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ENLARGE PHOTOS........Click on 1967 songs ('Juke Box'..far right) then click here George Greenough..Bob McTavish..and Nat Young start sawing inches... then feet ....off the old mals...and we never looked back!!...shortboards were here to stay!!

Shippies in '67 Andy McAlpine....shipwreck Bay...courtesy of the Northern Advocate...in '67 our Northland shores were being invaded from everywhere!!..and..why not!!!..... we had awesome waves!!

The boys decide to take a trip up to Ahipara...summer of '67 Bill Durhams beautiful green Morris Minor...with white-wall tires (was the 'in thing' then) Lauries 54 Morris and Murray Jacks mini!!

We would head off...up thru Towai....and the breaks would screech.... as we would often do a guick pit stop at the Towai pub....was very funny days...everyone trying to sneak in the pub (underage)...and trying to act like we were of legal age!! ha!...well...i was in '67 (drinking age changed from 21 to 20 in 1967)...

Towai pub ...1967

and how pumped we used to get when we would start climbing the Mangamukas!! ....knowing that once we get over that hill....its shippies ...'here we come' ...do you remember that excitement?.....

Shipwreck bay 1967....it wasn't called 'Shippies' then...was called Ahipara or Shipwreck bay!! Murray Jack and ......Max Atkins showing us his sore fingers...murrays mini....Bill Durham was there too!!....Camping at Ahipara ...how cool!!

Local Northland boy Murray Jack..surveys Shippies...summer of '67 Doing long day trips ...and weekend trips were a regular past-time by now for most surfers....once we drove to the Mount from Whangarei...across to Raglan..and back to whangamata for evening surf (on the same day)..you probably did something similar!! ha!

up on top of those massive Ahipara sandhills.. Paddy Kelly & Murray Jacks having an awesome time at Shipwreck Bay...summer of '67.....in '67 we found a human skeleton on these dunes ...with a pair of scissors stuck in a rib and rosary beads around his neck...we figured an 18th century missionary!!!!!!

Murray trudging over those massive sandhills... I notice he has his Tatahi sweatshirt on...cool!

How isolated does Ahipara look in '67

Wreck Bay in all of its glory...summer of '67 I mean...how nice does that look!!! ...summer warm water ...offshore winds and a nice little swell.....i dont think anyone was surfing further around the points yet...we certainly didn't in '68!!

Laurie in blue trunks...Paddy kelly in the tent..and Murray Jacks (unknown behind fin)...man these guys were organized....Aussie guys, Johnny Ayton and myself camped for 6 weeks at Ahipara in '68..no tent....oh boy!!!!...but boy did we have some awesome waves!!

Laurie playing tough guy with the rocks...Laurie lost Saw aussie Wayne Charlton try and get past that ledge on a 6ft barrelling high tide wave....the nose of his board hit the rock and he skidded about 20 yds over those rocks on his bare chest...oouuuccchhhh!!!!

This was the view from the tent...awesome!!!....little high tide right starting to happen.. Imagine waking up each day to see a half a dozen barrells peeling down the point....we did for 6 weeks..offshore and never got under 3 feet the whole time....beautiful!!!

...and another trip up north!!...Max Atkins...Colin Coutts..& Paddy Kelly ..Cape Rienga.. Most of us started heading up to the top and finding new surf-spots around the Northland coastline in '67

and Max ..Colin..and Paddy proving they made it to the top!!!!

didn't we love those straw hats in the 60's...ha!!

There's those 3 cars again...this time at Sandy Bay!! (Northland) Did these guys like travelling in convoy or something!!!....Laurie...Marika Lenards....Nola Durham...Max Atkins...Autumn of '67 kicks in!!!!

an autumn day at 'Sandys' 1967 Murray Jack..Maria Jack..Laurie...Marika Lenards...Max Atkins!!....look at that classic old board with that 'spacey' fin!!...ha!

Meanwhile Bill Durham tries out his skim-boarding skills at 'Sandys' ...1967!!

and Gisborne became all the rage now..and everyone was trying to make a trip down there at some time and Wayne Parkes of course...by now, was the undisputed king of NZ surfing (with the exception of Allan Byrnes)...

and of course Tatahi sent a team down too! The boys make the headlines .....John Clements, John Blomfield, Dak, Tim, and chris Frazerhurst about to hit the road.......

