Review: 'Kanga: The Trials and Triumphs of Ian Cairns (Vol 1)'
It takes an ego as big as Western Australia to think that your life story is so important it can’t be told in one fat volume. It takes a passion as great as Ireland’s to make that fat volume work.
That’s my strapline take on Kanga: The Trials and Triumphs of Ian Cairns (Vol 1), by Wayne Patrick Murphy with Ian Cairns. The detail is a bit harder to address, for a couple of reasons. One, the subject of this mammoth biography and I have a chequered history. I am quoted within it and referenced, by Ian Cairns, as a “fucken [sic] hypocrite”. Two, the author is a friend of mine, a man of great goodwill and spirit, and an accomplished storyteller.
But if I’ve learnt anything from a more than forty-year association with Ian Cairns it is this: don’t let ignorance or prejudice hold you back, just “fucken” go for it like a bull at a gate. So here we go...
As a young surfer in Scarborough, WA, Wayne Murphy grew up idolizing the surfing persona of Ian Cairns, who, although he wasn’t born there, had very quickly adopted the Wild West/Big Country crash-through or crash attitude to everything in life, including surfing. From those early connections in Perth and along the south-western coast, author and subject both took the road less travelled: Murph to decades of self-funded surf bummery, before finding a place for himself in surfing officialdom as a distinguished ASP judge, and then following his creative spirit back to the land of his ancestry; Cairns to a storied and controversial career as a pioneer pro surfer and big wave charger, and then as a coach and administrator. But what ties them together here is not just the job at hand, it is a shared passion for the total experience of surfing, the whole damn enchilada, and when all is said and done, it’s what saves this book from being a rather turgid recitation of Ian’s unwavering belief that he always did everything better than anyone before or since.
Instead, what Murphy has crafted is a flawed but engrossing saga of one man’s journey through the formative years of professional surfing. Let’s deal with the flaws first. The errors of fact are too numerous to go into – and unnecessary, given that one good edit would have cleaned most of them up – but one that got up my nose was calling Midget Farrelly’s widow “Di” instead of Bev. Okay, a small thing, but wouldn’t you think that, given that Midget’s mentoring and influence on the young Cairns is a recurring theme, they would have taken the trouble to check!
Structurally, the opener about Kanga flying to Hawaii to testify against Fast Eddie Rothman to keep him in jail on a dope rap he would eventually beat, is annoying and unnecessary. It gives a small-time stand-over man far too much ink, and also runs the risk of the sins of the father being passed down the line to two fearless young men who are doing what Ian did all those years ago. Love him or loathe him, Ian Cairns is ten-times the man (in every sense) that Rothman could ever be, and his story is strong enough to stand alone.
On the positive side, as I noted earlier, Murph thinks and feels before he writes, and it makes him a feckin’ good storyteller. I particularly enjoyed the detail about the surf trips up and down the coast, stuff that a publishing house editor would probably have chopped. And although there a couple too many “the horizon went black” monster wave stories for my taste, some of them are really in-the-moment gripping, and let’s not forget that taking on the odds is what the Kanga story is really all about.
The book recounts all of the stand-out personal memories I have of Cairns as a fierce and fearless pro competitor - at Fairy Bower in the 1974 Surfabout, at Sunset and Haleiwa through the mid-70s, and at Express Point, Phillip Island in 1977 – and Murph’s excellent telling of them reminded me just what a giant of surfing Kanga really was in those years. And he deserves to be remembered for that by generations that never saw him in his prime.
It’s also important to remember about Ian “Kanga” Cairns that when he’s slinging the shit so hard there’s collateral splatter, there is often a smile in his head even if you can’t see it on his face. And I hope it’s there now as he reads this review.
//PHIL JARRATT
'Kanga: The Trials and Triumphs of Ian Cairns' is available at select surf shops in Australia, on Amazon and on-line booksellers, and at kangacairns.com
Comments
A few hundred pages about Kanga? Hmmm, maybe not for me but I am sure some will enjoy it. If he disliked you Phil, I was simply beneath his contempt, until.........well that's another story. My question though is did he include that Waimea freefall wipeout? He bit my head off once for asking about it. I think it had a big impact (ha ha) on him.
Laurie McGinness
"I was simply beneath his contempt, until.........well that's another story"
I'm keen for that one BB?
same here
It may be like one of those bibles, it is cut out. Fuck Knows what would be in the middle?
I would use it and hope for the best.
"Fucken" should be written "fucken". No need for a latin apology.
What is a Lating apology?
I want to have sex with you.
