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ENLARGE PHOTOS........'Choose a 1963 song (Juke Box) then click here..1963 was a very pivitol year for the NZ surf culture development in Northland & NZ...With every sport, ...there comes a moment when it goes beyond a 'fad' and becomes a community..i remember 1963 very well for that reason!! We started painting 'Murph the surf' on our cars..for example ...etc...etc!!!

it was also a year that had its tragic moments!! President Kennedy is assassinated, and even tho we were only mildly connected to the United States at that point...it still came as a great shock to us...and we felt the grief (as well as the US) associated with this tragic event!!

But back in Whangarei ...Mike Kings Woody........i think it was an old 'Bradford' 1963 was the year where it all exploded for us!!...Wayne Hutton, Mike, myself and Geoff Beasley would hang out together every weekend, surfing , skateboarding...you name it..we were into it!! ..was awesome fun times!!

'Awesome foursome' Ruakaka Northland 1963 Mike Cooney...Wayne Hutton...Geoff Beasley...Mike King...'ripping the place to shreads' & even tho we were totally into surfing..we were also clubbies as well...worked nicely didn't it!!...somewhere to spend the weekend with surf right out the front door!

Ruakaka Surf Club ...summer of '63 We were into 'Murf the Smurf' tshirts and sneekers..big time....... Mike Cooney and Mike King...havin' a ball...summer of '63... We'd have a surf then hang out in the surf club..cool fun!!

'Murf the Surf' This 'Murf the Surf' picture that they created for that time, was so typical of the innocence and childlike stage that surfing was going through in the early '60s..this picture very accurately describes that period!

and we now had our own surfing cartoons…. which we all thought were awesome in '63-64….surfing was totally all about fun in '63……the competitive thing was still a year or 2 away…..

18 yr old Phil Cooney...at his home...Brynderwyn Tearooms...summer of '63 Big bro Phil was always a bit of my hero..took me everywhere..never complained(having little bro going everywhere with him).surfed together..flatted together..traveled together..a good bro!..most siblings got into the surf or water culture together then..

Ocean Bch Northland ...summer of '63 My good friend Wayne Hutton and i have our first surf at Ocean beach...my old 'woody' 1948 hillman with 'murf the surf' painted on the boot!

Waynes first wave at Ocean Bch...summer of '63 Wayne trimming beautifully on this wave

Mikes first wave at Ocean Bch '63 We had a little box brownie photo camera with us...wayne took the photo..beach was totally deserted...just me in the water...when i see that photo i can still remember that pioneering feeling we felt!!..i guess it may have been the same for you in '63!!!

little later ....Ocean Bch summer of '63 When the surf was flat we got into sandboarding...Mike King Flying...Ocean Bch.....awesome fun times!!

Mike Cooney getting some speed up!!

Wayne going for the steepest hill.. we made these...shaped like snowboards except they were wooden!!....but could fly!!

Wayne watching me flying down the dunes!!

Wayne watching me come to a sudden halt...

me watching Wayne practicing gymnastics...ha!!

some old bloke arrived and took a very careful ride down a tiny slope....ha!! Tui Ocean Bch..few years later on upside-down surfboard!!...

and 10 yrs later Dargaville boy Nicky Matich showing us how its done!! ..Ocean Beach...Northland east coast....

Billy Prichard and Wayne Hutton ...Waipu Cove ....summer of '63 Billy Prichard was one of those colourful characters...had the classic 'fonzy' hairstyle and always surfed in 'budgie smugglers'..Billy...a definite icon of Northlands surf history!! ..."Geronimo..yeea"

Waipu Cove summer of '63 The lovable 'Billy Prichard' having fun on a 6" wave...Peter Delarue going the wrong way!!! Billy was probably the first person that i ever saw wearing a kind-of wetsuit vest..was very loose and sloppy with no sleeves i remember!!

Another early pioneer of Northland surfing...Dick Robinson ...or 'Ding' as he became known as.. In 1963 Dick was already an accomplished surfer...as you can see..still surfs 50yrs later...we had a surf together last month..surfing together 50yrs...awesome!!!!!....Waipu summer of '63

and Dick ..in more recent times became an excellent 'wave skier' ...Dick also had a nice little business in the 90s..hiring out his half a dozen surfskis at Waipu Cove .........

