I surfed and worked in Bondi, purchased a balsa pig board from Wallace Surfboards and headed off to Queensland in a Hillman Minx sedan with another WA guy. My surfboard was too big to fit on the car so I had to fly it to Coolangatta with TAA.
When I arrived in Coolangatta, I told the local Surf Club I was a clubbie and they let us stay there free. I surfed good waves at Greenmount for three months and met Bondi’s legendary Barry ‘Magoo’ McGuigan.”
1959 Coolangatta Qld. Brian Cole with his balsa pig board from Wallace Surfboards NSW. Photo Brian Cole.
1959 Yallingup beach boys with boards. Brian 2nd from left with homemade triple stringer epoxy surfboard. Photo Brian Cole.
L-R Ray Nelmes, Brian Cole, Jim Keenan, Des Gaines, Laurie Burke, John Budge & Artie Taylor.
1957 Weekend Mail Annual Paul Rigby beach cartoon courtesy of Brian Cole.
Thanks for sharing your surfing memories Brian. Rest in Peace.
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