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1956
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Newspapers :
1956.
Introduction.
Se
The Argus
Melbourne, 3 January 1956, page 3.
lt's
summer remember?
The newly-formed Point Leo life-saving club held its
first surf carnival yesterday; it may sound silly,
but remember, technically it IS summer!
Here Keith Wadling, of the Torquay Club, coasts down
a breaker to win the novice surf-board event.
"SURFERS HAD THE SHIVERS"-SEE STORY, PAGE 15.
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Trove
1956 'It's summer
—remember?', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 3
January, p. 3. , viewed 27 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72528362
The Australian Women's Weekly
8 February 1965, page 6.
Off duty in
Honolulu:
Whether you're working, surfing or dancing under the
stars
YOUR CREST WAVE WILL ALWAYS LOOK WONDERFUL
Crest . . . the choice of Canadian Pacific Air
Hostesses
Trove
1956 'Advertising',
The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), 8
February, p. 6. , viewed 27 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51938987
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The Argus
Melbourne, 5 March 1956, page 1.
WIFE SEES SHARK KILL HUSBAND AT PORTSEA
5 ride wave to beach as 12ft. monster strikes
Aerial picture of the
back beach at Portsea, where life-saver John Wishart
was killed by a shark.
A YOUNG wife saw her lifesaver husband mauled and killed by a
12ft. shark at Portsea back beach at 4.45 p.m. yesterday.
The lifesaver, 26-year-old John Wishart, a Sorrento plumber, was
swimming with five other lifesavers, about 300yds. from the
beach, when the shark struck.
John Hopper - he saw
Wishart die.
Wishart's wife, Gloria, 24, her mother, and three
thousand people on the beach watched in horror.
The five swimmers with Wishart were: John Hopper, draftsman, of
Whitworth av.; Spring Vale; Tony Woodhouse, 19, a third-year
dentistry student, and son of Dr. W. B. Woodhouse, of Bowley
av.; Balwyn; Gregory Warland, 20, of the Officers' Training
School, Portsea; David Crankshaw, 16, of Toorak, and Richard
Wright, 20, of Mont Albert rd., Camberwell.
The shark attacked just after
TONY WOODHOUSE
the Sorrento- Portsea Lifesaving Club championships had ended.
John Happer, 31, club captain, who was one of the swimmers,
said:
"Six of us were strung out in a line and were facing out to sea,
waiting for a breaker to take us in, when the shark attacked.
"Dick Wright was on my left side and John Wishart on my right.
"lt all happened in three seconds.
"lt came from the beach side and went between Wright and myself.
Gone in a flash
"Something hit me on the chest. I thought it was the shark but
think now it was the swirl of water.
"lt was all over in a second. The shark swirled in front of me
and grabbed Wishart on my right.
"The shark looked like a tiger or whaler, and was about 12ft.
long."
Wishart had been married three years, but had no children.
Besides being an expert swimmer and surf skier, he was a keen
spear fisherman and a star footballer in the Mornington
Peninsula League.
This is believed to be only the second shark fatality in
Melbourne's history.
Late last night the beach was being patrolled by police and
members of the local fire brigade.
First-constable G. Knowles, in charge of the beach patrol,
expected the body to come in with the tide about 1 a.m.
He said, if it was not washed ashore during the night, it would
not surface for another four or five days.
Before his last swim, Wishart went out to bring in some buoys.
Sam Stirling, surf boat crew captain, said he believed the shark
might have been trailing Wishart.
The attack occurred directly in front of the life-saving shed.
The alarm was first raised by people on the cliffs behind the
beach.
Continued on Page 3
Trove
1956 'WIFE SEES SHARK KILL HUSBAND AT PORTSEA', The Argus
(Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 5 March, p. 1. , viewed 27 Jul
2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71790282
The Argus
Melbourne, 14 September 1956, page 22.
We'll make a new Games' splash
KEN MOSES
It's a lucky thing for Olympic Games organisers they are not
holding events on Sundays.
Because on the two Sundays during the Games they would strike
the toughest opposition, as far as a gate attraction is
concerned, down Torquay way.
The opposition - 3,000 bronzed bodies, competing at Torquay in
the international and Australian surf life-saving
carnivals.
There is little doubt the Torquay carnivals will be one of the
finest displays of the Games
outside recognised Games events.
There will be 70 teams from all over Australia, and 70 overseas
competitors from Ceylon, South Africa, New Zealand, and Hawaii.
And the surf carnival they put on for the Queen at Bondi,
Sydney, will be a "pup" compared with this one.
There will be 60 teams alone in the march past, which is as
colorful as the Trooping of the Color at Buckingham
Palace, on a background of surf and sand.
Boat race
There are 60 entries in the open surf boat race, 10 in the
junior event, and 300 competitors in the open surf race.
Then, just to pack in the thrills, there arc 170 entries in
the surf ski event and 200 in the surf board title.
These are two carnivals that should be "musts" for everyone
in striking distance of the 58 miles to Torquay on
November 25 and December 2.
Trove
1956 'We'll make a new
Games' splash', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 14
September, p. 22. , viewed 27 Jul 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84386433
Sydney Morning Herald
5 October, 1956, page?
Inital
announcement
of International surf life saving program ...
Torquay 2nd
December,
Maroubra 8th December and Collaroy 9th December, 1956.
Sydney Morning Herald
Sunday 11 October 1956, page
8.
U.S. Surf team Will Tour
The article notes that the team
will arrive in in Sydney in November and the success of the
Carnival is
due to a donation of two thousand pounds from Mr. G Walkley of
Ampol.
Western
Herald
Bourke, NSW, 9 November 1956, page 2.
The Olympic
Story
...
Two surf carnivals will be held during the Games at Torquay.
On November 25th, teams from
many countries, including
Hawaii, Ceylon, New Zealand
and South Africa, will compete
in an international carnival.
An all-Australian carnival
will be held on December
2nd and approximately 60
teams will be competing.