Waipu '63 ...Pretty sure this is Warren Patterson & Peter Delarue on a very glassy Waipu cove afternoon......Warren & Peter also a couple of Northlands surfing pioneers........although by 1963 the word 'pioneers' had all but faded out because of the growing national popularity of surfing..

Peter at Waipu with ''''friend''' ha! That smooth young Peter Delarue up to his old tricks again....Peter was a 'chippy' and drove around in an awesome 'mini cooper s' ..actually come to think about it, it was probably the car that got him the chicks!! ha!

Waipu Cove '63...man we had so much fun in those days!! Dick & i deliberated over this one,& we think its WarrenPatterson...Warren was very much part of that early scene..any ideas who the other 2 are?Hope its not a pintail!! mind you this was the 'norm' then(putting your board in the sand like this, wasn't it

well well well...can you believe this.... 50 yrs later and what do i see on the beach (Palm Bch Sydney)......cool!!!...some things never die!!....

Warren Patterson ..Waipu '63 Pretty sure this is Warren, who was a very accomplished surfer in those early days...had that smooth goofy-foot style as you can see....& speaking of girls!.......i think he hooked up with Leslie Ward...didn't he!!!

leslie Ward waipu Cove '66...one of our Northland pioneer surf girls ...Am i right here in saying.... Warren Pattersons girlfriend was Leslie Ward!!! oh man....guys and girls...so hard to remember who was going out with who...changed every week didn't it..ha!!!!

0f course in '63...Leslie was still a schoolie!!..Paula Haywood holding board..Leslie middle back... & maybe Margaret Pou top right..not sure on that one!..Whangarei Int.gymnastic team!!..in '63 even tho a lot of young people were getting into surfing..most still did other sports..the fully committed dedicated surfer was still a rare thing!!...

Dick Robinson ...Waipu cove '63 Dick doing a drop knee backhand reverse rail turn kick out re-entry while waving to everyone...Ha!!!

Waipu Cove 1963 Dicky Robinson trimming beautifully on warm '63 summer day.......Dick was one of our more competent Northland surfers by '63

Well.... looky here....a young Pat Mahunga Shortly about to become a regular feature out on the Pataua bar lineup..and he got pretty good too!!.........Pat..one of the new generation that grew up with surfing as a genuine alternative sport...like so many that started in the mid to late '60s...

and heres the rest of the 1963 Pataua school Made up of Coote's, Mahanga's and William's....ha!!.......it was noticeable that beachside communities were really beginning to embrace the sport of surfing in the mid 60s...

Dennis Quane from christchurch...1960..not bad for his first board!!!!! Man that looks like my first Quane that i bought in '63....a lot of surfers in the north bought quane boards thru that period!!! popular boardmaker up here!

1963 Wayne Huttons kitset Dunlop board that he built In the summer of '63..Dunlop produced a kitset surfboard.....they gave you a blank, fibreglass, resin and fin...and you built it yourself ...we put the coloured stripes on with some paint sprayed on the blank!!!! fun times..resin everywhere!!

Ross (Edge) putting a finish coat on one of his boards...summer of '63 looks like he's havin' a lot of fun..good stuff!!!...awesome days..

Langs Bch Northland 1963...notice the beautiful empty paddocks at the south end!! Was probably the first year that many of us started regularly going to Langs...it seemed such a beautiful inviting set-up...especially with those pohutukawas hanging over the beach!!

great advocate (local newspaper) shot of Waipu...Autumn of '63 Possibly Phil Cooney sitting...Tui (look-a-like) on right..actually its Ted Bacon apparently......of course we were all kneeling in those days and most of us had big board bumps (on our knees)!!

advocate photo...Waipu ..autumn of '63 ...Bob McNab and Ted Bacon

Ruakaka Northland 1963.... By '63 a small local community was starting to be established The Ruakaka SLSC was in full swing, & a few of us were finding new surf spots...like the spot we used to have to walk across the river to get to!!!...now called 'The Racecourse!!! No power station or road then...man those boards got pretty heavy!!..

Matapouri Northland 1963 Very doubtful that this place had been surfed yet...we probably didn't realise that the river mouth could produce such a good wave...most of us were only just starting to figure out what good surf spots were in '63

Matapouri 1982 Pauline Pullman just showing us how good Matapouri can get....Sandy bay girl Pauline...a top surfer!!

and it's an awesome big cranking fast right hander some days Matapouri 8ft sets...awesome!!

