July 2015

Posted on July 4, 2015 by geoffcrow

Ted Harvey checking out one of his old boards he rode around 1964, a classic 10 foot Sam Egan recently restored by Domma shown here with Ted at Pacific Dreams Wood and Glass exhibition in December 2012. Ted’s eyes lit up when Domma brought this one in obviously bringing back fond memories.”Big Ted” past away last Monday 27/7/2015 aged 77. Ted was one of Newcastle’s finest surfers and certainly one of the originals from the 1950’s who surfed with style and grace and loved the big stuff especially Nobbys Reef.

Ted Harvey and Domma 2012

Redhead Beach 08/07/2015.The sun burning a hole in the thick early morning cloud cover.

Redhead Beach sun burst 08-07-14

In 1999 way ahead of time Martin Littlewood of Delta Designs Margaret River dropped back in to show off a range of hand made, hi tech, light and strong epoxy sandwich construction surfcraft.

Martin Delta Designs 2000

Surfer on a big wave at Redhead Beach 1998. The photo is hazy from spray and taken a long way from the wave but worth a look.

Redhead beach big wave 1998

A nice little left early morning Redhead Beach 28/6/2015. A bit of relief from all the heavy days of late.

Nice left Redhead Beach 28-06-15

Black Neds Bay Mangroves 02/07/2015 filtering the sun.

Black Neds Bay Mangroves 02-07-15

Tiny island for pelicans and other sea birds Black Neds Bay 02/07/2015

Black Neds Bay Pelicans 02-07-15

May/June 2015

Posted on May 31, 2015 by geoffcrow

Newcastle Anzac Memorial Walk 21/06/2105. A cliff top walkway overlooking the cliffs north of Bar Beach and with views all over Newcastle.

Newcastle Memorial walk 2 21-06-15

Newcastle Anzac Memorial Walk silhouettes representing those who served.

Newcastle Memorial walk 21-06-15

Another nice morning Redhead Beach 08/06/2015

Redhead Beach sunrise 08-06-15

My son Sam and his mate Pat are having success land base game fishing using their hand made lures.

Sam and Tuna

Sam and Spanish Mackeral 2

The sharks get to a lot of the fish before they can be reeled in.

Sam and shark eaten Tuna

Check the teeth on this denizon of the deep.

Sam and sharp toothed fish

Sam fishing

Redhead Beach Pink morning 25/05/2015

Redhead beach pink morning 25-05-15

Whats on the bottom? Redhead Beach 17/05/2015 after some heavy seas the flotsom washed up has a disturbing amount of plastics in it. Maybe the people of the world need to start recycling more or use better alternate products.

Plastics washed up Redhead Beach 17-05-14

Another huge swell Redhead Beach 02/06/2015

Redhead big surf 02-06-15

April 2015

Posted on April 4, 2015 by geoffcrow

The surf just seems to get wilder Redhead Shark Tower in a froth HG couldnt top 15/5/2015

Redhead beach big sea 15-05-15

Nay Beach Redhead 6/5/2015 The recent continuous big seas have taken back the sand.

Nay beach Redhead 06-05-15

Redhead Beach cloud blanket 14/4/2015 maybe a hint of some weather coming.

Redhead beach cloud blanket 14-04-15

Redhead Beach 22/4/2015 The morning after the storm with the strongest winds I have seen around here and the wettest up in the Hunter Valley.

Redhead Beach after storm 22-04-15

Redhead Beach 2nd creek flowing 23/4/ 2015. With heavy rain the creek has cut through 3 metres of built up sand to flow out to sea.

Redhead 2nd creek flowing 23-04-15

One of the last trains on Ferleigh Track 1977. Now a walking and cycleway, trains carrying coal from the Belmont John Darling and Redhead Lambton B Collieries and also daily passenger trains used this track into Newcastle taking about 20 minutes to go into town.

Train on Ferleigh Track 1977

Redhead sand shed 1977. A big tin shed with sand in it, where it was then loaded onto trucks, with the sand even used on beaches in Hawaii so I heard.

