Surf City

17 Jan-18 Mar ,

Special Events

First published on 11 Jan 2012. Updated on 19 Mar 2012.

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This event has finished

It started with a young, restless generation - with their ‘finned’ fibreglass boards, rock ’n’ roll, cars and bad attitudes - hitting the surf and clashing with an outraged alliance of surf-club officials, councillors, police, disapproving parents, a spellbound media and a wide-eyed public. Before long, surfing was ‘king’ and as its fashions and new-found freedoms were ignited, Sydney produced a line-up of top riders and cutting-edge board designers. The evolution of surfing in the 60s and 70s saw Sydney surf writers, publishers, film-makers, bands and businesses gain international attention as innovators and stirrers.

Surf City at the Museum of Sydney will return to the beaches of the 50s, 60s and 70s and show how Sydney’s love affair with surfing has left an indelible, salt-stained mark on our beach-crazed city. Boardriders, shapers, writers, cultural stirrers and everyday waxheads with attitude and sun-tanned bodies shook up the conservative city and created a new culture of freedom and hedonism that merged seamlessly into mainstream Australian life and endures to this day.

Highlights include:

Surf City film festival
Classic cinema homages to ‘the big blue’ return to the big screen

Sat 11 Feb: Gidget (1959) and Blue Hawaii (1961)

Sat 18 Feb: Puberty Blues (1971)

Sat 25 Feb: Heaven (1997) and Bra Boys (2007)

Surf City Curator specials
Exhibition curator Gary Crockett discusses key elements of Sydney’s surf revolution

Sat 4 Feb: Surf mags in the ‘60s and ‘70s

Sun 5 Feb: Surfing Music – the connection between surf culture and music

Sun 19 Feb: Art and pop culture

Let’s Go Surfing Bondi Beach
Surfers from the Let’s Go Surfing school discuss practical topics for all surfers at the Museum of Sydney

Tue 17 Jan, 1pm: How to repair a surfboard

What is a surfboard made of? What do you need to repair a surfboard? Nigel Riley and Marty Williams will answer these questions and more as they give a practical demonstration on how to repair both softboard and fibreglass surfboards.

Thu 19 Jan, 1pm: Surf safety tips

Shelley Parker and Marty Williams offer the best tips on how to read the beach, what to do in rips, what types of waves there are and common dangers encountered at the beach.

Tue 24 Jan, 1pm: Stories from a surf instructor and student

Hear what Big Wave Dave and co. love about surfing, what they will do in an average day surfing and some of their favourite stories from out on the waves.

Surf City runs until March 18 2012. Price of exhibition is included with museum entry. Feb 12 Opening Forum $30/$25.

Photograph: Bob Weeks

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