Big Dudley - surfer unknown 13th August 2010 photo by Geoff Connors
Dudley 13th August 2010 - Photo by Geoff Connors
Dudley unknown surfer 13th August 2010 photo by Geoff Connors
Big surf at Dudley in the 1970's
Redhead Beach 1980's Beach Traffic
BHP Computer Room around 1976. This large room full of gizmos is equivalent to the last generation of laptops.
Newcastle BHP computer room around 1976
Storm Surf at Redhead in the mid 1970’s. Heavy rain, flooding of the Hunter River and huge surf created this mess of flotsam and Jetsom near the first creek.
Storm surf Debri at Redhead Beach around 1976
NSW SLSC Championships at Corrimal around 1978. This scantily clad and fit looking young lady onlooker caught the eye of Redhead’s boat crew. They asked me to go and take her photo and I said no, she would just tell me to piss off. Hard to say no to these blokes, as is evident from the next picture of them.
So they picked me up camera bag and all and carried me armchair style to where she was sitting and dumped me in the sand at her feet. She willingly obliged to have her photo taken bemused by the proceedings.
Redhead Boat Crew in 1978 at Corrimal Beach SLSC NSW Championships. A fit looking bunch, great blokes and not bad rowers. Strategic use of Boat Oars aye.
A close inspection of Redhead Bluff (not too close, there’s rocks falling off – like in Billy the Mountain) shows a Tubular Section in it, recent rain has done some corrosive damage and has hollowed out a literally tubular gnarly slab.
Redhead Cliff with wave June 2010
A solid swell pumped through on the last Sunday of May 2010 and the wind held them up. Unknown surfer behind the Redhead Shark Tower.
Unknown Surfer Redhead left May 2010
An email from Julie and Shayne advised me of surfing footage from the 70’s taken from the movie Fantasea, of Col Smith and also Steve Butterworth on Youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38YzceIQAtE
Not somewhere in Europe – Hunter Valley Gardens in Cessnock’s wine country, a lot of very nice different types of gardens, very well put together.
Hunter Valley Gardens 2009
The Redhead Crew celebrate Gilly’s Graduation around 1978
The Redhead surf crew at Gilly's Graduation celebration around 1978
Catherine Hill Bay in 1975. Catho hasn’t changed much in 35 years – lets hope it stays that way.
Catherine Hill Bay Township 1975
Lou Reed at the Majestic Newcastle Civic Theatre around 1978. Lou had a great band and played great guitar and had the crowd on their feet.
Lou Reed Civic Theatre Newcastle 1978
Justin Lee, one of the most consistant long term surfers from the Lake Macquarie Beaches on a VERY solid day at Dudley September 2009. Photo by Geoff Connors.
Justin Lee surfing at Dudley September 2009
Dweezil Zappa, son of Frank, brought his dad’s music to life again in Newcastle at the great Civic Theatre in April 2009. Dweezil played amazing guitar. I saw Frank Zappa play back in 1972 and 1974, awsome. He had guest Norman Gunston (actor Gary MacDonald) play a harmonica solo. Here Dweezil rips out another guitar solo, this one was from the song Montana. My daughter Ellen took this picture.
Dweezil Zappa plays at Newcastle Civic Theatre 2009
Mark Richards Leggy Point 1977
Redhead's Col Smith Shaping Channel Surfboards 1978
Midnight Oil 1977 Garrett & Mogine mawson Hotel 1977
Landscape above Redhead Beach in 1975
Crow and Bird and Bridgette 1977
Martin Littlewood Windsurfing at Blacksmiths 1977
On Surfari around southern NSW near Bega 1977 getting close to susnset, we went through this water way and then went back and did it again for the camera.
On surfari near Bega 1977
Redhead Beach from the Bluff 1977
Redhead beach 1978
Ray Lunn stalls hard and then later gets a nice tube from behind the Redhead Shark Tower 1977.
Ray Lunn Redhead Beach 1977
Not a bad surf for no one out. Redhead Little Beach 1978.
Redhead Little Beach no one out 1977
Redhead Beach by moonlight 1977. Even looks good in black & white. A 30 second time exposure.
Redhead Beach by moonlight 1977
Newcastle area surf carnival Chariot Race 1978
Toddler Taming Sam & Ellen 1990
Blower & Dad's Band Belmont Yatch Club 1978
Arrawarra 1977
Bee on flowering thistle 1978
The Redhead Shark Tower Rocks have always meant a lot to most Redhead locals, it has the best ring side seat to an awsome view of the bluff and the surf.
My daughter Lia in 1976 playing in the storm blown foam in front of the Redhead Shark Tower. This photo also appears on the ABC Website – You know you grew up in Newcastle when…see http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/02/22/2826363.htm
Lia Redhead Shark Tower 1976
Shark Tower Rocks exposed 1975
Redhead Little Beach going off 1985
Eddo's Re-entry behind the Redhead Shark Tower 1977
Pamdemonia 1977
Sandy & Ellen 1985
Ellen at Fingal Bay 1990
Simon Anderson Bells Beach Winner 1977
Byron Bay surf 1980
Belmont South Sunset 1985
Graeme Harkin took some nice water shots of the Redhead surf crew around 1979, here are some of them.