Redhead Sand Shed 1978

March 2015

Posted on March 12, 2015 by geoffcrow

The grave of 64th street. In 1964 when I was 14, one of the older Redhead surfers took me surfing to a secret surf spot down a bush track about a kilometer down from Caves Beach they called 64th Street. This was a reef break about 300 metres out and had a left that held up big and frankly scared the hell out of me. Around the late 60s “they” started dumping tons of rocks forming a breakwater out to this reef for some pie in the sky reason. This rock wall never progressed past its initial phase and stands as seen here today burying a once pristine surf spot, 64th Street.

64th street

64th Street’s old take off zone

Sand model on Redhead beach early morning 29/3/2015

Redhead Beach Sand Model 29-03-15

Orange Clouds early morning Redhead Beach 18/03/2015

Redhead Beach orange clouds 18-03-15

Caves Beach from the water 12/3/2015

Caves Beach 12-03-2015

Redhead Beach sunrise 08/3/2015

Redhead Beach Sunrise 08-03-15

February 2015

Posted on February 3, 2015 by geoffcrow

Midnight Oil Exhibition Newcastle Museum Opening 19/2/2015

A good crowd attended and were introduced by the master of spray H G Nelson who told us of the surf out between McTavish and Garrett … oh to have seen that heat!

HG Nelson Oils Exhibit opening spray

Rob Hirst Oils Drummer and main man in this exhibition was there to greet all. Geoff & Sandy with Rob Hirst.

Sandy and Geoff with Rob Hirst

Mark Richards was there seen here with my wife Sandy

Sandy and MR Oils exhibition

The exhibition is a must for Oils Fans and any Aussie rock fans. Some of the memorabilia on display.

Sorry Oils Exhibit

Under careful supervision and a favour from Oils management’s Arlene took a photo of Sandy and Crow having a go on stage … gee that mike is high.

Crow and Sandy Oils stage

It seems I wasn’t the only one taking photos of Midnight Oil at the Mawson in 1978. Geoff Schuck sent me this ripper!

Martin Rotsey Mawson Hotel 78

Lake Macqaurie Surfest 2015 at Redhead Beach. Good surfers and a few good waves with a good crowd, a nice day and well run.

Matt Rawson Longboard final Lake Macqaurie Surfest 2015

Matt Rawson Surfest 2015 Longboard final

Justin Lee Shortboard Masters Lake Macqaurie Surfest 2015

Justin Lee Surfest 2015 Short board final

Lake Macqaurie Surfest 2015 SUP final

Surfest 2015 SUP final

Lake Macqaurie 2015 Longboard final

Surfest 2015 Longboard final

The Angels at the Mawson Hotel 1978 the good Doc Neeson gets some height, backs up to the ceiling. The Brewsters don’t move except for their hands.

Angels Mawson 78 Doc on ceiling

The Angels Doc Neeson Outdoor show at Caves Beach around 1978

Angels Doc Neeson Caves Bch3 78

Redhead beach early morning Australia Day raining and overcast and the Australian flag flying from the Shark Tower.

Redhead beach Flag 26-01-15

Swansea Channel 21/12/2014 The water was as good in as it looked.

Swansea Channel 21-12-2014

Redhead Beach Clouds 04/02/2015

Redhead beach Clouds 04-02-2015

Line up early morning Redhead Beach 23/1/2015

Redhead Beach surf 23-01-15

Redhead Beach Ship in sunrise 3/2/2015

Redhead Beach shipn sunrise 03-02-15

January 2015

Posted on January 13, 2015 by geoffcrow

The Duke and Batman.1963 Photo by legendary surf photographer Leroy Grannis as it appeared in a 1997 Longboard Magazine.

The Duke and Batman

Snail on Hydrangeas December 2014 after the first rain for a while. Photo by my daughter Ellen.

Ellens snail on hydrangeas 23-12-14

Check this UK web site http://www.houseofbonzer.com if you are interested in some nice surfboards featuring Free Flight Channels and Campbell Bros Bonzers … and other stuff keep scrolling.

