Belly boarding in Australasia

Queensland

Kit Carson, Jeff Callaghan and Robert McDermott -Kirra 1965. Photo courtesy Kit Carson.

Tom Wegener. Photo Sean Davey.

Back in the day

In 1965 Bob Mcdermott had come up from by Maroubra in Sydney on a surf trip. Gold coast lifesavers Bob 'Kit' Carson and Jeff Callaghan recalled seeing McDermott surfing his bellyboard in cyclonic surf at Kirra. Carson recalls being "pretty impressed" (Carson 2010). Joe Larkin set up his factory in 1962 and recalled: "When I moved to Kirra the balsa was gone and I just used the plan shape from those early days for the plywood boards. I got four boards out of a sheet of 3/16 inch ply, 6 feet by 3 feet. Fins were three inches high and about 4-1/2 inches long, with a 3-inch chrome kitchen cupboard handle. I loved these little boards and we all had a great time surfing Snapper and Kirra" (Larkin 2012). The Gold Coast bellyboarders consisted of lifesavers such as Carson, Callaghan and surfers such as Col Taylor and Joe Larkin. Others included Mal Sutherland, Vinnie Ford, Graham Dunne, Mark Green, Terry Law, Graham Byrnes, Ken Wiles, Mick Potter, and Jimmy Purdon. Carson and Callaghan surfed from Noosa down to at least Lennox Head, and then moved to Torquay around 1965.

Robert McDermott_Snapper May 1965. Photo courtesy Kit Carson	Col Taylor (left) and Kit Carson with bellyboards. Photo courtesy Kit Carson	Twin fin close-up. Photo Kerrie Carson
Michael Potter 1960s bellyboard Photo courtesy Michael Potter	Michael Potter 1960s bellyboard Photo courtesy Michael Potter

Unidentified surfer, sequence

Kirra c 1973

Original footage - Gary Smiley?

Craig Halstead edited and posted on Coastalwatch

In the mid 1960's Barr recalls surfing a wooden bellyboard purchased by his brother, from the Myer department at Tweed Heads in the mid to late 1960s (Barr 2010b). It was a Whiz Skid, bellyboard/skimboard made by Blue Pacific Aquatic Products in Brisbane, by Ken Fowler (Potter 2010). Barr and his friends rode the board around Kingscliff but also remembers fellow Tweed High students riding wooden bellyboards around Coolangatta(2010a).

Whiz Skid.
Photo courtesy Kevin Barr

Whiz Skid logo.
Photo courtesy Kevin Barr

Whiz Skid.
Photo courtesy Kevin Barr

Ken Adler (2010) advises that Candy Calhoun was in Australia for three years: 1965-1967. It was during this time that Calhoun featured in the above The Australian Women's Weekly article (McGetrick 1966). He made her a board similar to a board made by Gordon Thiesz, who surfed with Candy in the US (Moynier 2010). Candy mostly surfed Alexandra Headland and when the conditions were right, National Park at Noosa head. For many years this board was in the possession of Darrel Dell. Calhoun, who along with her mother (Marge) and sister (Robin) competed internationally, rode Wedge and Pipeline bodysurfing.

Candy Calhoun US paipo rider.
Australian Women's Weekly- 1966

Replica of a 60 design
Photo Gary Clist

In terms of fibreglass bellyboards, Eddie Sawden who in the 1960s worked for Carey Surfboards advised that there were casual orders for bellyboards (Sawden 2009) and Lawrie Hohensee who also shaped for Carey, reported that he made bellyboards during the 1960s and beyond (2009). Barr (2010) recalls Graham Merrin surfboards from Tweed Heads (NSW) and Mick Carey Surfboards from Currumbin, as making the occasional bellyboard, "sometimes using the noses cut from cut down surfboards". Woosley in Brisbane made at least the occasional bellyboard. One example resembles scaled down longboard.

Ray Woosley 4'6 bellyboard, c 1965. ebay photo.

In addition to the bellyboarders identified above, Henry Marfleet (UK) located a letter from an 'ex D.Y surfer' (1964) who wrote from Brisbane and referred to fellow bellyboarders Graham Wyles, John Paul, Gary Edwards and Robert Smith. Ash's 1994 bellybogger booklet contains a testimonial from Greg Lee from Bribie Island. Ash at the time was located in Noosa, so it is likely there were some other bellybogger riders in that area as well. The late John Standing rode the latest bellybogger incarnation around Coolangatta.

Wayne Tommasi (Tommasi 2009) has collected a range of bellyboards from the 1960 to 1970s, including boards made by Shell Shapes, Papworth, Kirra Surf, the Shaping Company and Tweed Coast surfboards. Nothing is known about who specifically made these boards.

1960s-1980s bellyboards.
Wayne Tommasi collection.