Col Smith, Redhead, close up and having way too much fun, what a grin!
Col Smith close up Redhead 1979
Col Smith again getting tubed at Redhead in 1979
Col Smith tubed Redhead 1979
Mick Carr on a hollow Redhead Little Beach right in 1979
Mick Carr Redhead Little Beach 1979
Paul Smith Redhead Little Beach 1979
Paul Smith Redhead 1979
Philip Woodward Redhead 1979
Phillip Woodward Redhead 1979
Peter Kuba on a Redhead Shark Tower left 1979.
Peter Kuba Redhead Shark Tower 1979
Chas Woodward at Redhead.
Chas Woodward 1979
Kenny Stanton wellcovered up Redhead 1979
Unidentified surfer at Redhead 1979
Col Smith again Redhead 1979.
Col Smith Redhead 1979
Redhead Little Beach in 1983 on a cold winters afternoon. A surfer on a nice wave, framed by the cliff and the shark tower rocks.
Redhead Beach 1983
Redhead Shark Tower, this time covered in foam during the June 2007 storm. Lots of people were out and about as the ship Pascha Bulka had grounded at Nobbys and also the power was out for 3 days so there was nothing to do at home.
Redhead Shark Tower in June 2007 Storm
Redhead Beach Ghost 1983 . I took the photo of Sandy with the cameras flash and left the button down and she walked out of the photo.
Sandy the ghost 1983 Redhead Beach
Redhead Surf Club March Past Team around 1978. A great bunch of blokes who put a lot of time and training into what they do.
Redhead March Past team around 1978
Redhead Swamp before the drought and the digging out of the Third Creek. We used to paddle tin canoes made from roofing sheets and wooden boxes with road tar to seal them, from the second creek up into the swamp when we were kids.
Redhead Swamp 1975
Mick Carr styling on a nice left from behind the Redhead Shark Tower.
Michael Carr surfing at Redhead 1977
Ronnie Rudder drops around to show off another new board, but this one has a history. A shaped blank has been stored in the rafters of Forster Board maker Bobby Brown’s shed for 10 years. This 9′6″ Noserider was shaped by the then 72 year old Floyd Smith from American Gordon & Smith Surfboards fame. Given to Ronnie by Bobby, faithfully cleaned and glassed at Pacific Dreams by Roy and the boys, this old classic beauty eventually has come to life.
Ron & Crow & Floyd Smith Noserider
Martin Littlewood with new Delta Designs 2004
Col Smith Redhead Boardriders Comp 1975
Crow Skateboarding Garden City Carpark 1964
Redhead Little Beach left 1977
Peter Murnaine and Ben Aipa Stinger 1976
Eddo Redhead local comp 1976
The recent AC/DC Tour reminded me of a photo my wife Sandy has of her younger sister Vanda and Angus Young taken at the Hard Rock Cafe around 1974. Both very young and VERY Rock ‘ N Roll.
Angus and Vanda 1974 Hard Rock Cafe Melbourne
Phillip Woodward surfing Birdie by Graham Harkin 1977
Chas Woodward surfing Birdie 1977 by Graham Harkin
Water shot of Peter Pitt surfing Redhead Little Beach around 1974.
Peter Pitt Redhead Little Beach 1977
One of the good things in surfing at the moment is the variety of surfing equipment people are now making – old ideas, mixed with the new. You would’nt look out of place walking down the beach now with this 1976 5′6″ Martin Littlewood Delta Fish.
Bob Scarr & Delta Knee Board 1976
Eddo – William Harrison. We wern’t sure what he was doing when he surfed but it was always interesting. Shown here at Newcastle Mattara Surfing contest around 1977, close to the foam and close to the nose.
Eddo Mattarra Contest 1977
Grant Brooks showing his cool casual style surfing at Redhead around 1977 .
Grant Brooks at Redhead 1977
Cold and windy and big and no one out. Redhead Little Beach around 1977.
Redhead 1977 big no one out
Around the mid seventies there was 2 great surfing Col Smith’s, the other from Narabeen, both powerfull goofy footers and both shaped surfboards and won contests.
Redhead’s Col Smith was an Australian Champion and also placed in contests in Hawaii.
This photo around 1976 shows the boards he took to Hawaii and shows the distinctive channel bottom, Col riding Pipeline on the board shown here is in the surf movie Fantasea. These boards were made by Shane and were shaped by Jim Pollard who invented the channel bottom.
Col Smith Channel Boards for Hawaii
Col Smith tubed at Redhead
Col Smith heads out again at Redhead
Col Smith & family 1983
Col Smith surfing at Mattara Newcastle around 1975
Steve Butterworth Redhead 1983