Trove
1956 'Part 11 The Olympic Story', Western Herald (Bourke, NSW
: 1887 - 1970), 9 November, p. 2. , viewed 25 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104015528
Sunday
Telegraph
Sydney, Sunday
11 November 1956, page 84.
U.S.
Team for surf
Twelve American and 10 Hawaiian
lifesavers will arrive here on Tuesday to
compete in surf carnivals in
Melbourne and Sydney.
They will be the
first lifesavers
from America and Hawaii to compete in
carnivals in Australia.
The Americans and
the Hawaiians
will appear at Torquay (Victoria) on November
25 and December 2 and at
Maroubra and Collaroy on December 8 and 9.
The Americans and
Hawaiians will
make their first appearance in Australia at
carnivals next wekend at Cronulla
and Avalon.
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday 14 November 1956,
page?
Ultra-Light
Board for Surf
Hawaiian lifesaver
Henry Shaffer (sic, Shaeffer) believes his 26lb board
could
revolutionise surfboard racing in Australia.
Shaffer is
captain of the Hawaiian surf team, which arrived in Sydney
yesterday with
10 American lifesavers to compete in international surf
carnivals in Melbourne
and Sydney during the next month.
The most
streamlined
racing boards in Sydney, made from 1/2 in (half inch)
plywood, weigh
about 33-35 lb.
Shaffer's
surfboard is made of balsa wood reinforced with canvas, and is
coated with
a thick layer of fibre-glass.
Several
leading
Sydney board riders agreed last night that the lightweight
balsa fibre-glass
boards would live the Hawaiians a tremendous advantage under
normal conditions.
But they
claimed
the heavier Australian boards would be more at home in a big
surf, where
the Hawaiian boards would be at a disadvantage.
Shaffer said:
"I must admit that the powerful Australian surf will be the
final test
for the fibre-glass board, which has just come into vogue in
the United
States."
The Americans,
all powerful rough-water swimmers are university graduates or
students,
who spend the summer as professional lifeguards on beaches
around Los Angeles.
The Hawaiian
and American teams will be billeted at the Balmoral Naval
Depot until they
leave for Melbourne next Wednesday.
They wiII
compete in carnivals at Torquay on November 25 and December 2,
returning
to Sydney on December 6 for carnivals at Maroubra, Dec. 8, and
Collaroy,
Dec. 9.
Daily Telegraph
Sydney, Wednesday
14 November 1956, page 31.
U.S.
LIFESAVERS INTRODUCED
TO GAME OF DARTS
Photograph and
caption ...
PETTY OFFICER CURRAN shows members
ot he visiting American surf lifesaving team how to play darts
soon after
they arrived at thier billet at Balmoral Naval depot yesterday.
The surfer
on the extreme right is Tad Devine, 22, son of film star Andy
Devine.
The
Americans will compete at the International Surf Carnival at
Torquay (Victoria)
during the Olympic Games.
The Sun
Sydney, Wednesday 14th November
1956, page 60.
IN
THE SURF
by J.
S. McAuley
Suprise
from Hawaii
Hawaiian Tom Zahn will
not lack
staying power when he contests board contests at the Olympic
surf carnival
at Torquay on Sunday week.
Zahn recently won a 26 mile race
in Hawaii.
The longest board races in NSW are
about thee miles.
With the revolutionary type boards
the Hawaiians have brought with them they could trouble our top
riders.
Australian surfers will have to pass
a stiff swimminig test at Footscray baths, Melbourne on Monday
next week
to make the team to oppose overseas stars at carnivals at
Maroubra and
Collaroy next month.
A team of eight will be chosen and
the swimmers may have to do 2.30 or better for the 220 yards to
make the
grade.
They will also have to be efficient
beltmen and R and R men.
Costumes
Overseas (sic) and
Australians to compete at the Victorian and Sydney carnivals
will swim
in costumes donated by Speedo.
They will be full length with their
Australian colors on the badges.
The American team, which arrived
yesterday, has colorful outfits. Don Lucas and an assistant will
drill
them in R and R.
Ceylon surfer Rod Ingleton
hitchhiked
part of the way to Sydney to compete at the Olympic surf
carnival at Torquay
on Sunday week.
He fluked a plane ride to Singapore
and then managed to get here on another plane.
Jack Anderson, a director of a tea
plantation will be Ceylon's other representative.
Color
US and Hawaiian surfers will wear
colorful costumes for their first Australian appearance at
Cronulla on
Saturday and at Avalon on Sunday.
The Americans are coastguards from
Miami Beach, Florida.
They will not be allowed to contest
individual events, as they are paid professionals.
Their costumes have been
specifically
designed to include the USA colors.
...
Apostle
Former Australian surf champion
Max Riddington hope to introduce SLSC work in (the) US.
Max, ranked next to Bob Newbiggen,
as one of the best surfers in the past 20 years, is in America
working
for an insurance firm.
Max has amazed Americans with his
body shooting in a small surf.
If the big waves start rolling in
he should give a typical Australian display.
The Australian
Women's Weekly
14 November 1956, page 34.
LI-LO SURF
BOARDS
Heavyweight.
SENIOR (PB175)
34" x 26",
JUNIOR (PB174)
24" x 22".
Solid rubber handgrips.
Blue, Yellow or Red.
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Trove
1956 'Advertising', The
Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), 14 November, p. 34. ,
viewed 27 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51272554
The Central
Queensland Herald
Rockhampton, 15 November 1956, page 16.
Twelve American and 10
Hawaiian llfesavers
will arrive in Sydney
on Tuesday, the advance
guard of an international
surf
invasion.
Trove
1956 'HAWAIIAN SURFERS', The Central Queensland Herald
(Rockhampton, Qld. : 1930 - 1956), 15 November, p. 16. ,
viewed 25 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79270839
The Argus
Melbourne, 16 November 1956, page 29.
... AND THE
SPILLS
IF you are within striking distance of Torquay, Victoria's jewel
of surfing beaches, on either of the two Olympic Sundays, you
will see an
Australian sport at its best.
