surfresearch.com.au  history : duke - notes

Kahanamoku, Duke With Brennan, Joe:  1968 Duke Kahanamoku's World of Surfing Angus and Robertson Publishers Sydney , Australia Australia : pages 35 –36

Photo 1.
Duke Kahanamoku leaves the water, Freshwater Beach 10 January 1915.
(Date is questionable)

Young man and Hand board, Board #1

Young man and Belly board, Board #2

Young boy and hand board, Board #3	Young boy and hand board, Board #4	Young boy and hand board, Board #5

Man attempting to stand on surfboard, Board #6

Man holding board, approx. 6 ft, Board #7

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The First Surf Board in Australia

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The first full size board was probably an Hawaiian Alaia imported by C.D. Paterson of Manly, which was not successfully ridden (it was retired to the family home at the Spit to be used as a ironing board).
This board inspired several replica boards.
Made from Californian redwood by Les Hinds, a local builder from North Steyne, they were 8 ft long, 20" wide, 11/2" thick and weighed 35 pounds.
Riding the boards was limited to launching onto broken waves from a standing position and riding white water straight in, either prone or kneeling.
Standing rides on the board for up to 50 yards/metres were considered outstanding.
(Harris page 53-54).

Other full surfboards are said to be in use in Cronulla (see Duke visits Cronulla, 1915) and Coolangatta, Queensland. (Harvey page 8).
The use of small hand boards was common.

While in Australia Duke Kahanamoku shaped at least 3 other boards.
Although the details of the shaping of the Freshwater board are reasonably  known, the details of the other two are obscure.
One went to Cronulla, the other's fate is unknown.

There is some question whether the timber - Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) - was imported or native to Australia (the former) and the difficulty of  shaping the unfamiliar wood.
In the first case suitable native Hawaiian timbers had been rare since 1900 and most Hawaiian boards used imported timbers, mainly Californian Redwood.
Secondly, whatever the difficulties, the exercise was apparently repeated  several months later  in 1915 when Duke Kahanamoku demonstrated  swimming / surfriding  at Lyall Bay, Wellington New Zealand ( Warwick 1978). Presumably on another 'makeshift' board.

1. Duke Kahanamoku in his own book (with Joe Brennan) notes it as '1915', page 35.
2. The original board at the Freshwater Surf Lifesaving Club bears a plaque noting the date as '15 February 1915'. This seems possible but unlikely - Duke Kahanamoku was in Melbourne  12 - 13 February and at Goulburn on the 17 February.
3. C. Bede Maxwell, (1949) refers to the date as '1915 ... one Sunday morning', page 235.
4. Walter Forbes (1958) records '1915', page 18.
5. John Bloomfield (1959) notes '1915', page 61.
6. Reg S. Harris (1961) records the date as '15th February, 1915', page Fifty-five.
7. Alf Henderson in Myers (1983) twice notes the date as '(summer of) 1915', page 56.
8. Nat Young (1983) gives '15 January 1915', page 47.
9. Barry Galton (1984), quotes Snowy McAlister as '2 January 1915' page 25.
- Unlikely, as this was the first day of the the Domain Carnival.
10. Nick Carroll (1991) dates the exhibition as 'February 1915', page 25.
11. Marion Stell (1992) records the  date as ' 6 February 1915'  after interviews with Isobel Lathem.
- Certainly Duke Kahanamoku and Isobel Lathem surfed together on this day, but at Dee Why and not for the first time.
12. Sandra Hall and Greg Ambrose (1995) note 'Christmas 1914', pages 39 - 40.
13. Peter Brown at his Mountain Man web site (1996) adopts a similar 'Southern summer of 1915'.
14. Matt Warshaw  (1997) offers 'December 23, 1914', page 19.
15. The Legendary Surfers web page of Malcom Gault-Williams gives the date as '23 December 1914'.
16. Drew Kampion (1997) also gives the date as '23 December 1914', page 40.
17. Albie Thoms (2000) records the date as '11.00 am Wednesday 23 December 1914', and gives extensive details on subsequent exhibitions.

Unfortunately all of the above are incorrect.

The date of Duke Kahanamoku's first exhibition in Australia was at Freshwater Beach on Thursday 24th December 1914.
See ...
Wonderful Surf Riding : Kahanamoku on the Board The Sun, Thursday 24th December 1914 page 6.
Surf-board Riding : Kahanamoku's Display   SMH, Friday 25th December 1914 page 7
Acrobatics in the Surf   The Daily Telegraph Friday 25th December 1914 page 7.

Note that the exhibition was promoted in advance and it is possible that the board was test ridden before the advertised day.

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