Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2016 i Surfing World Magazine

Australian surfing wouldn’t be what it is today without Midget Farrelly. It wouldn’t be as powerful a force as it is, and it wouldn’t mean as much as it does to all of us, without his contributions. He was the first to show us that Aussies could be world beaters, which had a lasting influence on generations to follow, and he did it without arrogance and chest beating. From what I know of him, he was dedicated, groundbreaking and humble – characteristics I’ve always celebrated in other people and aspired to have myself. Midget was the first real surf star we ever had, right when surfing was a booming part of teen culture. He was 19, had a World Title in his back pocket, was on TV, had his own…

About Bernard Midget Farrelly – alot’s going to be written over the days, weeks, months. Bringing it all down to the nub though – He Could Be Believed – He Was Worth Believing. Thus he was one of the greatest exceptions to the rule of surfing. Simply, telling it the way it was. Erudite to an intricate fault, spanning the disciplines of Surf Board Riding, Hang Gliding and Wind Surfing from pioneer levels, developing an industry around his talent; and being arguably the greatest contest surfer of the 1960s via Makaha then Manly then runner up losses in countbacks at Puerto Rico and Bells, Midget was far more of a broad doyen than just about anyone who has ever existed in the lifestyle. Critically important was the grand enduring controversy…

 Every book tells a story. When you go beyond the cover and read between the lines there is often a deeper adventure waiting to be discovered. It’s as if the words written are not really words from the mind but portals to another world. And, so it is with the life of Midget. “Life’s fairy tale will be affirmed Amid encounters and letters Seek the sent diamonds of possibilities But harken to the calling waves You must look beyond Into the far distant.”Nicholas Roerich As a young grommet I felt a strong empathy with Midget. His style and grace on a wave captivated and inspired me. His passive resistance to the system at the time was a sign that I intuitively recognised – an alternative I wanted to pursue. He…

Bernard “Midget” Farrelly lay in his hospital bed, gazing out the window at what little he could see of the world outside. Surgeons had just cut a 4.5 kg, 30cm long tumour from his abdomen. Yet even as his world contracted, his dreams and ambitions continued to soar and expand. “I was lying in intensive care at age 68 looking like death warmed up and I said, ‘I don’t want it to stop here,’” Midget told me. “I want to learn to kite board. I want to travel the world, eventually to surf spots where I’ve never seen people surf, just to meet the people who do surf those spots. Because I was part of a sport where only California, Hawaii, Australia surfed and South Africa a little bit, and…

I grew up in an era idolising Midget Farrelly, Nat Young and Peter Drouyn. They were my big three. You know that question, who do you like better The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? That’s what loving those three guys was like when I was a kid. Midget was one of my boyhood heroes. I didn’t get to know Midget much at all during his surf career. By the time we came along there’d been a great exodus. The 1970 World Titles at Johanna was the last event of an era really. Midget, Nat, Drouyn, Ted Spencer, they all went in different directions after that. They weren’t on the international competitive scene anymore. We were ships passing in the night in that regard. I do remember Midget coming down and…

Midget was definitely his own man. I grew up at Avalon and from the late sixties on was privileged to surf with him, make boards with him and go hang gliding with him. On surfing, he was grace personified and imbued with the true Hawaiian be one with the wave ethos so contrary to today’s approach. It was always about fun and being in the moment. He was one of the best good wave “hooters” going around! On surfboards, he was perfectionism personified. We made the “special” Palm Beach boards – special not least for where they were made, at his home overlooking one of the world’s best waterways – God’s country. He always had the very best of materials straight from the US – resin, cloth and particularly pigments…

Midget was the man of speed, flow and style. As a grom in the Sixties, when newspapers mattered, Midget had a column in the Sunday paper and that’s how we got the latest word on all things surf. For awhile too we had the Midget Farrelly Surf Show on ABC once a week, we’d all be glued to the one TV set in the house to watch his latest adventures, safaris around Australia and the world and of course we all ended up with his book The Surfing Life. If you were a grom in the sixties, Midget was a huge part of your surfing life. The first time I crossed paths with Midget was at my home beach Greenmount Point in 1970. The Australian Titles were to be held…

Midget walked some fine lines over the years. He grew up in a very conservative, Anglo Saxon culture really, as Australia was in the sixties. Now, it’s quite easy being individual because people respect people. But back then there was a lot of pressure from either side of that debate, and he threaded a pretty cool line through it. It’s because he wasn’t in the clique with the media push of the time. During that whole Morning of The Earth generation the whole thing became popular culture. His surfing reputation was discredited and tarnished. I don’t feel that he ever got the recognition for the surfing performance that he had achieved. I’ve always had my things with the industry and the media, and the way they play their favourites and…

THEY’RE AN unlikely pair are Matt Wilkinson and Gabriel Medina. A few years apart (Wilko was born in ‘88, Gab in ‘93), they’ve travelled two wildly different trajectories to get to where we find them today, kicking back with their feet up in a reasonably well-appointed surf camp in the jungle, sunburnt and parched inbetween marathon sessions. The most coveted section of reef isn’t close to showing, the winds have been a little wonky, and there’s a black monkey gone rogue that has bitten five victims and counting, but given the rigid nature of the World Tour schedule the Rip Curl crew were forced to go old school and line this trip up months in advance. In this day and age of weather maps and purple blobs and last minute…