Ian Butt and the boys head down thru the Gisborne gorge to the '67 champs I had exactly the same red Commer as this one in '71 and also did a trip to Gisborne with my wife Paula and Roger Crisp....that van was so dam dangerous to drive...with that narrow front wheel base!!!...aaaaaahhhh scary!!

Some of the crew...settling down in Gisborne for a great surfing (competitive) holiday!! 'Dak' (Allan McDonald)...Chris Frazerhurst...'Harro' Ken Harrison....John and 'peewee'(Ross) Blomfield...

Great shot of Christchurch implant John McDermott (left) and Bob Davie ...battling it out... Gizzy Champs..1967 ..John gets 2nd place.... ..Bob 3rd...

Ian Butt makes the 1967 Gisborne Photo News.... at the '67 champs with John Blomfield on his right

NZ Surf Riders President hands Wayne his 1967 NZ Champs trophy... Wainui Beach Gisborne...summer of '67

Camping at Gisborne for the NZ National Surf comp....a hot Gizzy summers day!! How inviting does that look...im'e not sure who the girls were, but Leslie Ward ...and Josie Armitage were doing well at Tatahi then...could be them!!

NZ Nationals at Gisborne..Josie takes 4th place in the heats...Leslie 5th Bob Davie wins the paddle board race ...Chris Frazerhurst 6th...John clements 2nd in the junior paddle board race..Ken Beehre 5th!

Click on 1967 songs..then click here '67...the start of the wedding bell craze..to my utter surprise!! It all seemed quite a shock when all your mates who lived such a carefree life with you were suddenly getting married...particularly those you went to school with!!!

old surfing buddy Rod Haywood marries Elaine in '67 Rod and i used to frequent Sandy Bay in those early days...he had a nice new Atlas Woods board..which is still at his bach at Pataua..i rode it again about 5 yrs ago..awesome!!! still in prime condition!!

Rods sister Paula Haywood..givin' the car the old 'once over' just think... those lovely roof racks are about to become redundant.......well...at least he's still GOT his board ...46 yrs later!!...thats pretty cool!!

Getting married ...having kids!!! From '67 on.... there just seemed to be the continuous sound of wedding bells and change of life......responsibilities....like Barry & Glenys Chappell...Barry has been President of the Tatahi boardriders club up until now!!

Not sure exactly when Brett Knight got married...but must of been around now!!! Brett marries Judy McAnulty....one of Bretts brothers.... Terry (good lookin' lovable wild man Terry) on the left...sister Ainsley (second from right)....and tall Ivan Markovina and Lorna McAnulty....i think Bretts surfing life slowed down about now too!

Miss Tatahi surfriders..Ainsley Knight Well Ainsley was still right into surfing around now..'66..'67.....but also added a bit of glamour to that old Tatahi club

The day after a Tatahi Surf Social....1967 Maxine Robinson (left)...who became 'Tats' wife (been living on the Gold Coast now for 30 years) ..Pauline Wilson....Kiri Pou (sadly left us way to early)....Bev Crane..and Kaitia girl Glenys Kirtlan....

1967 and the Tatahi club was still pumpin' The 1967 Tatahi paddle board race down the Hatea river...not sure who 's in this photo....but Tim Frazerhurst won it..with Colin Hannah giving him a run for his money!!!!

But for some of the younger blokes ....it was still just..surf!..surf!..surf! Ken Beehre...Gary Orevich...Tony Kivell...autumn of '67...no doubt... about to get up to some mischief by the look on those cutie-pie innocent faces!!!!! ha!

Even the young Dargaville (west coast) boys were starting to be frequent visitors!! Nick and Johnny Matich at Sandy Bay...Autumn of '67.....in fact Nick was one of those surfing pioneering guys who started searching for waves on the west coast...from Pouto thru to Herikino in these early days........very cool (and gutsy)!!!

While they were heading over our way...we were heading over their way!! Particularly during toheroa season.......

The boys get a bit of 'Press' before heading off to Gisborne!

Gisborne champs...summer of '67 dont recognise the 2 on the left...but there's John Blomfield....Ian Butt...Chris Frazerhurst...Bruce Ryan...and John Clements

Gisborne 'Harro' and 'Dak'...maybe John blomfield bending over..