HouseofBonzer

November/December 2014

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geoffcrow

Redhead Beach surf 17/12/2014 6:09 AM and crowded as already. This was most likely the wave of the day as a 30k southerly buster blew through a minute later.

Redhead Beach surf 17-12-2014

Sue’s mum took this photo of Redhead Beach in 1945.

Redhead Beach 1945

Surfboard riders with balsa boards Redhead Beach 1960. Photo and caption from Redhead Surf Club magazine 1978, one of the books on local history at Redhead Community Library.

Redhead Beach early boardriders 1960

Redhead Beach early boardriders 1960 text

A collection of surfboards from around Newcastle displayed at Redhead Beach and then at Surf Expo in conjunction with Surfest arranged by Ronnie Rudder around 1986. Photo provided by Tom Forde.

Surf Expo Redhead Beach 1966

Redhead Beach Tide Pool 1/12/2014. The tide and punchy swell had pushed the water over the sand on the beach and left a tidal pool all the way up the beach.

Redhead Beach Tide pool 01-12-14

Redhead beach 21/11/2014. After a spell of ordinaryness the surf is lining up for a change.

Redhead Beach surf 21-11-2014

Redhead Beach Kite Surfer early 11/11/2014 The wind was up at 6am.

Redhead Beach Kite Surfer 11-11-14

Redhead Beach sunrise 11/11/2014

Redhead Beach Sunrise 11-11-14

Mangroves in Black Neds Bay 4/11/2014. I was looking for somewhere to paddle out of the wind, no wind here.

Mangroves Black Neds Bay 04-11-14

October 2014

Posted on October 14, 2014 by geoffcrow

Colourful in spring time. Awabakal National Park bushland Redhead 20/10/2014

Redhead Awabakal Park 20-10-14

Redhead national park wild flowers 20/10/2014

Redhead wildflowers 20/10/2014

Redhead Bluff rockshelf 20/10/2014

Redhead Bluff Rockshelf 20-10-14

Aptly named Shelly Beach Redhead Bluff 20/10/2014

Shelly Beach Redhead 20-10-14

I like taking photos of things that look like animals:

Turtle Head rock Redhead Bluff 20/10/2014

Turtle Head Rock 20-10-14

Bear Head rock Redhead Bluff 20/10/2014

Bear Head Rock Redhead Bluff 20/10/2014

Whale washed up on Redhead Beach. A deceased rare Beaked Whale washed up on Redhead Beach 14th October 2014.

Whale on Redhead Beach 14-10-14

Whale washed up Redhead Beach 14-10-14

September 2014

Posted on August 27, 2014 by geoffcrow

Razor Clam in Lake Macquarie 3/10/2014. There are many of these razor sharp shellfish in the shallows of most shorelines around Lake Macquarie. These things can grow to easy 30 centimetres and the edges of their shells as their name suggest are sharp.

Razor Clam in Lake Macquarie

Redhead Beach 1945 my Mum and Aunty with my older brother and cousin.They are on the rock where the surf club now sits and behind them shows that the first creek used to flow out at the Shark Tower.

Redhead Beach 1945

From my re-discovered unprinted negatives:

Midnight Oil Peter Garret and Andrew James Mawson Hotel 1978

Midnight Oil Mawson 1978 9

Midnight Oil Martin Rotsey and and Andrew James Mawson Hotel 1978

Midnight Oil 1978 1

Midnight Oil Mawson Hotel Caves Beach around 1978

Midnight Oil Mawson 1978 15

The Angels Doc Neeson at the Caves Beach Mawson Hotel 1977

Doc Neeson Mawson 1977

Midnight Oil at the Mawson Hotel 1978

Midnight Oil Mawson 1977

Sandscape Redhead Beach 30/08/2014. Heavy surf wind and rain have combined to mould the sand burms.

Sandscape Redhead Beach 30-08-14

Redhead Beach Bird like cloud 29/08/2014

Clouds Redhead Beach 29-08-14

Bluebottles washed up on Redhead Beach 27/8/2014. The surf has been rough for a while due to a low off the coast bringing in bluebottles not usually seen until February.