attend the same function, so under the rules of this particular feud, of which I must say nobody outside the pair really cares about, Midget could not, under the rules of non-engagement, appear in person. When the legendary Michael Peterson was announced as No.4, his mum Joan accepted the award posthumously, recalling an early days scenario where Michael came home with a third place Cadet trophy, only to have mum rebuke him, recalling that only first place trophies came through the door after that. Tough love, but Joan has been melancholy since Michael’s passing last March, she misses her champion son very badly. Michael’s great hero Nat Young had a very warm reception when accepting No.3. I know he was Mick’s hero because his image adorned every centimetre of Joan’s Coolangatta flat, with a few Wayne Lynch pics in there as well. When Simon Anderson’s name was read out for No.2, he turned to me and said: “Thank God, Rabbit.” He exhaled then went up to deliver the night’s most colourful speech. There was definitely a bit of tension in the air during the countdown. Simon would have easily figured who was right up there and would have known he was either second or tied for 11th. It was no surprise that this immensely popular figure, the surfer who ushered in the thruster era that laid the foundations for what they are doing on waves, and out of waves, today, polled so well. He too claimed Nat as his hero, acknowledging their Collaroy
Hall of Fame Inductee Stephanie Gilmore is congratulated by Westerly Windina
roots, and was met with raucous laughter when he good naturedly pointed out that he had finished second and Nat third. There wasn’t a lot of suspense left. Sitting at the end of our table was four-time World Champion Mark Richards. The Award that crowned him the Bradman of Australian surfing was universally acknowledged. After a massive contribution, inspiring not only the next generation led by Tommy Carroll but all the way through to Mick, Taj and Parko, MR accepted the honour with typical humility, declaring that he had told his wife Jenny that he’d better mention himself because it was a long time ago and some people may have forgotten about his generation. Not likely, in fact there were three from the 60s, four from the 70s, two each from the 80s and 90s. I know that adds up to 11, but take your pick on Occy, was it the raging bull of the 80s or the greatest comeback to be ’99 World Champ that he became synonymous with. The greats of today weren’t on the list basically because their time of influence is today and their collective and individual legacy will be for tomorrow. Of course, the other big announcement on the night was to induct the 35th member of the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame. All inductees were invited to the stage to welcome reigning Women’s World Champion Stphanie Gilmore into this elite club. Steph would definitely be the youngest ever inductee and of course she will contend for many more world crowns, however it was only fitting that the queen of world surfing take the final bow and deliver an inspirational response filled with
respect, appreciation and a clear love of surfing. Many of my friends asked who the woman was standing directly behind Steph, in centre stage, during the Hall of Fame induction. Resplendent in a Marilyn Monroe-esq white gown and accompanied by flowing blonde locks that would have taken hours to perfect, it was none other than Westerly Windina, whose name actually does not appear on the honour scroll of Hall of Famers. The name Peter Drouyn, however does. The 1970 Australian Champion, who along with Nat was my boyhood hero, is now called Westerly, having in recent times been transformed into a woman. As Steph turned to be with her peers on stage it was Westerly who first embraced her, in itself a monumental moment in Australian surfing. A penny for her thoughts! A fantastic night that went off without a hitch, carried by an awesome MC, complete with surfing royalty, represented by the nation’s leaders, and sprinkled with fairy dust by living legends of the sport, this was a glorious night of acknowledgement. Surfing had arrived at the half century mark, and Andrew Stark an d his team were ordained as the administration to take surfing onward and upward to new plateaus of excellence in this country, as well as be a beacon of inspiration for developing surf nations throughout the world. As Patron of Surfing Australia I would like to congratulate Andrew Stark and Norm Innis for their vision and acknowledge the dedicated work of Jake White, Tim Brimblecombe, Mick Wilcomes and Kristin Brummell in making this night the success it was. Well done all.
Red Carpet maestros – Rabbit shares a joke with filmer Dick Hoole
Winter 2013 |
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