Tui and the crew hit Ahipara ....summer of '67

the swell slowly starts to pick up.....January 1967

John Blomfield has a taste of the new swell coming............... how cool is it at Ahipara....you go out for a 2 or 3 hour surf ...come in and have some lunch and just watch all your friends havin fun on that awesome wave...very cool!!...then out for another session.....

and brother peewee (Ross Blomfield) having a play on those beautiful shaped little lefts...

and one of the legends....doing a 'Tui'.... Roddy finlayson

another Northland legend Kit Steer...doin a nice little walk on a shippies comber...Ha!

that muscly little Tim Frazerhurst havin fun!!

and of course Mr Legend himself...Rossco Edge lookin very smooth!!

Roddy... Ian ...and Tui share a wave at Ahipara ...summer of '67 that was one of the coolest things about surfing during that era....sharing a wave with your mates ...was very cool fun all maneuvering together on a wave ...was a whole different spirit then!!

stunt man Butch Frobisher.... (South African...we think!) Butch was probably the first major board builder in Whangarei ...probably 1966-'67....was an excellent surfer...

Butch started a surf shop somewhere up Porowini Ave.... but alas....it burnt to the ground a short time after!!!...got a few boards made though!!

current photo of one of Butch's boards..... ..one of only 5 known Frobisher boards still in existance (Laurie's collection)...

the label on that board still looks pretty good after nearly 50 yrs!!!... ...Butch set about trying to organize a new Northland boardriders club around now also.....but it came to nothing unfortunately....

and Mr Cool himself Wayne Simpson ....playing around on a full tide Ahipara right...

and this is a great shot of Mr Stylist himself ...Bruce Ryan.... on a beautiful little Ahipara high tide right.......Bruce always looked like he was going to lose his daks....Ha!

Phil Mischeski...Ahipara wetsuits were getting better by now as you can see!!

Tui on a beautiful peeling Ahipara ....summer day of '67

Ian Mclean on a beautiful Ahipara longboard wave!!

Roddy Finlayson trying a parallel stance on a pumping Ahipara day in '67

Roddy nicely slotted on the inside....Ahipara '67 Roddy was one of the better surfers in Northland...mid '60s

Bruce Ryan coming in from a classic Ahipara session....summer of '67 is that a Tatahi boardriders sweat-shirt i see?...

John Blomfield pulling off the classic 'Quasimoto'....Ahipara '67

Tim (closest) ...Roddy.lying on his board (coffin ride)'how cool'..Ian ...& John How much fun does this look!!!....

Ian Butt and Dave Whealin checking out 'shipwrecks' on a summers morning in '67

How nice is it to wake up to a rising swell.....Xmas 1967..

great shot of John blomfield trimming beautifully on a warm Ahipara summers day in '67

Ian Mclean & Bruce Ryan...and a typical boys bedroom..Ha! ....Ahipara '67 ...and they even had music (radio on the car)

great shot of that pakeha boy Ian Mclean...doin a little walk...Ahipara ..On the high tide, you get a nice little reform right happening into the corner of the Bay...

great shot of Tim and Ian sharing a beautiful 'shippies' wave together...summer of '67 how much fun does that look!!....

Tim on a wilder day at 'shipwrecks'....1967 Having a little play on that high tide right....

Former Aussie boy 'Tats' John Cochran...Ahipara '67 'Tats' was a nice guy who came to town with a reputation...but soon began to settle down with a local Whangarei girl..Maxine Robinson.....we knew how to sort out those Aussie boys..Ha!!

John Ivey....Tim.....Steve...Tui....Ahipara '67 check how high the high tide used to come to...right up to the grass!!

and so its time to head home after an awesome week at Ahipara... Tim And Tui re-tying on their boards as we all often did!!....i think every surfer has had at least one board fly off a car at sometime...Ha!!

'Tats' showing us his stuff...Waipu Cove summer of '67 'Tats' lived an extreme lifestyle that eventually caught up with him in the late 80's...sadly missed but experienced life to the max...was a very likeable and fun guy...as we knew him!

Maxine sure new how to reform that boy...Ha!!...Tats 1970 Derek Brotts Aussie babe 'Robbie' (with a wig on) ...Tats...Maxine...and Julie ferguson

Richard Raines wife Christine...a long time ago..Ha! 1960s Richard still lookin good these days and still throwing an old mal around....very cool!

great shot of Allan Matheson at Waipu ...summer of '67 Tui showing a bit of style with his photography here!!.....Allan moved to Christchurch shortly after this photo was taken...along with Kit Steer and his lady!

