Surf City, Sydney

Board rego sticker on the tail of a beautiful Gordon Woods 1957 balsa ‘pig’, private collection, photo Gary Crockett

By 1960, the explosive appeal of board riding, the fast-growing number of new boards hitting the beaches and the rowdy behaviour of surfers had given Sydney lifesavers enough headaches to mount retaliatory action. For surfers, it was maddening enough to have to pay the council to surf but even more infuriating was that fines for riding an unregistered board went straight to the lifesaving club. Anger turned to action in 1963 with the establishment of the Australian Surfriders Association, led by Sydney surfing ambassador Bob Evans and backed by several rising stars and movers. Their aim was to promote surfing as a responsible, positive lifestyle and, more importantly, to restore unhindered access to Sydney beaches. Despite the tireless efforts of the ASA and its role in staging the World Surfing Championships at Manly in 1964, it wasn’t until 1967 that the system was abandoned.