Surfing in New Zealand

New Zealand is one huge playground for surfers, with coastlines facing in every direction on the compass and with ocean swell potentially emanating from every angle - the scene is set.  Computer mapping and forecasting have made the eternal search for good waves  less prone to failure these days. Suffice to say if the keen waverider is willing to travel, he or she can be assured of finding waves almost every day of the year.  Generations of New Zealanders have grown up taking full advantage of the rich potential our coastlines offer. In my family we were introduced to the ocean early as a result of living close by Auckland's North Shore beaches and as we grew we ventured farther afield courtesy of Dad building a motor boat in our downstairs garage. Suddenly we had left the mainland beaches behind, venturing offshore to the nearby islands and fishing and diving grounds. My brother following his natural inclination became an expert diver whilst my inclination led me more to above water pursuits. Body boarding and skim boarding led me to witness stand-up surfing. I can still remember the moment I made up my mind to give it a go - Summer 1974 sitting on the beach watching waves being ridden, it looked like too much fun to miss out on, I had to be a participant. Little did I realise it would become a life long pursuit that would infuse most aspects of my life.

Today's generation of kiwi 'grommet' surfers are as stoked as the generations that came before. They often benefit from the experience their parents had of exploring the coastline and the knowledge that comes with it.  Society, that is non-surfing society, I would say has embraced surfing as a legitimate sport/activity/culture now, as opposed to the bad image it rightly or wrongly had in the early days. Competition and its partner sponsorship are alive and well in the current surfing scene which has enabled individuals and the sport in general to ascend to a higher profile publicly. Surfing has spawned a plethora of business ventures all aimed at spreading the thrill and enabling visitors to experience what's on offer along our salt water margins. Still the quintessential New Zealand surfing experience is the same as that shared by devotees universally - sharing good waves with friends in spectacular locations without a sponsor's flag in sight.

History

New Zealand's  indigenous Maori people live in close harmony with the sea.  When Europeans made contact in the early 1800's, records were made of people surfing using relatively uncrafted equipment - crude boards , canoes, logs, even kelp bags! Surfing was a regular summertime activity but less developed that in Hawaii. Evolution was halted in the mid-1800's with the arrival of missionaries and the new moral codes and values that came with them.

New Zealand received a brief re-introduction to surfing in the early years of the 20th Century with the visit of legendary Hawaiian waterman Duke Kahanamoku. He was touring the world following his Olympic swimming success and was keen to demonstrate 'the sport of the kings' in every country he visited. New Zealand's opportunity came in 1915 at Wellington's Lyall Bay. Onlookers watched in awe as The Duke rode waves to shore on his 10 foot finless solid wooden board. Local surf life saving club members were impressed and records tell of various Wellington waterman using solid boards of up to 16 feet in length during the 1920's period. Yet surfing as a sport didn't really take off then and the surf lifesaving culture seemed to dominate the scene for many years.

It wasn't until after the second World War and into the relatively affluent 1950's that things changed. More leisure time and car ownership meant more visitors to the beaches, fermenting the wider establishment of surf clubs and surf life savers. Equipment developed to assist life saving and for use in competition consisted mainly of surf boats, surf skis and longboards. The longboard was designed for paddleboard races but was also used for standing up in the surf. These boards had a structure like an aeroplane wing and were finished off with a layer of ply. These were the precursors of the modern surfboard.

Refinement of these paddleboards into surfboards occured during the 1950s but they remained heavy, finless and were mostly ridden in a predetermined straight line to the beach. Various backyard longboard makers throughout the country refined and experimented with the longboard prototype pushing the envelope in different directions but the revolution in surf board design and surf board riding was about to arrive.

In the summer of 1958-1959 two young Californians arrived on these shores with their American designed 'Malibu' boards and changed things forever. Bing Copeland and Rick Stoner brought boards made of shaped balsa finished in fibreglass resin. Their lightness and manoeuvrability captivated the local Piha surf life saving fraternity and shortly thereafter the wider surfing community at the 1959 National Surf Lifesaving Championships at New Plymouth. Word spread of these new boards and along with it the rapid-fire spread of modern surfing took hold throughout NZ. Modern surfboards began entering the country with returning travellers and pioneer 'Malibu' board shapers began popping up around NZ in the early 1960s. Before long an industry was created to fuel the rapid growth of surfing. Now there was a new breed of outdoor ocean enthusiasts, not tied to the rules and strictures of the surf club. Recreational surfers, those purely focused on riding the best and biggest waves, had arrived. They turned their backs on organised sports groups and revelled in new found freedom. Life became the beach and an alternative lifestyle began to be forged amongst many participants. The numbers boomed and along with it the birth of surf competitions, associations and by 1967 a National Team was chosen. Magazines and surf movies became more available and new breaks were being discovered all the time. Surfing destinations became known and certain regions became synonymous with NZ - the likes of Piha, Northland, Coromandel, Mt Manganui, Gisborne, Raglan, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Wellington, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Dunedin. Surfing culture had hit home.

As the '60s rolled on the rest of the world discovered NZ as a surfing destination and international cross-pollination of ideas, design and experimentation occured mirroring that of the wider culture of the times.

This heady hay-day produced many stories of infamous individuals and their antics whilst also producing many well-known names that contributed to the development of the sport - names like Peter Byers, Allan Byrne, Bob Davie, Denis Quane, Peter Way, Rodney Davidson, Wayne Parks, Taff Kennings, Dave Jackman.

As the '60s came to a close so began the further commercialisation of the activity with the surf wear industry starting to make inroads. The next revolution also occured around this time when the short board trend hit our shores. This also inspired new performance levels with radical manoeuvres now being possible. The 1970s heralded a new generation of surfers stepping up into the frame. New board manufacturers provided a custom-made designs for the buyer. Leg ropes and wetsuits made a big impact early on in this decade. new champions also emerged as surfing in NZ matured into one of this country's most popular outdoor activities.