Surfboard with Windansea club livery in movie grab from Bill Moseley’s 1960s Bondi footage, courtesy Marilyn Moseley
The Sydney ‘branch’ of the famous Californian ‘Windansea’ board riding club was originally stacked with Bondi surfers, although its membership (by invitation only) of around 60 top riders, at the time this image was taken, included rising stars from all over the place. Like in California, the Sydney Windansea club was set up to win competitions, by handpicking its members and instilling club loyalty. The challenge of keeping this kind of club afloat, according to vice president Robert Conneely in a Surfing World interview (Nov 1965), is getting the mix right and setting common goals… ‘All of these radical guys are moulded together to form one strong body and they do make a lot of sacrifices for the club, but we don’t try to regiment them – they always remain individuals’.
The Surfing World, November 1965, courtesy Steve Abbott collection