HOME
The History Past Recipients Ian Cairns Award Jodie Cooper Award Murray Smith Award Mike McAuliffe Award Photo Gallery Pro Surfing At Margaret RiverBY
Over 80 invited guests enjoyed an evening that recognised the outstanding performances of the state's elite professional surfers during 2005.
The recipients of these awards are determined by the Western Australian Surfers of the Year Awards 'Voting Panel'. Named in the honour of five of Western Australia's finest surfers - Ian Cairns, Jodie Cooper, Murray Smith, Mike McAuliffe and Len Dibben- the Western Australian Surfers of the Year Awards are the annual recognition of outstanding performances by West Australian short board surfers in professional and amateur events over a calendar year. The 2006 panel is comprised of former professional and champion surfers; Jodie Cooper, Mike McAuliffe, Mitch Thorson and Dave Macaulay, surf industry leaders - John Malloy (Creatures of Leisure), Murray Smith (Murray Smith Surf Centre), Patrick Leahy (West Surfing Products) and Mark Lane (Surfing Western Australia) and media representatives Brad Cecins (BTC Sport), Mario "Marz" Vassallo (srosurf.com) and Russell Reid (The West Australian).
Ian Cairns Male Surfer of the Year 2005 Nominations - Jake Paterson and Taj Burrow
1999 Taj Burrow
2000 Jake Paterson
2001 Jake Paterson
2002 Taj Burrow
2003 Taj Burrow
2004 Taj Burrow
Jodie Cooper Female Surfer of the Year 2005
Nominations - Melanie Redman-Carr and Claire Bevilacqua
1999 Melanie Redman
2000 Melanie Redman
2001 Melanie Redman
2002 Melanie Redman-Carr
2003 Melanie Redman-Carr
2004 Claire Bevilacqua
Murray Smith Junior Surfer of the Year 2005
Nominations - Yadin Nicol, Ry Craike, Tom Wimmer, Jamiee Wheatley and David Delroy-Carr
1999 Ry Craike
2000 Kerby Brown
2001 Tevita Gukilau and Claire Bevilacqua
2002 Tevita Gukilau and Claire Bevilacqua
2003 Claire Bevilacqua
2004 Yadin Nicol
Mike McAuliffe Award for Outstanding Performances in 2005
Recipient - David Delroy Carr
2001 Brook Farris, Dave Macaulay, Mitch Thorson, Tevita Gukilau and Luke Campbell
2002 Jake Paterson, Brett Hardy and Paul Paterson
2003 Jake Paterson, Ry Craike and Damon Eastaugh
2004 James Catto and Tom Wimmer
2005 David Delroy Carr
Len Dibben Award for Service to Surfing
Recipients in 2005 - Our Early Western Australian Administrators
Dr Ron Naylor, Gerry Smith, Percy Trainer, Artie Shaw*, John Shackley and Keith Barrot
Recipients in 2006 - Our First Surfboard Manufacturers
Brian Cole and Barry 'Joe' King* - King Cole Surfboards
Brian Cole was a man of ingenuity and resource. He built his first surfboard in 1956 - a hollow Malibu- from plywood. Making surfboards seemed an obvious progression for his shaping skills having previously built surf skis. Brian happily notes the unsatisfactory shapes soon became toothpicks. The following year he went in two separate directions with his materials. One type of board was made from styrene foam and fibreglass with the other made of balsa wood.
One of Brian's close friends was Barry King. Barry's nickname 'Joe' came from his father in reference to him being a joker. 'Joe', Brian and a few other mates would hit the surf around the local beaches as well as down to Miami. On most weekends the crew headed down south to hone their skills at Yallingup, 'The Farm', Cowaramup and other new breaks. The licensee of the Caves Hotel at the time even provided a cottage for the regulars.
A three-year trip to the east coast proved to beneficial for the group. Brian's interest in manufacturing received a boost because he had the opportunity to witness the cutting edge of Australia's surfing world. The south coast of N.S.W., Sydney and the Gold Coast were hotbeds for development. One of the most significant developments in surfboard manufacturing was to occur when leading Australian surfing industry identity Barry Bennett blew his first foam blanks during this period.