Ahipara ('shippies') summer of '63 Looking very isolated and inviting!!..Most of us never knew much about Ahipara then..we didn't even know that a film-maker called Bruce Brown was in town that year..shooting footage at Ahipara..we only realised it when we saw the film!(The Endless Summer)

Mangawhai Northland ...plenty of swell ..summer of '63....probably very rarely surfed at this point of time(1963) we began to hear about all these other new exciting surf spots..such as Mangawhai.....funny isn't it..we wanted everyone to know about these new surf spots & others to join us for a surf there!!..very different today isn't it!

Bob Atherton...Ahipara 1962 (have heard Bob & Joan are no longer with us...however not confirmed)... Wow...how much were these guys 'pioneers'..Bob & Joan Atherton...imagine all the empty waves they would have had to themselves..photo courtesy of Luke Williamson 'Gone Surfing..Neville Masters the photographer was somewhat of a pioneer too!!! good stuff!

what on earth is this!!! a reverse switch foot twist backhand reverse whatchamacallit!!.......Who? anyone know!!...great advocate photo..Waipu '63

click on a song - 1963-65 (Juke Box) Even though we were still fully committed to our surf clubs...it became pretty hard to 'do patrol' all day when there was perfect waves right in front of us. we would often get a reprieve for a couple of hours...which helped!!.but often internal conflict

Waipu Cove.... Beeston, Orivich, Alach....what a line-up ...1946

early days....Waipu

Waipu Cove...1947

'48-49'

1957

Women.....Waipu Cove 1959

Opening of the Waipu Club house.....1951

opening

May 11th 1963..Waipu Cove surf carnival In '63, it was not uncommon to see heaps of surfboards lying around the clubhouses and on the beach!!

Maybe late 50s or early 60s Pretty sure that is the old Waipu Cove clubhouse...which met its fate shortly after!!!!

Mangawhai Heads SLSC 1963...Surf Clubs were happening all up the East coast. in fact 'surf starved' Red Beach SLSC (near Auckland) was becoming one of the top clubs also..with huge interest from Auckland kids.we often competed against them! Had some cool trips down there to compete...and also over to Mangawhai...

1963 Murawai SLSC The west coast SLSClubs were very competant opposition...which is no wonder...imagine regularly taking a surf boat out at Murawai...gutsy stuff!! those guys were the real deal 'real watermen' !!

Ruakaka surf carnival..around '64-65 Check the massive swell we had that weekend...it was possibly this swell that saw the collapse of the Waipu SLSC building (foundations washed away), or certainly a swell like this!!!......by 1963 surf clubs were hugely popular around NZ....

the Ruakaka SLSC humble beginnings 1961...the shed cost 10 pounds... after a big storm, we would have to dig the sand away from the doors to get into it.....how classic are those old cars!!!....that was a little weekend shop on the right.......ah..remember those early simple uncomplicated days of the early 60s!!...

Waipu (Waiapu Ha!!) SLSC around '66-67 Over the years big swells kept smashing the clubhouse, and around the mid sixties...it was to be replaced....we loved that old clubhouse...slept in there more than my own home!! ha!

Construction of the new Waipu SLSC around '67 That looks like Tui with his hands on his hips...Ha!

New Waipu SLSC Bill Beaston doin a good job.......by the way....i wonder if you knew that Bill was an honorary member of the Ruakaka SLSC!!!!!!....true

This is a really interesting photo!! (1967) During the construction of the new Waipu clubhouse some of the workers take a break for a surf...on a cold sloppy winters day....the 'clubby culture' and the 'surfing culture'...combine!!!... was probably the same all over NZ in '63...

Brice goes for a surf while (dad) Beaston keeps working Ha!! The 'He-men'(as their described above) come back from a cold surf to do a little work on the clubhouse..mid winter..no wetsuits..we were tough in those days..Ha!!..up until around '65 we would surf every weekend all year round just in boardshorts..brrrrr!

interesting impression by an architect of the new Waipu Surf Club.... The Architect (general public) obviously see surf clubs and surfing as synonymous....hence the Club House with surfboards leaning against it.....interesting!!

the completed clubhouse ..probably around 1967-68 Ruakaka had just built their new clubhouse around 3 years before...so it was all go on the 'Clubby' front...even with a lot of 'clubbies' spending more time on a surfboard these days!!