"Structurally, the opener about Kanga flying to Hawaii to testify against Fast Eddie Rothman to keep him in jail on a dope rap he would eventually beat, is annoying and unnecessary."
How did this alter Ian's ability to visit Hawaii? Surely a man with the reach that Eddie supposedly has would seek vengeance?
"It gives a small-time stand-over man far too much ink, and also runs the risk of the sins of the father being passed down the line to two fearless young men who are doing what Ian did all those years ago. Love him or loathe him, Ian Cairns is ten-times the man (in every sense) that Rothman could ever be, and his story is strong enough to stand alone."
There must be more to Ed than just this? Would the mention of this reflame old tensions between the two or are they now mates?
I disaggree with the 10 times Kanga than Eddie...that a white mans take on Eddie , and sorta continues the racist theme which Kanga was a big part of in Hawaii , Bustin Down the Door 1 & 11 .
I stayed with Kanga in Hawaii in 73-4 and had a lot do with him thru the ASP for 20 years...it was always & will be about him great surfer , but George Simpson was better , and certainly BK was head and shoulders above him in surfing ability.
Eddie has given back 10 times more to the Hawaiians , so what would you say that Kanga's lasting legacy to surfing is?
x
Im not going to pump up either or put them down. Theres a few recurring themes that always raise controversy with the subject of the early days in Hawaii and the people involved.
Eddie? Who is he according to the Da Hui Bio "On paper Rothman is simply a successful surf promoter and co-founder of the surf brand Da Hui, which makes boardshorts, surf apparel and, more recently, MMA fighting gear. But the past, as the 1960s turned into the 1970s, is when Rothman's specter was born dark. He is the elder statesman of Hui O He'e Nalu, or Hawaiian Club of Wave Riders, which he formed nearly 40 years ago along with local surfers Kawika Stant Sr., Squiddy Sanchez, Terry Ahue and Bryan Amona. The mission of the club (from which the surf brand later took its name) was to advocate for Hawaiian surfers on the professional circuit and to help bring a sort of sanity to the winter surf season, which had grown increasingly chaotic due to an influx of foreign surfers who had watched the films, listened to the Beach Boys and decided the North Shore was theirs. But it was not theirs. And Da Hui taught them this by knocking the teeth out of their mouths. During the winter of 1977, visiting surfers' blood ran both freely and cold, and Rothman became the embodiment of fear."
Don't know if this really helps but it's people who know both who can join the dots.
That's a great summary of the Hui , and yes they are a brand and another Surf Co, but I have watched then from the beginning , and those Hawaiians you mentioned are some of the more powerful Hawaiian family's , especially the Stants!
Yeah 1977 , created as a reaction to Bustin Down the door and the disrespect shown to the Hawaiian Aloha , big heads very small gonads!
So Eddie was able to muster the Hawaiians , into a club and look out for their own and help kids get a better start to their lives and possible surfing careers.....a lot of time money and energy goes into the kids and families.
Just for the record , Dane, Marvin,Perry.Max, Tony a lot fucken scarier than Eddie in the water.
Conclusion....Bustin Down the door created Da Hui , as the insults from visiting surfers , hurt the Hawaiians , so they stood up for themselves and Eddie was just a facilitator!
x
Also Phil do you have no fear?
According to some
"I don't think your safe in Australia WaffleJunkie, Eddies hui can find you hiding behind your keyboard."
Surprised Kanga is still with us.
Rothman having grown up on the east coast of America and pretending to be Hawaiian with Jewish heritage standing over non native Hawaiian people telling them to go get fucked is ironic and ridiculous. Having said that I hope I never get to meet him. Just saying.
I heard on the grapevine that hes coming to Aust to catch up with some old 'mates',.....
simba
That would be great Ill prepare the tea and scones.
I might have told this story before but what the hell. Second season I was there I was living up behind Kammies walked down to Rocky Pt one day and it was really good with only one guy out, so I paddled straight out and started catching waves. It was really consistent and I was in a kind of rotation with the other guy so I didn't pay much attention. Surfed for an hour and a half and went in. There was a young local I used to see out there a lot sitting with his board " You're mad" he said. " Eddie flipped out and told everyone to go in." I looked around and there was quite a crew waiting ready to go when he came in. Best session I ever had out there!
Laurie McGinness
Does anything Kanga's done in the past justify him riding a SUP at the surf ranch...very nice review but I think I'll give this one a swerve every time I've heard Ian speak he comes across as a complete dickhead
Just another ex-pro surfer. There are gazillions of them. All so talented, so fearless, so interesting that they all owe us their life stories it would seem. My local library is full of these biographies. I've had a few goes at some of them, terrible. There's only so much ANZAC mythology I can stomach.