Waipu Cove on a grunty day in '67... ...probably the weekend on a beautiful clean offshore day...don't ya luv it when those south-westerlies kick in......this is a great water photo..you can just feel the pumping energy in the ocean this day...you were probably there too!!!!

Waipu Cove regular....Auckland boy Tony Ogilvy.. Mr nice guy 'Tony' and some nice chick as usual....anyone know who she is!!

saw this 1967 Northland Photo News....and thought!...is that Glenys Chappell? No...its Miss Baileys Bch 1967 Catherine Sandford....soakin up the rays...probably Waipu!!

Phil Cooney and Brick Taylor did a surf trip to Europe & Morocco in '67... very early days for that sort of travel ...Phil picking apples in Kent England.....

that smooth stylist again...Mr Bruce Ryan...Waipu ..summer of '67

Bruce still on that nice little Waipu Cove peeler.....

nice fluid shot of Bruce Ryan starring in a magazine... Renowned photographer Tim Murdock took this shot of Bruce at Pataua

Bruce at the NZ Champs in Gisborne 1967 Beautiful drop-knee backhand turn by Bruce

Also starring at the Gisborne Champs...Tim Frazerhurst & Northland Jnr champ Ken Beehre .....Wayne shows us his comp winning style.....Bruce second in the senior Northland Champs....and Laurie Pinniger hangs five

Tatahi team member John blomfield stars in our local mag... Wayne...perfect control once again!!.....

NZ champs at Gisborne '67 Tim Frazerhurst wins his heat....Bruce Ryan & Ken Beehre 3rd in their heat......John Clements 5th in his heat

But Ken Beehre was becoming a bit of a magazine surf-star..... Must have been his red hair!!! Ha!.....above ...gracing the back cover of the Northland Photo News!!!! ...Taupo Bay 1967......classic clean little left....Ken in beautiful trim...

1980 NZ Longboard Magazine..... Tim Murdock did a feature in the above mag about Pataua in 1967.....he states "Taff Kennings on a lovely Pataua righthander"......sorry Tim but thats Taff paddling out and Ken Beehre ripping the wave up!!! but looks more like '69-70 to me!!

Meanwhile the girls were making the headlines too!..Pataua ....summer of '67 ...Shirley Scampton..Karen Buckley.. Sandra Wade...Julie, Valda and Carol Monkhouse

and theres that gymnastics team again..... gracing the front cover of the Northland Photo News 1967....might be Margaret Pou in the front ( maybe) but definitely Paula Haywood in the middle...recognize anyone else?

Well this is definitely Margaret Pou...... ...who married blondey-wondey long haired beach boy surfer.....the flamboyant Sheldon Wordsworth.....Sheldon...always good for a laugh...yea thats right 'one of those awesome blokes' ...Ha!!!

and the girls featured with the boys too!! Tatahi prize-giving makes the papers....Josie (woman club champion) Tim..Ken..Lesley..Tui and Chris

& here's Dianne Wallace...who was one of the surf crowd... also representing the Waipu Surf Club...such were still the strong links between surfers and clubbies...........

Robin May and PARTNER!!!!!! you kidding me ...was Robin more famous than John Blomfield...Ha!!

This is one of the most classic photos you wil ever see of the surf culture of '67 The whole photo just speaks of young people enjoying life and the surf culture...think that Carol Monkhouse in the bottom photo!! (although she known as 'Haney Kas' in the caption...is that right!!)...Pataua... summer of '67......recognize anyone?

these 2 were part of the group that day.......Pataua ..summer of '67...awesome days!! anybody recognize them?

Meanwhile...over at Sandy Bay.... ....unknown...Sandy Bay summer of '67....looks like my mini ('cause its got a 200ft Ariel like mine..Ha!!)..but i'me not sure!!

but this was the Ariel king of the '60s Bill Durham's classic mint Morry Minor.....

Then there was Maungatoroto boy Jim Nash.....(Laurie's cousin) and his 5 stacker home made roof rack on his classic old Austin....which had front doors that opened backwards....you didn't want to accidently bump the door latch while you were driving..Ha!!

and there was Jims maungy 'shearing' mate 'Goldy...and his VW ......i think we all just about had Vdubs at one time or another didn't we!!

Goldy (Mike Rossiter) sneakin' off down a private road for a surf ...maybe!! Unfortunately...Goldy (Jimmy Nash's cousin) went on to better things about 5 years ago now, but has his place in the folklore of Northland surfing history!!...good on ya bro!