Just 58 miles from Melbourne, 3,000 bronzed athletes of the
surf will put on grand displays.
Life-savers from all Australian States and many overseas
clubs will stage a grand march past.
On November 25 the Inter national Surf Carnival will be
held, and on the following Sunday the National Surf
Championships. Life-savers will demonstrate rescue methods.
Then there is the surf boat race, in which 60 boats will
plough out to calmer waters behind the line of breakers to come
rocketing in on rolling walls of water.
Three hundred surfers will compete in surf ski races.
Oversea competitors
Taking part on both Sundays will be 70 teams from Australia and
70 overseas competitors from Ceylon, South Africa, New Zealand,
and Hawaii.
Admission to the carnivals at Torquay on both Sundays is
5/- for adults and 3/- forchildren.
Grandstand seats at Ł2/2/- may be reserved by contacting
the secretary of the association, Mr. J. Williams, at XB5210 or
MU2129.
Admission, grandstand reserved seat and rail-bus tickets
are now on sale at the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau, 272
Collins st., MF0202.
Here is how to get to Torquay:
Special trains leave Flinders st. station
at 8.45 a.m.and 8.50 a.m., and arrive at Geelong
at 9.45 a.m.
Other trains leave Flinders st. station at 9.20 a.m. and
9.25 a.m., arrive at Geelong at 10.50 a.m.
All trains connect with buses at Geelong for Torquay.
Trove
1956 '... AND THE SPILLS', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 -
1957), 16 November, p. 29. , viewed 27 Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71765983
Sunday Telegraph
Sydney, Sunday 18 November 1956, page 76.
U.S. surfers impressive
The visiting American surf team
yesterday showed it could prove a major threat to Australia's
domination
of international surfing.
The Americans trained impressively
before a crowd of 4000 at Cronulla beach.
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday
19 November, 1956, page3.
Thousands
Throng Beaches : Many Saved.
US
Surfers Show New Technique.
Nearly 20,000
went to Avalon for the surf life saving carnival in
which lifesavers from
United States, Hawaii and New Zealand competed
against Sydney clubs.
The
American
surfers, standing sideways on small 10ft. boards and
moving at high speed,
received a warm reception from the crowd.
One of
the
American surfers, Ted Levine (sic,
Tad Devine) had the opportunity to demonstrate his
country's rescue
technique in a genuine emergency.
Instead
of
the Australian belt and reel, he used a "torpedo buoy'.
Sydney
Morning Herald
Wednesday, 21 November, 1956. Page
15.
Surfers
To Sell Boards
The visiting Hawaiian surfers will sell their seven
lightweight surfboards, which created
a sensation at Avalon last Sunday, after their farewll
appearance at Collaroy
on December 9.
The
boards,
which are made from balsa reinforced with two two long
strips of redwood
and coated with a thick layer of fibre-glass, weigh
26lb.
The
lightest
racing boards in Sydney, made from 1/2 inch plywood
weigh from 33 to 23
lb.
The
Hawaiian
boards, which have been used at Waikiki Beach for seven
or eight years,
can be made in less than a week.
Shorter,
Wider
They are eight
feet long, compared with the average Australian length
of 16 feet, but
are about five inches wider than the local board's 20-21
inches.
Three
hundred
people saw the Hawaiians give an exhibition of board
riding after a special
carnival at Avalon in a big surf last Sunday.
Unlike
Australian
boardriders, the Hawaiians stood on the middle of their
balsa boards, even
when heavy white water from the broken waves swept
around their feet.
Harry
Shaffer,
captain of the Hawaiian squad, said last night of the
boards :
"There is
no question of selling out to the highest bidder.
"We plan
to
give our boards to the fellows we consider to be the
real enthusiasts at
only a token cost."
The Sun
Sydney, Wednesday, 21st
November 1956, page 59.
SURFERS TO EAT BY
'TON"
From J. S. McAuley.
MELBOURNE, Wednesday.
Australian and overseas surfers
billeted at Melbourne Showground will not go short of meals
during their
12-day stay.
Frank Dennis, who is doing the
catering
at Melbourne Stadium during the Games, is also looking after the
surfers.
He has ordered nearly two tons of
beef, to be eaten at breakfast.
He is providing a la carte dinners
for the 350 surfers at night.
Surfers from South Africa, Hawaii,
New Zealand, Ceylon, England and US will be billeted with
Australians at
the Showground.
They compete at the Olympic carnival
on Sunday.
Allrounder
Pad (sic) Devine,
who will compete for US, is a son of film star Andy Devine.
Pad narrowly missed selection for
the Olympic Games. He swum 4min 50 sec for 440 yards.
Dan de Rego, with the Hawaiian team,
is one of the best allround surfers in Honolulu.
He is married to Judy Cornell, a
former breaststroke champion who represented the US at Helsinki.
Smart
Boys.
Maroubra team of 32 arrived yesterday
by truck and cars with all expense paid by advertising.
Their truck was be-decked with
advertisments
for petrol, swimming trunks shoes and cigarettes.
Wal Brown, Dennis Green and Barry
Stuart, who are contesting the kayak events at the Olympics on
Friday,
will compete in ski events for Maroubra on Sunday.
Hosts
Jon Hendicks and Gary Winram took
US members of the Olympic swimming team for a surf at Torquay on
Sunday.
The Americans said they would liek
(sic)
to have a crack at a surf race before returning home.
The Argus
Melbourne, 23 November 1956, page
9.
THEY CAME FROM EVERYWHERE FOR OUR GREATEST DAY
"Duke" of Hawaii smiles his way in
Beaming their
delight, Hawaii's top personality, Duke P. Kahanamóku,
and his wife (above)
step smartly to their seats at the Games
opening yesterday.
A former Olympic Gold
Medallist in the swimming ranks, Duke was a great
friend- and
opponent- of the late Sir Frank Beaurepaire, who did
so much towards winning Melbourne the XVI Olympiad.
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Career
Duke Kahanamoku's remarkable Olympic career began in 1912 when
he won the 100 metres freestyle at the Stockholm Games.
