Our Vintage Surf Day, held on the 12th of November 2017, was once again a spectacular success with a record attendance, good weather, and approximately $7,000 raised for the Disabled Surfers Association. All credit goes to the organizers, Phil Newman and Phil Trigger, with special thanks to George Rice and the dozens of worker bees whose names aren’t up in lights. Phil and I know who you are, and we certainly appreciated the helping hand.

As we have all seen over the years, this event is not just about the surfboards; it's about the attendance of groups like “The Suicide Savages,” featuring colorful characters like Jacko, Mutton Bird, the Grace brothers, Sconna, Big Tibb’s, Ronnie (the last to leave) Lee, and the Oke clan.

This year, we had a surprise visit from Mallacoota local Drew Moreland, a very good goofy-footer whom we have fond memories of ripping it up at Bells in the early seventies.

Another honored guest who slipped through the crowd almost unnoticed was Bob Young. He was of particular interest to Phil, myself, and many of the older '60s crew. Back in October 1964, our brother Peter picked up a 9-foot-8-inch Young Custom Surfboard. Peter was a cadet at Frognall, the Air Force training base in Canterbury, and had saved a little from every pay packet so he could pick up his new toy just before his birthday on October 25th.

Conveniently for Phil and me, Peter kept his new Okonui (as they were called back then) at our home in Bonbeach, where the two of us managed to carry the board down to the bay and learn to ride the ripples. That Bob Young surfboard was the very first one that all three brothers rode, subsequently inspiring our lifelong passion for surfing.

Phil Trigger, George Rice, Bob Young, Paul Trigger attend the Vintage Surf Day

Above: Phil, aged 14, holding the Young Surfboard on the right.

Above: Not known for his big-wave exploits, Peter Trigger makes the most of Cross-Overs on Christmas Day, 1964.

There was very little we knew about Bob's introduction to surfing, nor of his links to Shoreham. Below, he outlines some of his memories.

A note from 82-year-old Bob Young...

"My family history at Shoreham began when my grandparents bought 10 acres of land between the Shoreham Creek and Cliff Road. They built a guest house and called it 'The Cliffs.' They did quite well until the Second World War occurred, which caused a financial catastrophe. They sold 'The Cliffs' to the Catholic Church, and to this day it is still used as a retreat. They then purchased a small block with a concrete brick house above Honeysuckle rocks. Bill and I spent most of our holidays there fishing and skin-diving.

As far as I can remember, I don’t think The Pines was surfed in the mid-1950s. I don’t think the reefs between The Pines and Point Leo were surfed in those days either. Bill and I became interested in surfing around 1958, I think (it was a bloody long time ago). Our mates and us surfed between Torquay and Kennett River, so I am not too sure about The Pines. Once we got our licenses, we didn’t go to Shoreham very much as our mates had a preference for Bells Beach.

Peter, Paul, and Philip, thanks for the photos, they bring back old memories. I have looked through my own photos but cannot find any from my surfboard manufacturing years. I made my first board in 1961 for myself, and after getting requests from some mates, I started making more at home in our parents' garage. It soon became too busy, so I moved to High Street, St Kilda. The trading name was Bob Young Surfboards. My twin brother Bill joined me about nine months later, and we changed the name to Young Surfboards. I did the shaping and Bill did the glassing. We were very busy during the warmer months but very quiet through the cooler weather. We decided to close the business in early 1966."

Regards, Bob