How classic does that look......... Jims Dunlop board on the rack......1967 ...a major turning point in the history of surfing, as you can clearly see by the 2 different types of boards!!!....and check Jims classic board bumps (knees) that we all had then!!

& here's Terry Fitz....former Oamaru boys surf hippie wagon..... Somewhere in the South Island .....'The times they are a chaaa a ang.. ing!!! The hippie world was getting....oh so close!!!

lots of girl surfers around by 1967.... Got an idea this is Bruce Ryans surfing buddy...Mary Marr!!

here's another unknown surf bunny...Waipu 1967!!

and i was told this was Ainsley Knight.....yeaaaa..maybe!!! Waipu Cove ..summer of '67

Well, this is certainly Ainsley (Knight)....getting ready for a Tatahi comp heat... ..the Knight family was also another prominent Whangarei family who sadly lost their elder surfing brother Brett (to a melonoma) in recent years....a great family...

Beautiful shot of Pataua river...summer evening of '67 pretty sure we had to go over to the other side of the river for munchies in those days...was bit of a drag (long walk) after 3-4 hrs in the water!!!

anyone remember this...Cogans corner Xmas of '67 All the surf crew would hang out on this corner on Friday night and Mr Cogan was so jacked off with us because no-one could get into ...or want to come near his shop........sorry Mr Cogan..Ha!!....you guys probably had your special hangout too!!!

good ol' Cogan's Corner...ha!!

...1967

my my ...now there's a very young looking Dave Ryan (on the right)....Daves record shop 'Musicor' .(downstairs)was also our regular hangout on friday nights too...for some strange reason i always used to call it 'music hore' !!.Ha!..Dave with Radio Hauraki boy Carl Olsen(middle)& Ewen Simpson.. Radio Hauraki gave Tatahi some really good plugs!!

anyone remember this girl...... what......"dont you know yokomo".............yes...our own Dinah Lee!!......we used to sing that song on the way to the beach Ha!! "RING TING TING..HEY HEY YO"!!

now how good does that bar look..... tides going out...we were probably surfing it just a couple of hours before this photo was taken!!!....awesome Pataua ..summer of '67

a cool Autumn afternoon in Downtown Whangarei 1967

and something we all did with great passion......especially in winter!!! 'HOLD ON TO THAT SURFBOARD ...NO-MATTER WHAT!!!!.......i ain't swimming all the way to the shore AGAIN!!!!.......bring on the legropes Ha!!

when you got smashed on those longboards...you really got smashed!!! Often lucky you didn't lose a few teeth....we had to drag Greg Alach out of the surf once when Ross Edge forgot to turn and smashed up a few of Gregs ribs....oh hell...we were tough then...Ha!!!

Dicky Robinson on a beautiful glassy winters morning at Sandy Bay 1967

classic shot of John blomfield....parallel stance.... Sandy Bay...winter of '67

a lot of people speak fondly of Woolley's Bay...... ...but i never could quite get it on......seems to be breaking out a long way here though by the way those 2 surfers are sitting way 'out the back'!!

but its pretty hard to beat a high tide clean summer morning at Sandy's..... Malcolm Pullman doing a beautiful classic hang 5!!

Malcolm about to get wet..... but saluting 'Huey' on his way down..Ha!.....clean classic warm 'Sandy's on a summer morning in '67.....in Dec '67 Malcolm took out the overall winners prize in the most recent Tatahi contest...followed by Tony Kivell & Colin Lowe...well done Malcolm...

and Brian Kings having some fun too!!.... Brian in nice trim...doing a Tui...........Sandy Bay (Northland)...summer of '67...

and of course....shippies can get pretty nice in the summer too!! Trev King taking a photo of some of the 'shippy rippers' ....summer of '67

Trev got this great shot of a local havin' fun on a shippies peeler!! i mean that shot just looks so tempting...dosen't it....warm summer winds..warm water and a classic longboard wave.....awesome!!

the great banks of the power station had come to an end by the back half of '67.... but you can still get a little glimpse in this photo, of how they chopped into the sandhill in front of the chimney and created that awesome wave!!!