He won again at the 1920 Olympic Games and was second at the
1924 Paris Olympics.
The tall sparkling smiling Duke is Sheriff of Honolulu where
he's known as "King of Hawaii."
Like her husband, Mrs. Kahanamoku has a link with Australia . .
although American-born, her mother came from Adelaide.
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''HOWDY, MELBOURNE . . . howdy."
Games," shouted Hawaiian Olympics
visitor "Howdy" Reynolds (left) when he arrived at the
M.C.G. looking colorful in his aloha shirt,
canary-colored silk lei, and outsize straw hat banded in
pheasant feathers. "
"Howdy," an ex-president of the Waikiki Lions' Club
and of the Surf Life-Saving Association of Hawaii, is
over here as guest of an International Lions' officer,
Cr. William Tresise, of Hawthorn, and his
wife.
And what does he think of Australia?
"Why," he said, "They just don't know hospitality
like this anywhere . . and as for your beer!
Boy, if only you could buy it durn' some o' the
party hours, it'd be even mightier." |
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Trove
1956 'THEY CAME FROM EVERYWHERE FOR OUR GREATEST DAY', The Argus
(Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 23 November, p. 9. , viewed 27
Jul 2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71767378
The Age
Melbourne, Saturday, 24th November
1956, page 12.
Overseas
Stars in
Surf Events
Torquay, where the first international
series of lifesaving events is being held in
conjunction with the Australian
surf championships, should prove a popular sports
venue tomorrow.
Main attraction of the
carnival
will be the four international teams from Hawaii,
South Africa, New Zealand
and Ceylon.
With Olympic athletes
observing
a rest from competition, a crowd of thousands is
expected to make the journey.
The day's programme,
which begins
at 10 a.m., includes ski and surf boat racing, beach
sprints and relay
races, and the march past championship.
Star members of overseas
teams will
compete against Australian team representatives in
the international belt
race championship at 1.30 p.m., the. main event of
day's programme.
The other event for which
the overseas
teams have entered include the senior and junior
surf race championships
and the senior surf teams' race championship.
The Australian
championships, which
will be spread over tomorrow and the following
Sunday, will be contested
by a total of 120 teams.
With 51 teams entered for
the march
past championship, starting at 1.45 p.m., it should
prove a colorful and
spectacular event.
Plenty of thrills should
be provided
by the double ski race championship and the senior
and junior teams' boat
races.
The Age
Melbourne, Monday
26th November
1956, page 3.
40,000
at Torquay for Surf
Carnival
Forty thousand people, yesterday
swarmed over the cliffs at the Toquay beach to watch
the International
Surf Carnival.
Overseas Olympic visitors
and athletes
were well represented in the crowd.
Highlight event of the
day was the
march past by 35 teams each in distinctively colored
costumes and caps.
A Geelong-pipe band,
which led
the marchers along the shore, splashed through the
surf waves as they broke
on the shore.
Despite high winds the
surf was
weak and spasmodic and competitors got little help
from it.
Passing showers sent the
crowds
scurrying for cover during the morning, but the sun
shone brightly for
most of the afternoon.
Overseas visitors did not see the
typically AustraIian sport of surfing at its best
because of the poor surf.
The teams competing came
from Hawaii,
South Africa, New Zealand, Ceylon, Great Britain,
the United States as
well as from each Australian State.
New South Wales won the
International
Carnival from New Zealand (second) and Hawaii
(third).
Australia did not compete
with an
individual team; but was represented by all its
State teams.
The Australian Surf
championship
event will be held at Torquay next Sunday.
Full results, page 13.
The Age
Melbourne, Monday, 26th November
1956, page 13.
N.S.W. Surf Team Wins
International Contest
A crowd of 40,000 at
Torquay yesterday
saw the New South Wales Surf Life Saving team win the Olympic
Year International
Surf Carnival.
Australia did not enter an
individual
team in the six-nation carnival, but the New South Wales team
dominated
the events.
The carnival was marred by wind,
showers and weak surf.
New Zealand won the march past with
smart marching.
Weak surf made racing a test of
strength more than skill in riding waves.
Competitors were lucky to get help
from the sea, and those who caught waves were assured winners.
Surf race winner Peter Garratt,
is 1956 champion belt and individual surf racing champion of New
Zealand.
Australian teams competed as
separate
States yesterday against international teams.
Individual Australian championships
will be decided at the Australian surf carnival at Torquay next
Sunday.
INTERNATIONAL
RESULTS.
Belt Race: New Zealand (1). South
Africa (2). U.S.A. (3).
Rescue and ResuscItatIon: New
Zealand
(1) New South Wales (2). South AfrIca. (3).
Surf Race: P. Garratt (New Zealand),
1; J. Jarvis (New Zealand), 2; T. Bowman (South AfrIca) 3.
Match Past: New Zealand (1), Ceylon
(2), South AfrIca (3).
Beach Relay Race: Hawaii (1). South
Africa (2). U.S.A. (3).
Beach Sprint: P. MannIng (N.S.W.),1;
L. Hanka (Hawaii), 2; C. Cole (Tasmania), 3.
Final Points
Tally:
1.
|
N.S.W. |
26 |
7.
|
Vicforla |
3.
|
2.
|
New Zealand |
22 |
8.
|
Tasmania |
2.5
|
3.
|
Hawaii |
15 |
9.
|
Queensland |
2
|
4.
|
Soufh
AfrIca |
10 |
10. |
Great
Britain |
1
|
5.
|
U.S.A |
8
|
11. |
South Australia. |
0.5 |
| 6. |
West Australia |
5
|
|
|
|
New South Wales won the Inter-State
championships with 46 points.
RESULTS:
1. N.S.W., 46
2. West Australia, l7
3. Queensland, 16.
4. Victoria, 11.
5. South Australia and Tasmania,
both 6.5.
Daily Telegraph
Sydney, Monday
26 November Page 35.
Surfing
draws 50,000
Melbourne,
Sun. -
Fifty thousand people today saw
35 (?) teams compete in an international carnival at
Torquay.
