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duke kahanamoku : february 1915

DUKE PAOA KAHANAMOKU'S AUSTRALIAN VISIT
Newspaper Extracts : February 1915.

The Telegraph
8th February 1915, page 4. KAHANAMOKU IN THE SURF. Duke Kahanmoku treated something like 4000 persons to a fine exhibition of surf board shooting at Deewhy on Saturday afternoon.
the local club had arranged a surf carnival, and Kahanamoku was asked to appear and shoot the breakers as the Hawaiians do.
"The Duke" did all, and more than was expexcted of him,
Taking a board something like 10 feet in length, the champion swimmer made out towards the open sea.
When a favorable rise presented itself the swimmer's paddling arm action drove the board ahead, to be eventually carried shorewards on the crest of a breaker.
When "the Duke" stood up the sight was grand.
Later Kahanamoku came in standing on his head, and at another time carried a lady passenger.
For more than an hour exhibitions were given.

The Sydney Morning Herald
10th February 1915, page 6. SWIMMING.
SENSATIONAL SURF RIDING.
BUSY WEEK END. The exhlbltlon of surf board rlding given by D. P. Kahanamoku at the Deewhy Surf Club's carnival provided the greastest spectacle that has yet been witnessed in this respect.
The Hawaiian proved himself a master of the art, and, despite the fact that the conditions were anything but favourable, fulfilled his advertised programme.
On one occasion the board carried him a distance of four hundred yards, and he balanced on his head while shooting towards the shore.
On another occasion, and whilst sitting on the board, he finished the shoot by coming in broadside on.
He also carried a lady passenger a distance of a hundred yards.
The exhibition lasted more than an hour.
There seems to be no limit to Kahanamoku's work with the board, and at Cronulla on Sunday he used it he used it to carry him for a short distance, and then dived into the wave and completed his trip to the sands with a body shoot.
The Deewhy carnival was well carried out.

Autographed Postcard, Feb 11, 1915.
E. S. Marks was prominant in Sydney sports.
Sydney's premier athletic track is named
The E.S. Marks Field.
Postcard reproduced from private collection.