surfresearch.com.au  the catalogue #146

DECOR DECALS: Deck: none Bottom: MARKINGS Deck: none Bottom: COLOUR Deck: green Bottom: orange

DESIGN HISTORY
It was invented by a Sydney doctor in 1932, Dr Ernest Smithers of Bronte NSW, who worked for eight years to develop it.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, his friend was a proprietor of the invention.
(Thanks to Alison Lee, see email below.)

A patent application (#9929 Class 3) for a "Surf plane" by E. E Smithers and C. D. Richardson was lodged on the 7th October 1932.

Official Journal of Trade Marks and Designs
Volume 3, Number 13, 1933, page 432.

On 14th December 1933 the Patent Office accepted a Trade Mark design for the "Surfo-plane":

"CLASS 49
(Games of all kinds and sporting articles not included in other classes.)
61,515 Rubber surf board.
ERNEST ERIC SMITHERS, and CARL WORDSWORTH RICHARDSON,
of 193 Macquarie-street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, manufacturers,
- 11th March, 1933."

Official Journal of Trade Marks and Designs
Volume 3, Number 13, 1933, page 1421.

Image right. Surfo-Plane Trade Mark, 1933. Official Journal of Trade Marks and Designs Volume 3, Number 13, 1933, page 1421.

Thoms : Surfmovies   page 40.

Stan MacDonald, resigned from his position as Chief Beach Inspector at Bondi in September 1933, to take up the Surfoplane and deck-chair franchise at the North groyne on Bondi Beach.
Excluding time at the war, Stan was hiring out surfoplanes, etc (and spraying on coconut oil for suntans-1937) for well on 50 years.
- reported by John Ruffels,having spoken to Stan's son, Neil MacDonald. (Thanks to John Ruffels)

Examining the events of Black Sunday (the most celebrated rescue in the history of Australian surf life saving), 6th February 1938, Brawley comments on the development of the Surfo-plane.

"The surfoplane had been introduced to Bondi Beach a few seasons earlier by Stan McDonald.
On his retirement, McDonald had designed a rubber surf mat that he called a 'beacher'.
Along with his chairs and mutton oil tan: spray, McDonald leased the mats in their hundreds;riding them became a popular surfing activity at a time when board riding was still a marginal and almost exclusively surf club activity.
The surf mats soon became more popularly known as 'surfo- planes', the name of a rival surf mat manufacturer."
Brawley (2007) page 134.

This is in conflict with the substantial claim by Thoms (2000, page 40), and others, that the craft was invented by Dr Ernest Smithers circa 1934 which, at the worst, parallels Brawley's estimated time frame.
Certainly it post dates Smithers and C. D. Richardson's patent application of 7th October 1932 noted above.

The craft was extremely popular, Manly Surf Life Saving Club reported 261 rescues for the 1938-9 season, half of which were carried out on or swept off rubber floats.
Bloomfield, pages 54 to 57.
Surf-o-plane riding was included in 1938 Australian Surf Titles (only time, won by Jack 'Strawb' Turnbull) and in the Makaha contest for a period in the 1930's.
 

Surf Life Saving Association of Australia: Surf in Australia. March 1, 1939 Page 22 Cronulla. ... Bob Holcombe has proved himself the consistent individual competitor for Cronulla in this series of carnivals.  Bob's fame is derived from his uncanny skill on the surf-o'-plane; in fact, local clubmen consider this race a benefit event for him.  Last season, after winning a novice surf race, the major number of surf-o'-plane events, including the Australian championship, he continues his sequence for 1937-38 with nine consecutive wins to date, including the championship again. Image right: Bob Holcombe (Cronulla) Surf-o-plane Champion of Australia.

In 1940 the Surfoplane company, concerned about increasing patent infringements, manufactures only black and/or yellow models and favours sales to beach hire concessions.
Wells page 155.

In the 1940's, Olympic swimmer and industrialist Sir Frank Beaurepaire's rubber company acquired the manufacturing rights and marketed the Surf-o-plane using the Advanx brand.
There were eventually three models - Elite (5 ft), Standard (4 ft) and Small (3 ft). Colours other than black were also available - yellow and black with yellow stripes.
Sold to the public from the factory at Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay Sydney for 8 pounds ($16.00), the company also offered a repair service and compressed air fill ups.

By the 1960 the design was available from several companies, notably Clarke Rubber and Advanx, and with the expanded use of the automobile sales were directed more at the general public than the hire concessions.
This was principally done by elaborate decor, for example the Advanx Marlin model as surfed by Nick Carroll in 1969, while some later models had twin fins.
Production ceased in 1978.

The contribution of this design to modern surfing is immense.
In Australia it was used extensively by all types of beach-goers and was the basis for juvenile surfers to gain surf experience before advancing to surfboards - for example, four times world champion, Mark Richards Knox : M.R. pages 6 to 8, 14 and 16.
The Surfoplane had similar impact around the world, photographic and text evidence suggests the craft was widely used in New Zealand, Hawaii, California, South Africa and England.

The Surfoplane would be superseded in the 1970's by the Coolite, the Zippy Board and/or the
Canvas Mat.
In the 1980's the dominant prone board would be the Morey Boogie.
A  2001 model of the Surfoplane is under development from a Newcastle consortium, at http://www.surfoplane.com/home.asp

COMMENTS
Performance: The Surfoplane had high buoyancy, but were relatively heavy and stiff, unlike the craft that replaced them.
This combination of features assisted both getting through the surf and wave riding.

Examples: The nature of the rubber used in the Surfoplane meant that if it was not constantly inflated they would bond internally, and become useless. As a result, it appears few have survived to the present day. One blue/yellow example is held by the Peninsular Surf Centre, Victoria. Thanks to Ted Bainbridge.

REFERENCES
Other Boards
See Surfoplane 1969   and
Paipo Catalogue
Books
Webster's Encyclopaedia CD Rom Aust Inventors 1997
Thoms : Surfmovies   page 40
Margan and Finney    photographs  pages 137, 138 and 158.
Bloomfield, pages 54 to 57

Radio
Damien Lovelock and Angela Katerns and public contributors, on ABC Regional Radio, 1999.

Newspaper Article
Natalie Williams :Surfo Resurfaces, Daily Telegraph, September 24, 2001. Page 13.
CONDITION: 0

Jane Flack and friends and Surfoplanes, Shoalhaven Heads,  circa 1963 Paul Flack Collection.

Drawing  Top Will Fisher : Riding the Waves Two Hundred Years  Issue  No 47 , pages  1124 - 1127 Australian Surfboard champion, Claude West  surfoplaning at Manly Beach, circa 1940. Wilson: page 73.  Note the photograph is credited as 1924 - this is surely incorrect

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