Collection
Surf culture has been an important part of the Australian identity for over a century.
The influence of surfing can be seen in many of the films, music recordings and newsreels in the NFSA collection...
Collection
From national surf carnivals and cultural events to family holidays by the sea, Australians love spending time at the beach.
With its unique history, rituals, language and customs, Australia's beach...
Article
Watch a classic newsreel about the 1960s origins of Ugg boots and the Australian surfer who popularised them.
Audio
The summer of 1963-64 saw a brief flowering of Australian surf music. Inspired by the songs of Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys as well as the reverbed guitar instrumentals of bands like the Shadows,...
Audio
For sheer whimsy it is hard to go past the one minute and forty seconds of 'He’s My Blond Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy’ by the 14-year-old Little Pattie. Apart from being one of the...
Audio
The first Australian surf hit was the instrumental 'Surfside’ from The Denvermen, entering the charts in January 1963 and reaching No. 1 in the Sydney Top 40. It had the required Fender lead electric...
Video
An early summer morning on an almost empty Bondi Beach in Sydney. Local council workers remove rubbish and volunteer lifesavers check their gear, allocate safe surfing areas and practise their...
Video
Surfing may well be a quintessential Aussie pastime but who introduced us to the modern-day art of boardriding?
Warren Brown gets the lowdown from former world champion surfer Midget Farrelly. He...
Video
At Bondi Beach, the Queen observes an Australian surf carnival, a gathering of teams from surf clubs around the country and New Zealand, all wearing the traditional neck-to-knee surfing costume that...
