The Long Ride: 100 Years of Australian Surfing
The National Sports Museum at the MCG celebrates 100 years of surfing in Australia this summer, with an exhibition of some of the rarest and most important surfboards in Australia.
The Long Ride: 100 Years of Australian Surfing allows visitors to trace Australia’s love affair with surfing through the sport’s ever-changing constant – the surfboard.
A selection of some of Australia’s most historically significant surfboards will tell the story of surfing in Australia – from the early 1900s when Tommy Walker rode a Hawaiian surfboard at Manly, through to the arrival of Malibu surfboards at the 1956 Olympic Surf Carnival and international surfing’s move from recreational activity to professional sport.
The Long Ride uncovers the icons of the Aussie summer – offering an insight into why surfing and beach culture are defining elements of the Australian identity.
Boards to be featured include a solid timber 1920s board; one of the first Australian built “Malibu” boards; the ground breaking three fin “Thruster” and boards ridden by Ian Cairns, Mark Richards, Tom Carroll, Pam Burridge, Mark Occhilupo and Layne Beachley.
The exhibition has been developed in association with Surf World, Torquay and will be complemented by regular talks and activities.
The National Sports Museum’s Cinema Sport is also be showing an edited version of the critically acclaimed surfing film Bustin’ Down The Door during the summer.
The Long Ride: 100 Years of Australian Surfing will be launched on Sunday November 15 by Layne Beachley and will open from November 16 until February 28 in the National Sports Museum. Entry included in general admission prices.
The paint for this exhibition has been generously supplied by Dulux.