Ruakaka 1967...you can see the surfclub at the beach and empty land all around....

young 'grom' Roger Crisp...Rothesay Bay...Takapuna..... This is an exceptional day at Rothesay Bay...2ft and offshore...awesome!!......Rog's backyard wave!!!

young Mr Crisp showing a lot of class here...... Rothesay Bay....Auckland....summer of '67

Waipu regular..Mike Tinkler ...nice nose trim on a small Piha day It was always a massive contrast when we used to surf Takapuna (when i lived there) then head over to the west coast...you never knew what to expect!!!....west coast was often a challenge with those sneaker sets!!

Taff (Kennings) poised nicely on the nose as well...Piha 1967 Taff was one of those local Auckland guys that exuded the Californian mystique.....probably unknowingly....but the Californian 'wind n sea' thing seemed to suit him perfectly...when i thought of the local 'wind n sea' guys, he always came to mind!!...

Warick Burchall sittin' pretty on a sweet lookin' East coast wave..... Warick...a good mate of Guy Franks suffered the terrible misfortune to be wheelchaired after an accident.....we wish you well mate, and you certainly looked comfortable ripping up those waves in '67

in '67 many of us were heading down to Mangawhai...Forestry...and Te-ari.... Te-ari showing us what it can do!!

Tui havin' fun on a sloppy little 1967 Waipu wave..... looks like he's in a comp here......

unknown ..Tatahi champs...Waipu 1967 check the size of the board-bumps (knees).......anyone know who it is?

Maybe this Advocate sequence may help....

sequence continues...nice little trim starting to happen... anyone recognize the guys in the background?....possibly Murray Jacks!!!

sequence continues...its not Laurie is it?.... anyway...awesome photo...brings alive that nice little fun trim we used to do back then.....playing with the ankle-biters...Ha!!!......1967...memory lane...awesome..

Beautifully tanned Greg Alach on one of the newer slimmer boards we were riding in '67 Brian King in the background....Waipu ...summer of '67

Now lets have a look at some of the top boardmakers in '67... Bob Davie was certainly a big name in the surfboard industry in '67.....lots of guys i bump into tell me "oh yea i used to work for bob Davie"....

and here's one of them...the smooth..full of life Ellyott Allen.... Current Aussie boy Ellyott still keeps in touch with Bob..which is cool.....

former Napier boy Ellyott hitting the big time.......... Ellyott became one of the 'Mount' crew when he moved from Napier (as a 11 year old) to 'The Mount' in '64.....We always loved going to The Mount for a surf...always had a cool vib!!

i love this ...a caption out of the last photo.... it was ..."so gas".....Ha!....."still doing their thing"....everything was "gas" in '67 ...Ha!!...cool days....

16yr old Ellyott doing what most of us did at some stage... mix up a brew & do a little glassing or colourcoat or pinstripes..or whatever......and did we love the smell of those board factories..made you feel like you were totally emmersed in the surf culture..& we all had little backyard factories of some sort!!!

and here's another of the Bob Davie crew...Terry 'Fang' Fitzgibbon.. Former Oamaru boy Terry and his mate going for a surf back there in the summer of '67....awesome!!

and of course the reputation of Peter Way went far and wide.... even for making a good surfboard too...Ha!!

Peter Way Surfboard shop 1967.... Aussie Mick Hopper and Mike Tinkler take a break....

Dunlop make a statement here..... .."we are the pace-setters for 1967.....im'e not sure everyone would agree with that...Ha!!

its interesting....the guys are called 'Tradesmen' in this add.... a trade is usually associated with an apprenticeship.....was there an official boardmakers apprenticeship in 1967....i remember once that someone said "oh Tony Ogilvy's a junior apprentice at Atlas Woods".....i thought they were joking!!!!

Another Takapuna boy...Rodney Davidson...one of the first Takapuna surfers... Not sure why there is a photo of Steve King riding Crescent Heads here!!...by the way...who was the best surfer to ever come out of Takapuna?...no..not Wayne!!....would you believe......Midget Farelly..started his surfing career at Takapuna in 1955..true!

was 'Surf and Ski' then.... Was no snowboards around then.......even tho the modern snowboard was invented in Michigan in '65.... the current awareness of snowboards that we see today was...nowhere in our thinking in NZ in '67....

Board makers were popping up everywhere in the mid 60's.... Probably Atlas Woods was the grandaddy of boardmakers around then....

