On a sweltering summer’s day, January 10th 1915, four
hundred spectators swore they witnessed a mirage. The Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku,
world record holding Olympic swimming champion, was now walking on water. Having paddled out almost a kilometre from the
shore of Freshwater Beach, in an instance he was on his feet gliding across the
face of a rolling wave.
Underneath him was a slab of American sugar pine, taken from
a North Sydney timber mill, and carved into what would soon become affiliated with beaches around the Australian
coastline.
For the first time the ancient Hawaiian art of surfboard riding had been introduced to the country.
For the first time the ancient Hawaiian art of surfboard riding had been introduced to the country.
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| Duke Kahanamoku, Waikiki, 1910 |
Enthralled locals watched on in awe as the Duke performed acrobatic feats
carried shoreward. Those who could break his spell rushed off immediately to
have boards modelled after his, returning to imitate the skill and grace that
they had witnessed.
Generations later and they still haven’t left. On any given
day, the electric blue water of the small beach, wedged between two grand
headlands, is filled with surfers flocking for the legendary breaks. A statue of Duke Kahanamoku watches over them
proudly from the shore.
Total count: 49/160
Total count: 49/160
