> -----Original Message----- > From: Brian Walters > > Excellent composition - looks like he's on the top of a wave. >
That was the intent of the sculptor in selecting the location, and what I wanted to capture. I had to squeeze up between the trees and the rocks for the angle, which you'd recognize as an admirable feat if you could see me. (the phrase "spare tyre" comes to mind.) > I just wonder - why this statue at Freshwater? I'm not all that well > informed regarding surfing, but did Duke Paoa Kahanamoku have some > association with Australian surfing? Why not a statue of Midget > Farrelly....? > Freshwater Beach is the birthplace of modern surfing in Australia. In 1914 Duke Kahanamoku was the world sprint swimming champion, and the 100 metre freestyle champion of the 1912 Olympics. He was touring Australia for the swimming association, but was prevailed upon by Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club to give a demonstration of "Hawaiian style" stand-up surfing at Freshwater Beach. On December 23, 1914, Kahanamoku gave a 3 hour surfing demonstration, during which he enlisted a teenage girl, Isabel Letham, to ride tandem with him. Consequently, the first Australian to surf in the modern style was a woman! Because he had been traveling on a swimming promotion Kahanamoku had no surfboard to ride, so he quickly sourced the timber and crafted a new board, which to this day is displayed at the clubhouse at the beach. Midget Farrelly is honoured with a plaque on a surfing champions' walk adjacent to Kahanamoku's statue. Unfortunately the walk hasn't been updated since its installation in 1994, and could do with a little maintenance as well. Thanks for the kind comment, Brian. Regards, Anthony -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