Had my first job at Wisemans (at Whangarei) in 1962..... also bought my first board (Quane) thru Wisemans.....they certainly embraced the surfing culture without hesitation...which was a big step then because the community as a whole were still very wary of those...'Surfies'

former Aussie Nigel Dwyer and Dave Littlejohn hook up to form Del surfboards...

Dunlop called themselves 'the Pacesetters for 1967"... Quane called his boards 'New Zealands Finest'....however i think by '67 there were probably 1/2 a doz 'NZ's Finest'...Atlas Woods would have to be one....and 'Del' another......

The 'Quane Trophy'......surfings equivelant of the 'Ranfurly Shield ' or 'Americas Cup'.... no doubt our 'Tatahi' club would have competed for this trophy....

Advocate photo ...straight out of the bible...Ha!!... sloppy day at Waipu ...Autumn of '67......dont know who it is...but he's got the 'Gant' style.....

Bill Durham...nice mellow looking high tide day at Sandys..... someone doing a skeg first takeoff on the right..Ha!!

'Frank Spicer and the Sandmen'...woooohooo!! Byron Boyd with that cheeky grin...used to practise his drums across the road where we flatted in Maunu Rd...was a bloody terrible racket!!! he was hopeless!!....na just joking Ha!!...good bloke..good drummer...with Dave Ryan, Mike Dwyer & Freddy Hadfield

Remnants of that awesome wave just a year before....Power Station spring of '67 whats left of the wharf......probably still a little bank there....but unfortunately was shortlived.....

some guy sitting in the 'sweet spot' on a nice wave at Waipu..Autumn of '67

downtown Whangarei 1967 the whole 'hippie thing' was ...ooooh so close.....most of us were spending our winters now in sunny Queensland!!!.....

upper Bank street...summer of '67 The old Catholic church still there.....

Onerahi airport 1967....not that any of us were using it...Ha!! we were living on a yoghurt a day....remember!!!...

great shot of Tim...beautifuly positioned power turn... shades of Barry Kaniapuni......got a warm summer of '67 feel about it!!...

'Kybo'...Bruce Tribe makes a trip up to Ahipara...Oct ..'67 those classic old cars were just awesome!!!!!!

was told that this was Brett Knights girlfriend learning to surf....Waipu cove is it Judy MacInaulty?....summer of '67....maybe thats her on the left

Brian Barnes doing a nice little turn at Waipu...summer of '67 Dick Robinson in the background...

Harvey Lee...doing his stuff..Waipu..1967

Auckland boy Harvey... showing us some class here....

Mike Cooney decides to drop in on this Auckland boy.....Waipu ..summer of '67

Western Hills Drive ...heading towards Maunu...1967

Whangarei Harbour...Onerahi in the distance...1967

Refinery...1967

Refinery...been up and running for 4 years now...1967

Dick...Brian King and Greg alach...Sandy Bay 1967

Dicky Robinson doing a nice little turn at Sandies in the summer of '67 Looks like an Aussie board he's on there....Heydon or Honnesee??

Ruakaka overview...1967

pretty empty looking ...1967

Ruakaka ...1967

Ruakaka's relatively new surfclub...looking all lonely down there...

Ruakaka motels haven't even been built yet..... 'Legs'....the Aussie boys and myself built them in '68...got some nice buckaroos to hang out at Noosa all winter...ha!!

who could forget that face....Original Ruakaka boy...Colin Lowe.. ...exactly how we remember him!!...short sleeve vest and all...1967.....and many of us had nicknames ...Col had the most inglorious nickname of all...'Lard bucket'...oh we were a cruel lot in those days..Ha!!!

Laurie cruising on a sweet little Waipu left...summer of '67

Laurie ....Waipu...1967 ..check the 'knee bumps' (surf bumps) that we all had back then....

Tim and Ian do a bit of wakesurfing....Oakura 1967 not sure about the girls...maybe Jacky!!!!!

Tui trimming beautifully on a summery sweet Ocean Beach wave....1967

Tui cranking a nice little backhand turn ...Sandy Bay...summer of '67

Northland surfer Bryce Beeston (middle) makes the Commonwealth 1967 Games... .........NZ Cycling Team

Cable Price 1967..corner of Hewlett st. and Port rd....

Russel area ...1967

Bob Tinkler...lookin' good...1967

Harriot Randel...Tatahi Board ridersl

Leslie.....our top surfer...also starring in another sport

Mike Tinkler.......maybe Waipu

Hokianga and Waipu Cove

Marsden Oil Refinery