Through the support and vision of these companies, we have an opportunity to appreciate our surfing past while we recognize our current champions and encourage the next generation of West Australian surfers.

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The Murray Smith Award Awarded to the Western Australian Junior Surfer(s) of the Year First awarded in 1999 Born in Western Australia in 1944, Murray Smith's commitment to surfing has inspired many of our state's finest professional surfers and surfboard shapers. Competitively, Murray excelled in the mid 1960s winning the Open state title division in 1966. He was a Finalist in State Championships from 1965 to the early 1970s winning numerous Senior's and Master's Titles through out that period. His career culminated with the 1980 Australian Masters Title. During the 1960s Murray began his shaping career with Hawke Surfboards before developing his own shaping business in 1970. As the business grew, Murray started to take a number of promising junior surfers under his wing and provided them with opportunities such as new or discounted surfboards and / or employment. The support offered to aspiring touring professionals such as Dave Macaulay, Mat Manners, Stuart Bedford-Brown, Mitch Thorson and Josh Palmateer, gave those young surfers encouragement in an era when surfing was still considered a sub-culture. Macaulay went onto to win seven World Championship Tour (WCT) events and was Runner Up to the Under 43 World Masters title in 2001. Thorson (four Australian amateur titles) and Bedford-Brown were WCT Top 16 at various times in their careers while Peter Hayes was another Australian Open Champion to have benefited from Murray's assistance. Whilst repairing surfboards and cleaning up the shaping bay may have been an inglorious way in which to start a shaping career, it was here that current leading shapers such as Macaulay, Manners, Adrian Sheppard, Benton Moran and Dave Lewis all had an opportunity to work in their chosen profession. Murray Smith's business interests in the surf industry have grown from making surfboards at home, to one of the leading surf retailers in Western Australia. Award Recipients: 1999 Ry Craike 2000 Kerby Brown 2001 Claire Bevilacqua and Tevita Gukilau 2002 Claire Bevilacqua and Tevita Gukilau

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