At the end of World War II Sydneysiders hit the road and headed back to the coast.Returned soldiers and eager youngsters joined regimental lifesaving clubs, paddling giant hollow longboards, or ‘toothpicks’, and patrolling crowded beaches. A handful of eager ‘boardmen’, however, were surfing for pleasure.
Lightweight and agile American malibus arrived in 1956, bringing a radical change in boardriding and surf culture. Films of surfers on hair-raising waves abroad and the sugary teen-flick Gidget soon followed, stirring up trouble and sparking a hunger for adventure.