By far the best surfing bio I have ever read was "Barbarian Days" by William Finnegan. The guy was'nt a pro or any where near it, surfed like a gumby. Did everything except make a living from surfing.
So many great books out there to read.
another tourist
Yeah I reckon surf bio’s have all been downhill since Rabbits. Rabbits was the best. I read one of Kelly’s it was a few hundred pages of comp results, terrible.
Yeah "Barbarian Days" is easily the best of its genre that I have encountered....
Thats an unreal pic ..solid wave forward positioning on a big 1970s downrailed board
Agree Udo > pity the photographer wasn't acknowledged - its by Jeff Devine.
You're right about the photo. Epic shot that one.
another tourist
He thinks he is bigger than the proverbial. To any surfers of my age, he was an outstanding big macho wave boy with an ego and attitude to match. Humble he is not. Phil is being remarkably polite as I, from a distance, also thought he was a complete dick head. What you have to remember that back then it really was the Wild West and the wilder the better. Anyone riding those absolute shite old boards in those waves deserves some appreciation.
Wayne Murphy I remember. We both attended (ha!) Teachers College together about 500 years ago. Nice guy. Ian Cairns was big business - had a Hatchback SS Torana with his name in big letters on the side. It's like all nostalgia - it's a thing of the past. He just surfed better than most a long time ago.
As far as books about surfing, they're all pretty boring comparative to actually doing it don't you think?
I love all surfing biographies, some just a bit more than others:
Now that’s my kind of library , Stu.
Being of the same bent I’ve got most of those and quite a few more besides.
Noticed the busted copy of Nat Young’s Australian Surfing atlas there on your shelf. I happened to run into a fella on the rocks the other day who turned out to be the actual author - Brad Farmer. Nice fella . He’s got an interesting story about his relationship with Nat and their involvement on the book together.
Fucked over by Nat ....And that’s that.
Was pushing for Artificial reefs nth of Perth when i was a grom...Yanchep Sun City ?
Article in Surfing World mid 70s
It's hard not to talk about the man without mentioning the famous party trick named in his honour the reverse Kanga which is undoubtably revered more then the man himself.
Fukn Jesus....thats a shocker !
Wayne Patrick Murphy may well be a fine writer but I prefer a work that comes directly and articulately from the horse's mouth. I'll probably give Cairns' story a wide berth. That said, still waiting on an extensive, unexpurgated and frank thoughtful autobiography from
Wayne Lynch - now there's a story - from gifted, graceful and complex surf wunderkind and board designer to Vietnam war conscientious objector and sensitive, nature loving alternative life-styler. And as for Pulitzer Prize winning Barbarian Days, it's a bloody sublime read!!!
Stay salty
I enjoy the odd surfer biography- Barbarian Days was indeed a ripper.
Another good one was 'Mr. Sunset- The Jeff Hakman Story'. Good story and a good message for all the little kiddies out there thinking it's cool to get on the whizz.
Can't remember the author though.
Watashi wa metabo oyagi desu.
"Can't remember the author though."
Oh, he's easy to forget.
he he..
Couldn't put Mr Sunset down, the first surf biography I read. By Phil someone....
knB
The Gary Elkerton one was pretty good I thought...at least he didn't gloss over the drugs and shit like most of the others
I'd probably give it a read insofar as I enjoy reading about the generation of surfers that preceded me and indirectly shaped my narrow real world view.
In regards to Barbarian Days, one criticism was how Finnegan constantly referenced avant-garde or obscure books and authors throughout as if he was really trying to impress upon you how exceptionally well read he was. Dunno, just grated on me a bit.
Still, a cracker of a read, i'd give it 7/10.
Watashi wa metabo oyagi desu.
Not trying to impress, I'm guessing. Finnegan is, however, incredibly well read, and books are his life as much as surfing is. He is very, very low key yet intense in person, and does not at all blow his own trumpet.
Hopefully that will make you enjoy Barbarian Days more, should you re-read it.
I found it heavy reading at times for the same reason but could not put it down. 10/10
knB
I just finished Barbarian Days. I must say I enjoyed the first half more than the second half.
So Reverse Kanga went to Hawaii to testify against Eddie Ned Rothman on a dope charge? Nobody likes a snitch there must have been backlash for such an act on the Northshore if its as hard as people say.
Notice in the end sequence of the Movie Bustin Down the Door Rabbit, MR and Sean Thompson are having a surf in Hawaii no Reverse Kanga (PT and Michael Thompson missing too) is this due to backlash and tension that still exists to today?
