
Commentator John Moyes explains that men are making surfboards out of plywood. A line of surfers carry their boards down to the shore and paddle out towards the breakers. The camera follows their path, capturing them from just in front of the waves. A man who has been hit by a surfboard is rescued by the lifesavers on duty and carried ashore. The clip ends with a shot of the surfers in the afternoon sun.
Summary by Poppy De Souza
The final shots are beautifully filmed with surfers seen in silhouette and sunlight bouncing off the water. The camera is positioned close to the surfers, filming them from the side as they ride in to the shoreline. Placed alongside them, the viewer can experience the 'top of the world’ thrill of the surfer.
Nowadays sports photography has become a specialised art. The proliferation of televised competitive sport, such as motor racing, cricket and the Olympics, has prompted the development of lighter and more mobile technologies to allow further flexibility and intimacy in recording these events.
This documentary featurette shows typical scenes on Australia’s beaches and features the events and activities of a surfing carnival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. An introductory text situates Australian beach culture amongst the 'sun worshippers’ of 'hot summers’, golden sands and the 'great outdoors’. The rest of the film shows beach crowds, a lifeguard procession, surfers and a surfing competition, and a demonstration of lifesaving rescue boats in the water. It includes a lively commentary by John Moyes and an accompanying instrumental score.
Cinesound Productions ceased feature film production shortly after the end of the Second World War (when the British Rank Organisation bought half the shares in Cinesound’s parent company, Greater Union Theatres). Nevertheless, it continued to produce its newsreel, Cinesound Review, along with documentaries and sponsored films on a range of subjects.
Thrill of the Surf is populated with surfers, lifesavers and other beach goers. Beautifully filmed visuals (see the final moments of clip one) are supported by a script – most probably written in part by Ken G Hall – which describes the coastline as a 'giant golden necklace’, the sand as a 'place for building castles’, women surfers as 'surf nymphs’ and surfing as 'Australia’s most popular sport’.
This short documentary is one of many Australian films to feature the sun, sand and surf as a significant character. Others on this site include silent newsreel items (Australasian Gazette – Sun Worshippers, c1924), cinema advertisements (Lifesavers: Cryst-O-Mint Flavour, 1925), feature-length productions (Crystal Voyager, 1973 and Puberty Blues, 1981) and even reality television (Bondi Rescue, 2006).
Notes by Poppy De Souza
This black-and-white clip shows surfing on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in 1949 and includes scenes of surfboard building, surfers riding the waves towards the shore on the long surfboards popular at the time, surf ski riders and a rescue by surf-lifeguards. Final footage includes close-up action shots filmed alongside riders in the waves. The commentary suggests that Australian conditions are very different from those in Hawaii, requiring considerable changes to surfboard design. The commentary is accompanied by upbeat marching music played by a brass band.
Educational value points
Education notes provided by The Learning Federation and Education Services Australia
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.