Wayne Tommasi boards, left to right: Board 1 - Early to mid 70’s stringerless 4ft 2”x 193/4”. Spirit of the sea Kirra Gold Coast Pencil on foam 436/A Shaper? Dick Van Straalen said he can’t remember if he shaped it or not. He said he can’t remember much from that era, but his wife designed the Logo. Board 2 - "My personal board March 2009 I used the Hohensee as a guide shortened it 2”widened and squared the tail 2”added 2 1/2” keel fins plus centre fin box. Slight concave on deck. Shaped and glassed by Paul Carson (The Factory Surfboards, Caloundra)". Board 3 - Early to mid70’s stringerless 4’6”x 19 ľ”single fin Logo Hohensee ‘OVER FREE FLIGHT BIRD LOGO’- Hohensee Miami Gold Coast shaper? Board 4 - Late 60’s early 70’s 4’7”x 20 ˝ single fin Carey. Surfboards Currumbin Gold Coast. Shaper Eddie Sawden said if Carey Logo was block lettered, he would have shaped it. No other Markings on board.

Bodyboard style bellyboards were made by Fluid Foils from Caloundra. Ron Palmer bought his board in 1984. Brett Compton (2022) recalled his board as "being fast but kinda too fat n heavy for me especially trying to carry it for miles on the pushy".

Fluid Foils bellyboard.
Photo Ron Palmer
Fluid Foils bellyboard
Photo Ron Palmer

Paul Reinhard had Star Jammer boards from Noosa, make a fibreglass version of the bellybogger, but with fins added. Paul(2022) advised: I had a plastic “Bellybogger” yrs ago…bought it off some mates who were from West Oz….’81 on the Sunshine Coast, copied it to a fiberglass version, made by a guy worked out of “Cornell” workshop in Sunshine Bch, Qld. Ray or “Forey” we called him arranged it through his label “Star-Jammer” also in Sunshine Bch in the shops there (long gone) I think I paid like $80 to make it. Honestly it never worked as well as the Belly Bogger, I surfed it at A Bay in the Noosa Nat Park, Dbl Is Point, Ti Tree and Boiling Pot, mainly surfed it on Bch breaks at Sunrise and Wurtulla, Peregian Bch, Pt Cartwright also in NZ at Stent Rd in Taranaki ... I used Churchill fins which I still use for body surfing when I can."

Star Jammer bellyboard.
Photo Paul Reinhard
Star Jammer bellyboard
Photo Paul Reinhard

Nowadays

Van Straalen bellyboard. Photo Wayne Tommasi	Van Straalen bellyboard -2012 Photo Anthony Young	Van Straalen bellyboard -2012 Photo Anthony Young
Peter Webbs board. Photo More surfboards	Mark Pridmore More bellyboard

Tommasi from Palm Beach has ridden a bellyboard made by Paul Carson from Caloundra while Anthony Young has ridden a Van Straalen bellyboard. On the Sunshine coast, Peter Webb has been riding bellyboards made by Mark Pridmore, of More surfboards, who continues to make bellyboards. South of the border, former Gold Coast based shaper Chris Garrett has produced a number of custom bellyboards for Bob Green. These boards were initially based on the twin-finned designs of Larry Goddard from Hawaii, but in more recent years have moved from a flat to a cottom bottom, with a foil more like a surfboard and are designed to be ridden finless. The basic dimension is 54 x 21 x 1 7/8".

Chris Garrett shaped bellyboards. On wall, from left Mellaleuca Missiles: #7, 6, 4, 3. On floor, broken longboard - Bob Green, glassed by Harry Gordon; and Chris Garrett bellyboard Photo Bob Green	Quiver: From left: Hawaiian Paipo Design; Garrett #8, 6, 4 & 3; John Galera NoFin, Huie BB and wood board.
Evolution of a design, from flat bottom to concave. Chris Garrett shapes. Photo Bob Green

Melauleuca Missile #5
Photo Federico Vanno

Melauleuca Missile #7
Photo Janelle Green

Paul Joske and Tom Wegener have been pioneers in the use of paulownia as a surfboard construction material in Australia (Gray 2008, Sutherland 2008). Wegener manufactures a range of boards that can be ridden prone, including alaia modelled on Hawaiian boards, the surfie and a wood/cork bodyboard style board. Tom is an enthusiatsic proponent of prone boards and has ridden everything from Japanese itago to UK style bellyboards. Also in Noosa, Parrish Watts had been making boards in the style of wooden UK bellyboards (Watts 2010).

Tom Wegener with author's alaia.
Photo courtesy Tom Wegener

Tom riding a surfie

Surfing Green paulownia board.
Photo Adam Williams

TomWegener surfie
Photo Adam Williams

The Gold Coast have a crew interested in bodysurfing, mats and bellyboards. It's not surprising, with renewed interest in bodysurfing, that there would be crossover and interest in bellyboards. Mini-paipo or large handplanes: "Harry Gordon has been shaping and glassing surfboards and hand planes for the past 15 years. In recent years he has been focusing on closing the gap between bodysurfing and prone board riding. This has lead Harry to design and construct a range of “mini” paipo boards that provide the speed and lift of a board but still provide the immersive experience of bodysurfing.

The boards range between 20” to 25” long and around 15 “ wide, the bottom shape is typically a deep double concaves and the boards have hard edges along the length of rail. Harry has experimented with a range of other designs and in recent times has been inspired by the prone board designs of Larry Goddard and Bob Greens quiver to scale up boards and explore the joys of prone board building and riding".