The teams represented the
United
States, Hawaii, Celyon, South Africa, New Zealand, Great
Britain and Australian
States.
New Zealand won the international
march-past
from Ceylon and South Africa.
New South Wales won the
interstate
rescue and resuscitation event, with Queensland second and
Western Australia
third.
The Americans caused a suprise
when
they appeared with their surfboards.
Glass Boards
The
boards were made of light fibre
glass.
They were very narrow, with
rounded
keels and resembled kayak canoes.
Australia's reel and line
method
of surf rescue astounded the Americans.
The American system is to carry
a coil of nylon line into the surf and pay it out as they
swim to the patient.
The Argus
Melbourne, 26 November 1956, page 9.
World surf stars
thrill crowd.
By JUDY JOY DAVIES
Tall, bronzed life-savers in their brightly colored
uniforms, slowly and majestically marched across the
sands of Torquay yesterday and 70,000 people cheered one
of the most spectacular scenes of our Olympic Games Carnival.
Thirty-five teams; representing the U.S.; Hawaii, Ceylon,
South Africa, New Zealand,Great Britain, and local and
interstate surf life saving clubs competed in the international
surf carnival.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the events continued non-stop.
As the crowds increased, they packed the beach, then the
headland - soon cars took over the golf course.
And then the tide turned, and coming inshore, started nibbling the golden
beach away.
The colorful march past was put forward an hour to 1 p.m. - and
even then there was hardly enough beach left for
thc 35 bronzed and youthful teams lo march on.
Wearing colorful costumes of blue tops with white stars, a
white centre band, and scarlet trunks, the U.S. team brought
cheers from the huge crowd.
But the more experienced New Zealanders won the international
march past, with Ceylon second, and South Africa third.
White-haired Duke Kahanamouku, sheriff of
Hawaii and former dual Olympic swimming' champion, sat among the
carnival crowd with Australian "Boy" Charlton, another former
Olympian.
"It's great," the Duke said, "the sight of surf always thrills
mc."
But for once the Torquay surf was rather tame, no boats were up
ended and the small waves were hard to catch.
Thc Americans caused a surprise when they appeared with their
version of surf boards.
Very narrow, and made of light fibre glass,
they proved a lot faster than the normal Australian board.
Astounded
And our reel-and-Iine method of surf rescue astounded them!
The American idea is ˇj to carry a coil of nylon line into the
surf and play it out as they swim to the patient.
They wear no belt attached to a
reel, as we do here.
Judge Adrian Curlewis, Australia* Surf Life-saving Association
president, said the international Olympic carnival had brought
about an exchange of ideas - the Americans were going to try our
reel-and-line method, and we would experiment with their torpedo
line.
Judge Curlewis added that an international advisory surf
committee would now be formed.
Hawaii won the International beach relay from South Africa and
the U.S.
Tom Zahn, of Hawaii, won the
board race from Mike Bright, of U.S., and G. Williams, of
Western Australia, 2.
New South Wales won the interstate rescue and resuscitation from
Queensland and Western Australia.
Jim Fountain, of Victoria, won the senior interstate belt race
from R. Hounslow, of Western Australia, and R. Reid, of South
Australia.
The Americans claim the Australian reel and line is cumbersome,
and that the "torpedo" would halve rescue time.
The nylon line is in a rubber buoy fastened under the patient's
arms.
Trove
1956 'World surf stars thrill crowd', The Argus (Melbourne,
Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 26 November, p. 9. , viewed 25 Jul
2016,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71768013
Sydney Morning Herald
3rd December, 1956, page 12.
Torquay Carnival.
Melbourne,
Sunday.
Only
about
15,000 watched the championships.
There was
hardly any surf and by early afternoon the tide was well
out to sea, leaving
swimmers a long run and wade to deep water.
The march
past was
marred by a storm and ... a second storm cleared the
beach and the
sandhills later.
SMH
8th December, 1956, page 12.
Maroubra
and Collaroy Carnivals.
...
Board
Race
The main
interest
will be in the surfboard race in which the Hawaiians and the
Americans
will use eight-foot long balsa boards.
Hawaiian Tommy
Zahn, who won the recent international match at Torquay in
Victoria, paddles
one lying down.
The local
competitors kneel on their boards.
Sun Herald
Sydney, 9th December, 1956, page
42.
Maroubra
Carnival
Photograph of B. Keane, Cronulla.
Many boats
were swamped and skis and boards were tossed high in the air
in the big
seas.
Results
Surfboard
Race : B. Keane (Aust.) 1; T. Devine (U.S.A.) 2; G. Noll
(U.S.A.)
3.
Belt Race
: T. Devine (U.S.A.) 1.
Surf Race
: ? 1; T. Devine (U.S.A.) 2.
Beach Relay
: Hawaii 1; U.S.A. 2.
International
Beach Sprint : ? 1; L. Hangca (Hawaii)
2; P. Baulding (?) 3.
SMH
10th December, 1956, page 11.
Australian's
Win Most Events In Surf Carnival
A crowd of
6,000 saw Australians dominate most of yesterday's events at
the international
surf carnival at Collaroy.
Australia
held a narrow lead of half a point over New Zealand after tbe
first day
of the gala at Maroubra on Saturday.
But yesterday
Australia won the R. and R., surf race, beach sprint, board
race, and marathon
surf race. Australia (441 points) finished 91 points ahead of
New Zealand
(35), with South Africa in third place with 26!!points.
Hawaii and
the United States shared fourth place on 24 points.
Conditions
were ideal.
The surf was
not as boisterous as at Maroubra, where the ski and board
events were spoiled
by the big waves.
Australians,
who failed dismally in the R. and R. event on Saturday,
yesterday turned
the tables on New Zealand and South Africa.
The Australian
team had 8.2 penalty points. against the New Zealanders' 9.9
and the South
Africans' 9.92.