The big day

Autumn 1968...some of the clubbies catch a few nice little waves in front of the new clubhouse.. oh those classic Waipu high tide banks...awesome!!..

This is a great photo... The lone clubbie flag flutters in the breeze while most of the clubbies are out catching a wave...Ha!...cool Autumn day at Waipu in '68

Waipu SLSC member & top surfer..Tim Frazerhurst..Tim was an excellent surfer & a clubbie 'to boot'.. This is a great shot of Tim in '65...however he always seem to epitomise the 'clubbie surfie' thing..surfing in his 'budgie smugglers' more often than not..which was not unusual then..my brother, Ronny Roman,Johnny Bruce etc..all 'budgie smuggler' boys!!

Clubbie Tui Wordley desperately trying to get a tan..Ha!! ..and maybe praying to Huey for some waves!!!.....and there's those budgie smugglers again!!...

'March Past' summer of '65 Waipu Cove Surf clubs were just as strong as ever in '65,...even tho surfboard riding was taking a big leap ahead also!!

Comps at Ruakaka were now a regular thing...and we loved it.... The Murawai crew closest to us....there was always a strong competitive feeling between the Northland and Auckland clubs...

Waipu Cove SLSC had some beautiful 'roadies' (or groupies) ha!!

Waipu Cove carnival 1965 One of the Mangawhai Heads boys in the surf ski race...hollow ply surfskis were still around in '65

Surf ski race Waipu 1965 Surf skis were so difficult to keep straight (sitting down) when you caught a reasonable size wave in...they so easily 'broched' and you enevitibly ended up taking a swim...and maybe a smack on the head too!!

Waipu SLSC local carnival day..around '65 Anyone know who those Waipu club members are on the board and surf skis?...Surf Life Saving and surfboard riding in one arena!!

Surf Carnival at Ruakaka in '64 Red bch and Waipu Cove reelmen...anyone recognise the Waipu boy!!!!

Surf carnival Waipu Cove '66 all the various things we had to learn...i thought surf club life was pretty awesome..even tho 'clubbing' eventually gave way to 'surfing' in my case!!

Ruakaka SLSC members at the Ngunguru sports gala '64 Kevin Codlin...Jim Keir...Brian codlin...Terry Hutton...Brian Hutton...foundation members of the newish Ruakaka surfclub doing a promotion at Ngunguru!!.....all keen watermen!!

Ruakaka SLSC boat crew 1965...Ruakaka Northland The surfing clubbies...Brett Knight...Terry Hutton...Johnny Wells....Mike Bradley and Dennis Sterling, who eventually became President of the Tatahi boardriders club

Ruakaka summer of '65..and our new surfboat The boys take the new boat out for a spin..John Wells..Dennis Sterling...Terry Hutton...Brett Knight..Mike Bradley .......Brett and Dennis also excellant boardriders as well...

Ruakaka Surf carnival ..summer of '65 Our brave Ruakaka boat crew (on right)..take on the Red Beach boat crew...with a fairly sizable swell running at Ruakaka that day....even tho we surfed..we also loved the challenge of catching a wave in a surfboat...was total panic in a big swell...Ha!!

even tho we held regular carnivals at Ruakaka...... the surfboat contest was generally a non-event due to our east coast mild summer swell.......but it was always a heavy duty event on the west coast and we were often unprepared for it!!..

Ruakaka 1963...low tide and a quite a nice sized swell running ...we would have been surfing that swell out in front of the clubhouse at first light when it was glassy this same day...was awesome fun!! probably Brett, Mike King, myself and Wayne Hutton.......most surfclubs around NZ had the early morning malibu crew!