On his return to the west, Brian established King Cole Surfboards with Barry on the corner of Station Street and Salvado Road in Wembley. A year later the operation shifted to their premises in Harbourne Street, Glendalough.
The quest for more adventure was satisfied when Brian, Barry and some others took off to surf around the world in 1963. Brian retold his experiences of surfing in France, Spain, California and Hawaii to Bruce Brown at a time when the legendary filmmaker was formulating his ideas for the classic surf film - The Endless Summer. Another interesting sidenote to the trip overseas is that Brian is believed to have been the first West Australian to surf Hawaii.
Cordingley's Surfboards utilised Brian's newly found skills and experience when he returned in 1964. Brian had short stint with the Subiaco based surf company before shaping under his own name in Northstead Street, Scarborough for a number of years.
On his return from the overseas sojourn, Barry left the surfing industry to pursue his love of the water action through sailing. He enjoyed success on the competition scene and represented Western Australia. Born in March 1939, Barry passed away in October 2001.
Leon Cole - Dibben Cole Surfboards
When Leon was 15 years old, he helped his father Leo, build 16 ft paddle boards and single and double racing skis from ply. Word got around about their skills and they were asked if they could make surfboards similar to a "Wallace Surfboard" that someone was riding locally.
The father and son team gathered up some broken eastern-states boards to see how they were put together. They kept experimenting and building until they got it right. The pair was then introduced to the surf clubs at Cottesloe and North Cottesloe and the orders started rolling in. These boards were built in a big shed at Leo`s place in Nedlands.
George Bevan, a good friend of Leo, knew something about surfboards helped out and as a result Bevan Cole Surfboards was formed. George returned home to the eastern states but Leo continued making boards under that name for another 8 to 10 years.
When Leon was 18, he bought a balsa blank and made his first balsa short-board with friend Maurice Tate. Shortly after, Leon met local surfer Len Dibben through their future wives, good friends Wendy and Margaret. Len had been making some boards at home and the pair decided to start building boards together. Dibben Cole Surfboards was now underway in North Fremantle, opposite the Swan Hotel.
Leon worked with Len for a couple of years before heading overseas where he learned some new fibre-glassing techniques in the United Kingdom and Canada, while working for a boat builder. On his return, Leon built a few more short boards and then used his new skills to build canoes and kayaks under the banner of Cole Competition Canoes for next 20 years.
Tom Blaxell - Blaxell Surfboards / Surfrider
Tom Blaxell was always destined for a life in the surfing industry having grown up across the road from Scarborough Beach and spending most holidays as a 'grom' on Rottnest Island. He made his first board in 1964 and over the next four years developed his skills to a point where he opened Blaxell Surfboards on Scarborough Beach Road.
Some of the state's hottest surfers sought his equipment with Bob Monkman, George Simpson, Tony Hardy, Paul Cunningham, Russell Catto and Ken McKenzie enjoying the fruits of his labour. As the surfboard industry blossomed, Blaxell Surfboards fast became a place for 'top shelf' shapers to hone their skills. Greg Laurenson, Tony Hardy, Tom Hoye, Mike McAuliffe, Al Bean, Alex Korwin, and Benton Moran all spent time in the Blaxell shaping bay.
Tom's love of the ocean saw his business change direction with the inclusion of boat design and manufacturing under the Blaxell Sufrider name until the mid 1980s. Blaxell Surfrider was a major sponsor of competition surfing including the prestigious King of the Point event and the State Scholastic titles for a number of years.
Tom was instrumental in the formation of the Dolphin Surfriders where he became a club champion as well as President and a Life member. With the demise of the Dolphins, Tom repeated his contributions with the Trigg Point Boardriders (Club champion, Patron and Life Member). His administrative skills were also put to good use with Surfing WA in a variety of roles; Vice President in the late 60s, Head Judge for the 1973 Australian Titles, Secretary in the late 70s, Life Member in the 80s, Secretary in the mid 90s and President in the late 90s.
Tom also served on the Coastal Advisory Committee to the City of Stirling and the State Government's Artificial Reef Committee. He counts the establishment of the artificial reef at Cable Station and the Surfing WA headquarters at Trigg Beach, as two of his biggest contributions to Western Australian surfing.