Double
To Lumsdaine
Barry Lumsdaine,
of Australia, won the surf race and a marathon surf relay race
within 2O
minutes of each other.
Lumsdaine.
a clerk, had a great struggle in the swim to the beach in the
surf race
with Austraiian champion Brian Hutchings.
Lumsdaine
led to the buoys: but won by only a few yards in the run up
the beach.
In the
marathon
event competitors had to complete the course three
times-swimming, on surfboards,
and on surf skis.
Lumsdaine
went further ahead with each stage, finally beating South
African Leon
Coetzee by 40 yards, with 6ft 5in Hawiian Tom Moore third.
Lumsdaine,
who is recognised as one of the best board riders in Sydney,
gave the crowd
a thrill by standing up on his board as he rode a wave into
the beach.
During the
afternoon ...
Brian Keane,
of Cronulla, had an easy win in the board race from Hawaiian
Tommy Zahn,
who used a lightweight balsa board. and Mike Bright, of the
United States.
Tad Devine,
of the United States, son of famous film comedian Andy Devine,
won the
belt race narrowly: after tripping in the run down the beach
to the water.
Devine missed
selection on times in the United States Olympic team as a
400-metre swimmer
by only 0.1 s.
Pat Manning,
of Australia, just held off the Hawaiian champion Lew Hangca
in a close
beach sprint.
Tom Schroeder,
of Hawaii, who has won several long distance canoe races in
the islands,
had an impressive win in the ski race.
Schroeder
and the Hawaiian team captain, Harry Shaffer recently won a
46-mile two-man
canoe race across the dangerous Molokai Channel at Honolulu in
an Aloha
Week festival.
Yesterday's
results:-
Board:
B. Keane (Aust.). 1: T. Zahn (Hawaii). 2; M. Brlght (U.S.A.).3.
Belt:
T. Devine (U.S.A.). 1: J. JarvIs (N.Z.). 2; 1. Edwards (S.
Africa). 3.
March past:
South Africa. 15. 1; Australia. 17. 2: New Zealand. 22. 3.
R. and
R.: Australia. 8.2. 1; New Zealand. 9.9. 2; South Africa. 9.92.
3.
Beach relay:
Hawaii. 1; Australia. 2; U.S.A.. 3.
Beach sprint:
P. Mannina (Aust.). 1; L. Hanagca. (Hawaii). 2: C. Mcllroy
(U.S.A.) 3.
Single
ski: T. Schroeder (Hawaii); 2: K. Ryan (N.Z.). 2: L.
Cullenbourne (S.
AfrIca). 3.
Surf:
B. Lumsdaine (Aust.) 1; B. Hutchings (Aust.) 1; L. Hawker
(N.Z.). 3.
Surf teams:
New Zealand. 26, 1; Australia. 30, 2; South Africa. 39, 3
Marathon
surf: B. Lumsdaine (Aust.), 1; L. Coetzee (S. Afrlca), 2: T.
More (Hawaii),
3.
PoInts
score: Australia. 44 1/2; New Zealand. 35; South Africa. 26 1/2;
Hawaii,
U.S.A., 24.
The Canberra
Times
10 December 1956, page 9.
Australia Wins
International Surf Carnival
SYDNEY, Sunday.-
Brilliant performances
by Sydney surf star, Barry Lumsdaine, to-day featured Australia's win in the international surf
test at Collaroy.
Australian won four of the 10 events to-day to total 44 points.
Lumsdaine narrowly won
the surf race and 20 minutes later brilliantly won the medley surf
race.
He proved himself Australia's "most versatile surfer.
Australia had led New
Zealand by only a half point
after the first series at
Maroubra yesterday.
New Zealand won only the teams surf
race to-day to finish
second with 35 points.
South Africa gained 26
points and the United States and Hawaii each 24.
Australia's other wins were in the R. and R. and the surf
board
race.
The Australian team drilled and swam splendidly to defeat New Zealand in the R. and R. and showed great improvement on their
effort yesterday.
Trove
1956 'Australia Wins International Surf Carnival', The
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 10 December, p. 9. ,
viewed 25 Jul 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91229525
APPENDIX
A.
California Surf Life Saving Association - History
The
Surf Life Saving Association of America
When Australia
was chosen to host the 1956 summer Olympics, lifesavers there
decided to
hold an invitational lifesaving competition to be known as the
Australian
Olympic International Surf Championships at Torquay Beach,
outside Melbourne,
Victoria.
The Honorable
Judge Adrian Curlewis of Australia appointed Arthur Parkens (Parkyn?),
an Australian lifesaving instructor, to solicit participation
from the
United States.
California
lifeguards and a contingent from the Territory of Hawaii
decided to participate.
Both teams
were required trained and awarded, "The Australian
Surflifesavers Medallion,"
so as to meet the international competition standards required
for the
event.
The California
lifeguards organized themselves under the banner of the Surf
Life Saving
Association of America (SLSA), although they were solely from
the Los Angeles
County and Los Angeles City lifeguard agencies.
This was the
first American lifeguard association of its kind, even if its
name was
a bit grand considering its narrow scope.
Team members
from the SLSA included Team Captain Rusty Williams of Los
Angeles County
(LACO), Team Coach Kirby Temple (LACO), Team Manager Herb
Barthels, Sr.
of Los Angeles City (LACity) , Tad Devine (Santa Monica City),
Bob Burnside
(LACO), Mike Bright (LACO), Gregg Knoll (LACO), Dave Ballinger
(LACO),
Chick Mcilroy (LACO), Paul Mcilroy (LACO), Sheridan Byerly
(LACO), and
Roger Jensen (LACO).
The Hawaiian
lifeguard team included Dr. Don Gustuson, Team Manager Harry
Shaeffer,
Team Coach Tom Shaeffer, Tom Moore, Tom Zahn, Dan Durego, Tim
Guard, L.
Honka, Peter Balding, and Shaky Felez.
The event was
held on November 26, 1956 and drew an immense crowd of 115,000
spectators.
The legendary
"Duke" Paoa Kahanamoku of Hawaii served as the honorary event
Chairman.