A rainy summers day in '63...The opening of the new Ruakaka SLSC clubhouse.... Peter Howe on the left..an Aussie transplant..& Tatahi boardrider Johnny Bruce becomes Ruakaka SLSC club Capt. in '66..& Brick Taylor (middle) taught me to stand up on a surfski in 1959....there was very little conflict between the clubby & surfers in '63

opening of the Ruakaka SLSC around '63 Was a pretty horrible day for the opening...but was so cool to have our own clubhouse...they bought an old house in and we reshaped it!!

the reshaping of the old house.... Johnny Bruce and Dennis Sterling (both excellent boardriders) seemed the most experienced of our lot, when it came to the 'hammer and nails' side of it.....it turned out pretty good for a bunch of amateurs (predominately)

we were pretty happy with the finished product..... now its back to competition with our arch rivals..the Waipu Cove SLSC........we both fought for the 'Babbage cup' every year...contested between the 2 clubs....even tho we were surfers, the competive surf club thing was still very strong in us!!

The 2 Mikes ....Cooney and King Ruakaka SLSC '63.. ..and the first malibu that the club bought...and Mike King showing off his new sneakers...sneakers became the in thing around '63

Ruakaka SLSC '63 Wayne Hutton and i would buy aheap of lollies at the shop, then go up the tower and pig out while watching the waves peel in...was such fun...man..what a sugar fix we used to get!!.......we surfed, but we loved that surfclub too!!!!

and we had fish just about every weekend!! Mike Cooney about to try out a bit of shark for lunch!!!!

Ruakaka surfclub summer of '63 There's the 'old mans' cool chevy.....Brett Knights mini...complete with surfboard ...and pretty sure thats Dennis Sterlings Humber with the surfboard roofracks!......i think!!!!!!!!...surfing clubbies!

Surf Carnival Ruakaka '64 one of the more fun events at the surf carnivals, was the Chariot race....of course the lightest person (or girl) would be the rider...very few ever made it to the winning line...ha!!!!! ...good fun times

well we won something!!!!!..... Which i would have to say was a rare occasion...Ha! ....Johnny Slako with the tat on his arm...very uncommon in those days!!!

All clubs need community invovlment at all levels.Ruakaka community members..launch the new surfboat Jim Keir-past president..Ted Gudsall-past president..Matee Slako-foundation member..Lindsay Cann-committee member..Colin Meale-president..80 yr old Jim Ingram-life member..This was the first surfboat in Northland apparantly!.named 'Tohu ora'(to save life)

interestingly....there were heaps of surfers who were also SLSClub members as well... as we see in this plaque in 1968...The hutton boys..Wayne, Brian and Terry...Bob Hemmingway...John Knight...Mike King...Max Leonard..Brett Knight..etc

Ruakaka SLSC member Ian Milne ties the Knot in '67 and Ruakaka SLSC mate Kevin Codlin keeping him company..Ha!!..a few of theses guys were just a little older than us and seemed to settle down when we were about to embark on the Hippie trail....

Mike and Phil Cooney Ruakaka tug-o-war team around 1970... even tho we spent most of the year surfing overseas at this point..we always somehow ended up drifting back to the club for a time!..belonging to a surfclub can put some strong longevity ties into your life...i still catch up with some of my clubby mates

brother Phil (Cooney) still involved well into the 1970s... we had friends who remained staunch clubbies and friends who put surfing first...we're still friends with them all today....

The boys from Ruakaka get a mention in the local rag...1962 Phil Cooney, Terry Hutton, Peter Mellsop and Brick Taylor.....also Ruakaka comes 3rd in the Auckland/Northland Blair Trophy comp at Ruakaka....

The clubby of the 70s...Ruakaka boy Grant Effort...... you couldn't tell by the early 70s ...who was a surfy and who was a clubby...we all looked the same during that hippie period.......pretty sure local hot surfer Doug Fergusson was a Ruakaka clubby too!!!

Hatea Drive(Whangarei)1963.was around about now that they created a quick by-pass called Hatea Drive ..you can still see the old 'winter show' buildings there too, where we would play basketball on a friday night then head out to Ruakaka SLSC afterwards & surf most all weekend ..great fun times!

and this was our mode of transport..the good old Model A ..There was a seat in the boot (hinges at the bottom) and Wayne and i would sit in the back (boot)...Brian and Terry in the front...sometimes surfboards sticking out the boot next to us...awesome fun days!!!!!

the boys heading home after a nice session at Waipu....1963 Tui's Ford Coupe...Ross and Dons Edges..FE Holden.....check the boards going out thru the back window of Tui's car!!!

Dicky Robinson...all concentration...Waipu cove ...summer of '63 ....another budgy smuggler boy.....'speedo's as they were called then!!

