IT WOULD look like a common sheet of timber, it could be dried out, cracked from the sun or even nailed to a wall and covered with paint in some far flung corner of Australia.
An imported, solid, 100-year-old piece of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) supplied and prepared by Hudson’s Timber Yard, Blackwattle Bay, Glebe.
At 2.6 metres high, almost 58 centimetres wide and eight centimetres thick it would make a good window shutter in an old church maybe?
Its twin brother has been valued at $1 million and lives in luxury at Freshwater surf club. Cronulla’s less famous equivalent could be lying anywhere or reduced to carbon — ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
For those who aren’t up on this story, February 7 next year marks 100 years since Duke Kahanamoku, the world’s most famous exponent of surfboard riding, came to Cronulla beach to surf.
It is not known if he was really the first surfer to grace Cronulla’s beaches but he is the first surfer recorded to have done so.
Although there were few residents of Cronulla fundamentally interested in surfing and surf clubs in the early 1900s, quite a large number of visiting youth frequented the town at weekends and would stop at camps they set up. Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club was one of the first surf clubs established in Australia in 1907.
How the Duke came to visit the farthest flung outpost of southern Sydney is another story. The NSW Amateur Swimming Association organised Duke’s 1914 exhibition trip to Australia, where he was to appear at several swimming carnivals. The 1912 Olympic 100-metre freestyle gold medallist had defeated Australia’s Cecil Healy.
Surfboard riding demonstrations were to be held after these commitments but the Duke didn’t bring a surfboard because he had been told that surfing was not permitted in Australia due to the stringent ‘‘neck-to-knee’’ bathing rules.
This necessitated the trip to Hudson’s Timber Yard, where the Duke drew the template which was machine cut and hand-finished by the Duke — this surfboard is the Freshwater exhibit.
Several more surfboards were shaped by Duke Kahanamoku or his companion Frank Cuhna while in Australia and were possibly donated to raise donations to the war effort.
The St George Call reported Duke’s day at Cronulla was a long one. After his train trip to Sutherland, a drive down Lady Carrington Drive and a launch up the Hacking he arrived at Cronulla beach.
The surf gods didn’t smile that day but rain and average surf didn’t deter the crowd who saw the Duke beat Cuhna and Harry Hay in a belt race before the Duke walked down to ‘‘the big beach” (North Cronulla) and gave an exhibition with his board that was long remembered by those who saw it.
‘‘Standing upright, standing on his head, diving off, twisting the board. It all looked so ridiculously easy and so it was to the Duke, but local men who tried after came to the conclusion that they had a lot to learn about the game,’’ the St George Call reported.
This story doesn’t end here because the visit of this famous surfer had lasting effects.
A board was presented to the Surf Bathing Association of NSW and subsequently became the property of a Cronulla Club member, Ron ‘‘Prawn’’ Bowden.
Bowden sold it to Fred Locke, who in turn signed it over to the inimitable Jack McTigue.
Jack, chivalrous character that he was, gave it to a certain beautiful surf siren (who was ungrateful, recalls Jack) but alas she married another and Jack lost out on both counts.
This coming February the Cronulla community will celebrate 100 years of surfing since Duke’s visit, with surf contests, exhibitions, a gala dinner and several community events.
If only Jack’s long - lost Duke surfboard could be found in time for the celebrations.
I encourage everyone to look in the rafters and under their houses.
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku wouldn’t be the only surfer happy to get his old board back.
What do you think happened to the Duke's board? Or click on the comment link to share your memories of surfing at Cronulla.