In addition
to the American and Australian teams, lifeguard teams from
South Africa,
Great Britain, Ceylon, and New Zealand participated.
As for the
Americans, the Hawaiian Territory placed first in the Beach
Relay.
Tad Devine
of California placed second in the swim.
Bob Burnside
of California placed third in the belt race.
Perhaps more
importantly than the competition itself, lifelong
relationships were built
around this historic event and both countries were to benefit
tremendously.
The American
rescue tube and rescue buoy were first introduced to Australia
on this
tour, later to become staples of Australian lifesaving gear as
they were
in the US.
Tom Zahn,
Tom Moore, and Bob Burnside brought Malibu Bolsa Surfboards
with them,
the first total Australian exposure to the Malibu Surfboard.
When they
departed Australia, the boards were left behind, which
revolutionized surfing
in Australia.
After the
event,
LA County Lifeguard Chief Bud Stevenson decided to use SLSA in
his efforts
to upgrade professional lifeguarding. Chief Stevenson
appointed Bob Burnside
as President of the nascent organization and Lt. Don Hill as
Secretary.
Despite the broadly embracing name of Surf Life Saving
Association of America,
the early focus was to remain on Los Angeles County issues.
Bob Burnside
called for representatives from as many Southern California
lifeguard agencies
as possible to attend a concept meeting at Santa Monica
Lifeguard Headquarters
in the winter of 1963. In attendance were Vince Moorhouse
(Huntington Beach),
Max
Bowman (Huntington Beach), Don Rohrer (LA City), Dick Heineman
(LA City),
Tim Dorsey (Seal Beach), host Jim Richards (Santa Monica), and
a representative
from Long Beach.
The group
agreed that they should establish a truly national
organization, based
on the structure of the Australian association, to be called
the Surf Life
Saving Association of America.
The early
organization established Southern and Northern Chairmen of the
State of
California, and a temporary Executive Board was formed to
establish a constitution,
bylaws, and method of equal representation for the
association. This put
in place all the necessary criteria for affiliation with the
organization
by local chapters, allowing each chapter to participate
equally in the
first election of officers, which took place in 1965. In the
meantime,
temporary chairmen took charge.
In 1964,
Huntington
Beach's newly dedicated lifeguard headquarters was adopted as
the center
for SLSA activities. In that same year, Howard Lee of LA
County designed
the national logo, which is still in use today. His design was
influenced
by a similar design that Tad Devine of the 1956 Australia team
had created
for the team uniform. Both are strikingly similar to the logo
of the United
States Life-Saving
Service, an
arm of the United States government, which had rescued
shipwrecked sailors
during the 1800s and 1900s, before being merged with the
Revenue Cutter
Service to form the US Coast Guard.
Presidents
and terms of office of USLA and its predecessors have
included:
Bob Burnside
-- 1963 - 1967.
The
Surf Life Saving Association of America
http://www.cslsa.org/about/history.asp
B. History of the County of
Los Angles Lifeguard
Division
1930s
Rusty Williams
emerged as the County's leader during this era of increased
professionalism,
which saw the introduction of formalized training and public
education
programs.
1950s
In 1956,
following
an invitation from the Australian Surf Lifesaving Association,
Los Angeles
County lifeguards organized and sent a team representing the
United States
to the first International Surf Life Saving Competition, held
in conjunction
with the Melbourne Olympics. This singular event is recognized
as the most
influential surf lifesaving carnival ever held. The
international surf
lifesaving community was introduced to the rescue can,
lightweight paddleboards,
fiberglass surf boards, relays and iron man competition, as
well as to
the overall capabilities of the modern, well trained,
professional lifeguard.
This international forum continues today, providing a constant
exchange
of information, equipment, and skills.
1970s
Bob Burnside
became the Chief lifeguard in 1972. A founding member of the
Surf Lifesaving
Association, Chief Burnside pushed for professionalism and
respect for
lifeguarding with the introduction and recognition of
important credentials
such as rescue boat skipper licensing and EMT certification.
County of Los Angles
Lifeguard
Division
http://www.lacofd.org/Lifeguards/WhoIsHistoryByDecade.asp
C. Beach Volleyball
Database
Mike Bright,
five time winner of the Manhattan Beach Men’s Open, was a
6’4", 195 pound
player.
He was an All-American from 1960-1964.
He played on the 1964 Olympic
Team and on the 1960 Pan Am Team.
...
Mike Bright
participated in 44 Open tournaments, on the beach volleyball
circuit, from
1958-1970.
He advanced to the championship match 34 times, winning 16
times,
along with 6 third place finishes, 1 fourth place finish and 3
fifth place
finishes.
Bright teamed-up with 10 different partners during his beach
career, including 25 time with Mike O’Hara.
...
Mike "Bones"
Bright was a member of the "17th Street Seals" which was a
local surfing
club back in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
As a club member he was involved in
surfing, paddle-boarding, and volleyball.
...
Bright was
also a multi-winner of the Catalina-to-Manhattan Beach Paddle
Board Race.
In 1955, Bright, after 32 miles on an 18 foot paddle board
winning the
Catalina-Palos Verdes-Manhattan Beach paddle board race played
volleyball
all day to help win the Manhattan Beach Six-Man Tournament.
He did this
on several occasions, including in 1964, when the event was
two-man.
Beach Volleyball
D.
Pacific Marine Life Foundation : Board of Directors
Tim Guard's
lifelong residency in Hawaii has revolved around ocean related
activities.
As president of McCabe Hamilton & Renny Co., he presides
over the state's
largest and oldest stevedoring business.
He earned his BA from the University
of Southern California in International Relations and served
as an officer
in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam era, where his combat
citations were
the Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal.
Guard's civic service leadership
roles include the Hawaii Maritime Center, Outrigger Canoe Club
and Honolulu
Council of the Navy League, for which he currently serves as
president.
Prior to joining McCabe, he owned and operated his own
executive recruiting
company, Robert T. Guard & Associates.