Peter and Len Hawke - Hawke Surfboards
In 1954 two teenage brothers, Peter 13 and Len 15, hit the surf at Waterman's Bay with a borrowed wooden long board. The experience inspired the pair that lead to an association between the Hawke brothers and water sports equipment that would last another 50 years.
Young Peter, riding around the streets on his pushbike, was fortunate enough to stumble across local surfer John Shackley as he shaped a hollow wooden board in his garage. After the pair had talked about surfing and boards, Shackley not only offered the boy some free advice, but he gave him a book of plans and templates. It was only a few weeks later and the Hawke brothers rode down to Trigg Beach in their father's Chevy ute to try out their first homemade board.
In 1956, Peter and Len made numerous boards before moving on from wood to fibreglass with a black onazote core. The next development saw boards made from styrene and epoxy. Balsa wood boards were also shaped before settling with urethane surfboards.
By 1962 Hawke Surfboards needed to employ additional staff in their Scarborough Beach Road premises. It was also at this time industrial chemist Dr Bill Shelf helped with the development of urethane foam blanks. Dr Frank Benson's expertise in 1966 was invaluable as Hawke Surfboards improved the strength and non-discolouration properties of the blanks which had been previously unattainable.
Over the years Hawke Surfboards evolved into Hawke Brothers Pty. Ltd. As their skills in design and manufacturing improved, a widening range of products that serviced water sports other than surfing began to develop. The Frobisher Street showrooms and factory in Osborne Park have been expanded on three occasions - testament to Peter and Len's ability to produce high quality products in fibreglass and other plastics.
The brothers have been a significant part of the innovations in surfboard design and materials that have left a legacy from which our modern surfboard industry has received great benefit.
Rex and Colin Cordingley - Cordingley Surfboards
Rex and Colin Cordingley started their surfboard manufacturing on the back of their love for the sea. As teenagers at Fremantle Boys' School in the early 1950s, they were making plywood surf skis prior to Colin's first surfboards made from canvas stretched over wooden frames. Standard plywood was then fixed onto the frames for the next generation of boards from the mid 50s to 1960. The brothers, working from the Stirling Highway backyard shed in Mosman Park, enhanced their plywood boards when they imported a type of plywood from the eastern states that had contrasting colours throughout. While all this was happening, they continued on their trade as boat builders.
The boys then moved the surfboard business to Arthur Bishop's boat building shed in East Fremantle while the owner went on an extended holiday. On Arthur's return, Rex and Colin had a tough decision to make - continue boat building or take the plunge into the unchartered waters of surfboard manufacturing full time. The decision was literally made via the toss of a coin and, as a result, Cordingley Brothers Pty Ltd. was shifted to the corner of Axon Street and Hay Street in Subiaco in 1962.
Their business became the first real surf shop in Western Australia and, while the premises shifted around the area a number of times (329 Hay Street, York Street and Jersey Street Jolimont), the Cordingley name became synonymous with surfing in the state. Rex was the main shaper, Colin performed numerous roles from glassing to fixing dings, Charlie Campbell glassed the boards, Dave Ellis 'finished ' ('often not starting until late at night to avoid the heat) and Colin's wife Jen managed the shop. 15 part time dressmakers sewing baggies and parker jackets were part of the business. To make the Cordingley surf team was a high honour. A surfer had to place in the top three at state level to be invited to join. Those surfers received boards and technical support but perhaps the most prestigious benefit was the unique green surf team parker! Agents for their products could be found in Albany, Geraldton, Busselton and Bunbury. A far cry from selling boards on the front lawn to passers by in Mosman Park!
There were many obstacles faced by the local surfboard industry in the early years. The perception by the growing surfing community that WA boards were perhaps inferior to those from the east and then rival local companies battling to make ends meet. Throw in the not so pleasant attitude of the 'Clubies' (surf life saving clubs) and this was no picnic. But as Rex put it, there was a buzz about going to work each day and when they reached the magical target of 1 000 boards in a calendar year, there was great reason to celebrate.
Unfortunately with no industrial guidelines for health and safety, health issues were to arise. No exhaust fans to take in the foam dust or ventilation from fumes from chemicals and so on effected Rex and Colin. The pair had run their race in the surfboard manufacturing industry by the early 1970s. A young, charismatic Bill Oddy, who Rex had met in Sydney, was asked to manage Cordingley's and eventually he and Charlie Campbell took over from Rex and Colin.