Tui looking very much like a visiting Hawaiian...Ha! Actually Tui's real name is 'Tutanekai' which has Maori legend status (Hinemoa & flute playing Tutanekai Maori legend)...but alas Tutanekai is just a Dargaville boy Ha!!.. born in 1936!!..Tui's a Northland surfing legend..still surfing today at 77....

How nice does that look!.....warm summer morning Waipu 1963 Dicky Robinson hav'in' fun on a nice little left!!

Meanwhile in Australia.......Manly Bch ..summer of '63 Midget Farrelly is shortly about to win a world title here......... & by 1963 surfing was massive in Australia and heaps of us were getting itchy feet to go there!!...

Nearly 40 years later...5 of the 6 finalists of the '64 World titles get together again..... Midget Farrelly...L J Richards...Mick Dooley...Joey Cabell and Mike Doyle...Sunshine Coast (Noosa Festival of surfing)....Bobby Brown deceased

Northland boys..Roddy Finlayson....Tui and Kit Steer ....and their old 'woody'. The boys on safari...Oakura camping ground ...Taranaki...they met the 'Endless summer' crew on this trip....rabbit stew in the pot!

'Boris' ...the boys classic old woody...1963 'Boris' (Karloff).....the boys were watching an old 'Herman Munster' movie when Roddy said ..." that dark black truck reminds me of Boris Karloff......Ha!

Waipu Cove Xmas of '63... anyone know who that young lady is?...i remember the face....look at those 'magic' classic old cars....camp wherever you wanted to ...awesome!!!

Tui relaxing with a good book....Waipu ..summer of '63 meanwhile Kit Steer and Roddy Finlayson having a battle in the sand....

in front of the old Waipu Cove surfclub ...1963 Ross...?....Kit Steer....Roddy....Max....Tui...?..........some saturday nights you would walk into that clubhouse and there would be 20 or 30 people asleep on the floor in their sleeping bags...Ha!!

Robin Hill with the new board that Ross made for her...summer of '63

Roddy doing a little crouch on the inside section...Waipu ...summer of '63

Dicky Robinson (left) ....and the crowds!!!...Waipu '63 the local breaks definitely started to get a bit busier from '63 on.......

Refinery being built...1963

Taurikura Bay .....Ocean beach area in the distance...1963

Taurikura...1963

South side of Taurikura...1963

Mcleods Bay ...heading out to Ocean Beach...1963

Mcleods Bay...and the new refinery going up...summer of '63

Main road thru Waipu...1963

Just entitled 'Ellis..Vera..Jane'...Waipu Cove 1963...not sure who they are!!! So cool when we could park on the beach....

A desolate looking Ruakaka...summer of '63

Gonna be a power station here in a couple of years time...Ruakaka 1963

Ruakaka camping ground...and the main street of Ruakaka....one shop ..1963

Ruakaka river ....1963

Ding Bay...1963...i think it was around now that we named it 'Ding Bay' ...spring of '63

Northland Regional mag...2 bob!!!...July 1963

Horotutu Bay..Paihia...1963...classic looking cars..and ah yes!!!...there's a Kombi..Ha!! Began as a Missionary Station in 1823

Brynderwyn Tearooms 1963...and there's the old 'Woody'..(ol' mans car...Ha!!)

Ross's classic FE Holden...1963...man those roofracks were dodgy!! 63 Maunu rd...everyones regular hangout....

and there's that sweet Ford Coupe of Tui's again... Ross Edge...Tui..and ?...Waipu Cove 1963

I remember those days when you were the only one in the water.... ...in fact...only one at the beach....Tui,...doing some solitude surfing ...Waipu ...summer of '63

good lord...surely we don't look that old....sheeeesh!!!

Remember the ol' Domine at the Onerahi airport!!!

Frank Spicer and the Sandmen... Bob Darroch...Dave Ryan...Clive Brown...

Frank Spicer and the Sandmen in the Sky Lounge...1963

i reckon Trev King, Brian King and Colin Hannah......ocean bch in the old mans car...'63!

the Auckland boys and girls hit our shores....Mitchells....Jackie and dad...maybe Wayne Parkes!!

the Kings hit town again.....Brians surfboard on the side of the car....old Waipu Cove surfclub