Pacific Marine Life Foundation
http://www.pmlf.org/pages/bios.html
E.
Peter
Troy: pioneer surfer
ABC Radio (Gold & Tweed Coasts) Friday, 4
August 2006.
http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/stories/s1705022.htm
"My surfing
started in 1948, I was living in Torquay", Peter explains,
"my family owned
the General Store there. I think there were twelve children
in the school
in those days. The only surfers were people who came down
from Melbourne
on the weekend. They stayed in the camping ground, and it
was bitterly
cold of course, so not many people went surfing."
...
Peter
played
a part with Australia's Olympic Surf Life Saving team in the
1956 Melbourne
Games, "I was not in the official team, I was only seventeen
at the time,
I was asked to give demonstration surfboard riding. I rode
one of those
early surf club boards, to show the standard of surfing
within this country."
But it was the American team that helped inspire the surfing
cultire in
Australia, "in the American lifeguard team, the major people
were the lifeguards,
basically swimmers. In that team they brought out with them
four Malibu
boards. It was Greg Noll on the second of December who rode
a surfboard
on Torquay back beach on a Sunday afternoon, and changed the
life of surfing
in Australia for so many people. It was totally
revolutionary, the board
itself was something like nine foot long.
"We were
riding
sixteen and seventeen foot long boards. We knelt on them
in general, we
didn't have fins on the bottom of the board. Here's a guy
walking down
the beach with this strange little thing, and jumps on it
and lies down,
and everyone who was watching was thinking 'this guy isn't
very good he
can't even kneel!' Fifty meters out from the beach he spun
it around, caught
a wave, walked up and down, hung toes over the nose, and
did things we'd
never seen before! That, basically was the reason we
walked away from surf
lifesaving, we wanted to learn to shape one of these
things. The boards
were taken with them after that weekend, we had nothing to
copy. We all
started from scratch."
F. Peter Troy : The
Sports
Factor Presenter : Mick O'Regan
ABC
Radio National Friday, 22 September 2006.
"... Arthur
Parkin. I think he's 94 years old, living in Queensland on the
Sunshine
Coast, he was asked by the lifesaving authorities in Australia
to travel
to California and Hawaii to instruct paid lifeguards to be put
together
into a team to come out to Australia. And that was done I
think as early
as 1952 and was sponsored by Ampol Petroleum, where they paid
for that
man to go several times to America to teach these guys
lifesaving methods.
At the same
time, two of us, and I'm talking about another fellow called
Vic Tantau,
and myself, we were asked to give a demonstration of the early
surfboard
riding because of what we'd developed.
So I was very fortunate to have
been selected to give a demonstration of surfboard riding.
We basically
went out on the 16-foot toothpicks, and Torquay beach is a
very special
beach for this because there's a large exposed rock off the
beach called
Haystack Rock, and the way it's come in on an angle on there,
and they
go off breaking towards the right, down into the middle of
Torquay back
beach, and it allows maybe a 300-metre ride on one of these
surfboards.
I distinctly
remember being under the Torquay surf club, which was an
elevated building
up on lamp-posts, and they had all of the surf craft
underneath, and I
went under there to get something, and there was one of these
American
guys, and he was kneeling in the sand, and he was wrapping
around a fin
that he'd taken out of a little handbag that had his towel and
bathers
and everything in it, and he was wrapping newspaper around the
edge, and
putting it into a slot in the surfboard.
And he picked up a piece of rock
that was in the sand and he was hammering this fin into the
surfboard.
And of course I had no awareness of what this was about, so I
was interested.
I hadn't had
the opportunity of ever talking to the guy, so I was just
looking at him,
and followed him down the beach and there was probably 8 or 10
other people
on the beach that followed this guy down, carrying the
surfboard under
his arm, and he got into the water, (maybe it was 4 o'clock in
the afternoon,
I'm not quite sure) and lay on it, and of course we looked at
that and
thought, Well he's not very proficient because he can't even
kneel on the
surfboard, he's lying on it.
And then we thought he wasn't very good either,
because he only went 40 or 50 metres off the beach, and that
was the last
time we thought like that, because immediately he turned
around, caught
a wave in about three paddles, stood up, and crossed the wave,
and then
hot-dogged backwards and forwards, walking up and down the
board, and we
were all just - (Mick
O'Regan: Gobsmacked?) Exactly.
Well a couple
of us went up to him, and we asked him, 'Can I have a go?' and
I distinctly
remember having a go on this board, but I couldn't really
paddle the thing,
and when I did try to stand up on it, it was so responsive,
that it flipped
out from underneath me, and so that was our only contact,
because by that
night, those guys had gone back to Geelong into their hotels,
they'd packed
their belongings and they were gone to Sydney.
So the people who were on
the beach that night had virtually two hours to think about
it, and then
they were going home to Melbourne, or to Ballarat, or Geelong,
or somewhere,
and within one or two weeks, those guys that were fairly
competent with
their hands had gone into their yards and tried to make one
themselves.
But they didn't have the material, so they had to make them
out of marine
ply with hardwood rails and they had bulkheads in the board
rather like
a small craft, and holes through those so that -
The four
surfboards
that we knew those guys had, had gone that particular night,
they'd gone
to Sydney, and we now know that those four surfboards were
bought by individuals
in Sydney, and so Gordon Woods and Bob Evans and Bob Pike,
other people
in Sydney that acquired those boards, had the opportunity then
of being
able to copy them.
But we in Victoria didn't, so we had to start off with
just pure memory."
ABC
Radio National
http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/stories/s1705022.html
Peter Troy
further
commented on the repercussions of the event by noting ...
The development
of boardriding activity as a challenge to SLSC dominance,
A conflict in the
choice between a best beach or home beach,
The formation of
the Bells Beach Boardriders Club and the opening of the access
road in
1958.
Troy and Tantau's
organisation of the first Bells Beach Contest in 1961.
surfresearch.com.au
Geoff Cater (2011-2016) :
Newspapers : 1956.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1956_Newspapers.html