Rex headed for Jurien to build holiday cottages and, in 2006, is involved in the charter fishing industry while Colin and Jen went travelling around Australia before settling in Darwin. Cordingley Surfboards has had a number of owners since the mid 70s and the shop has been in Scarborough for many years. The current owners, the partners behind The Surf Boardroom, have intentionally retained the Cordingley name in respect for the history associated with the famous surf brand in Western Australia surfing.
John Jakovich - Jacko Surfboards
John Jakovich started making his boards as a 17 year old in the backyard shed of his parent's house in South Perth. As blanks were unavailable, John had to make his own by using hand wound, hydraulic concrete moulds as part of the process. The skills improved and as a result, so did the Jacko Surfboard business over the next six years. A six-week waiting list for a custom, $80 Jacko Surfboard was the norm in 1966.
The local council didn't take kindly to a booming backyard business and John was forced to relocate to a commercial building on the corner of Canning Highway and Berwick Street in South Perth. Unfortunately the factory in this prime location, burnt down and Jacko Surfboards shifted to an industrial block in Rivervale where a new factory was built. The popularity of Jacko Surfboards, and the fact that there was a surfboard manufacture located so far from the beach, had a significant impact on enticing kids from the south eastern suburbs of Perth to try their hand at surfing.
It was at this factory that, through 'Thermal Industries' and 'Fairway Plastics', the famous "Foamie Surfboard" was developed and patented. Foamies were supplied to all Surf Life Saving Clubs and retail outlets in Western Australia for ten years from the factory.
The Jakovich family moved south to Cowaramup Bay where John resumed his shaping career in his garage. A nearby property soon was purchased and a new factory established.
Dave Kennedy - Star Surf and West Australian Surfriders Association
The West Australian surfing fraternity is still coming to terms with the loss of prominent retailer and surf identity Dave Kennedy, who died last July after a three-year battle with Leukemia. ~~ The 51-year-old pioneered what is now a booming Perth surf shop industry when he opened the Star Surf Shop in Forrest Place in 1980 before moving to its current home in Murray Street four years later.
Kennedy's wife Jo said what was now a flourishing surf shop had humble beginnings. "It was an existing surf shop and it was tiny," Mrs. Kennedy said. "Dave took over, changed the name and that was the start of the Star Surf Shop. When Forrest Place was demolished to create the Myer complex, Dave moved to Murray Street and it has just grown from there in size."
She said Dave's brave three-year battle had been difficult for herself, him and their 11-year-old son Sam as he battled the illness that claimed his life. "It was hard for Dave because he was always so passionate about his shop," she said. "That was his love in life and all the staff were like extended family. Dave nurtured so many young people that started there and are now further on into the surf industry."
Surfing WA general manager Mark Lane said Kennedy's contribution to the sport had been second to none. "I really can't think of anyone else in the industry that has had a single bigger contribution than Dave," Lane said. "He is a life member of Surfing WA and to gain life membership for any organization you have to have made a serious contribution. Dave was a member of the board going back to the very, very early days. He contributed in an administrative role, but probably known more recently for his preparedness to back surfing events and coaching programs. While there might be big companies that have put more money into surfing in this state for one or two years, his contribution was annual and just always there." Lane said Kennedy had been especially keen to promote WA surfers. "If there was something new happening or a particular area of surfing to develop, Dave was always keen to develop West Australian surfing," Lane said. "He was quite parochial like that. "That's why he struck up such a good friendship with people from WA surf companies. In Dave's parochial way he would support their companies by stocking their product. "He was always prepared to go out an get involved by sponsoring young West Australian surfers.
Kennedy was a co-founder of the prestigious WA Surfer of the Year Awards that were initiated in 2002 to recognize significant contributors to the history of the sport like Ian Cairns, Jodie Cooper, Murray Smith, Mike McAuliffe and Len Dibben as well as the current generation of surfing stars like Yallingup's Taj Burrow and Jake Paterson.
Brad Cecins
copyright © srosurf.com/BTC Sport 2005
BY