Bustin' down the Door II , really did the damage as there was a full tour in the USA with Kanga/PT/Shaun promoting themselves , all that was ever wanted was an apology .
So when Rabbit Asked eddie 2 winters ago if he could surf with his son Jagger in Hawaii , the answer was no!
Sometimes the consequences of your actions has to be paid!
x
Ah the wonders of the aloha spirit when a gang of over muscled morons bash someone half their friggin' body weight for 'disrespect'........I was there that year and was actually sharing with Rabbit just after the attack. I haven't been back and have no intention of ever going back. I had a great time in the water, got stacks of waves and never had across word with anyone. That said, there was a toxic sub-culture of drugs, crime and intimidation, drifting in from Waikiki, just below the surface that I found repulsive.
Laurie McGinness
yeah , makes you wonder why a group of foreign surfers who were given Aloha spirit , then they shat on the Aloha , disrespected Hawaiian culture not once but twice , and got slappings , and the rest of the visiting surfers had to wear the animosity that the BDTD crew set up....for decades.....
Story , I dislocated my shoulder at Honolua Bay in 83 , went and stayed with Dane K at the Kuilima , everyday we would pick up Junior at his V-land house and surf Vland , except I body surfed . Dane warned me that Junior hated Australians because of the BDTD crew , and wouldn't even acknowledge me when he got into the truc , till the 3rd day when he said to me Was'up ......4th day he actuallt talked to me , as the nite before he was driving back from town , was going by Steamers , and saw Rabbit surrounded by a bunch of locals from Haleiwa who were slapping him around and about to really hurt him. Junior stopped grabbed Rabbit ( very pissed) threw him in the back of his truck , and threw him out on the sand at Sunset . Dane commented that 2 of the Haleiwa guys were actually ready to break his arms and legs , and Junior saved Rab's life....
As for the toxic subculture of drugs crime and intimidation , sounds like any crowded surf spot on the planet , just depends on how much you want to dig!
x
Sharkman thanks for balancing the story out cause there is always two sides .Wonder if Rabbit ever thanked Junior for saving him a lot more grief.
simba
Well I suppose it depends on if you see violence as a solution or a problem. I can only talk about my own experience but if there were a lot of people hating Australians then they kept it to themselves. I surfed the Sunset to OTW strip virtually every day for three months and only ever experienced friendliness. And it wasn't as if they didn't know. My memory of those incidents is that the vast majority of locals I was in contact with would tell you they were appalled in private but did not want to speak out because they had to live there. Organised crime had a lot of power in those days and probably still does. Me? I prefer to avoid places where the rule of law is so weak and gang culture so ingrained.
Laurie McGinness
Violence is inherent in human nature , so its a solution and a problem , depends on your interpretation and or the circumstances.
My experience was there in 73-4 , and also from 1980 onwards , and every year for the next 30 years . It might have taken a few years for the full extent of BDTD's insult to sink in, but it was on for young and old ...as the whole Haole thing kicked in , Hawaiians were hurt , so they reciprocated....who were your local mates?
Organised crime runs countries , is everywhere , but nice you found a bubble where you can live away from the real world, and hope you don't have gangs of surf locals trying to enforce their local breaks?
x
I surf one of the most locally dominated spots in Sydney sharkman. Violence is so rare as to be non-existent. I have also surfed up and down the coast for a long time and am struggling to remember anything significant. Oh and the real world? What the fuck has surfing got to do with that? If you think surfing is a significant part of the real,world, you're the one living in a bubble eh 'bra?
Laurie McGinness
Oh and here is a nice example of violence in the surf for you. Happened a few years ago at a nearby spot. Old mate got dropped in on, gave the bloke a mouthful and told him to go in. He very politely declined whereupon old mate , who packed a mean wallop, smashed him one and did some damage. Turns out the guy is the pastor of the local church, so he goes to the police and old mate gets an apprehended violence order banning him from surfing there for 12 months.......that's how things go in a reasonable society.
Laurie McGinness
ah I get it BB , you would like to the Sherriff at surf spots , and have the police oncall , to sort out any problems that arise from issues in water , as the rule of law must apply in the water ?
x
ah so you surf with a gang of surfers , and there is rarely violence , now that could be "ours" .....so does that mean your locally dominated Sydney surf spot might have had some violent episodes in the past so order is established?
The real world is our world and we are surfers , whether its significant to you or not that's your life , surfers live in a surf world where there is anarchy , and yeah that is bubble , so what's your world if its not surfing or is it too insignificant for you to be a part of!!
x
There used to be a bit of aggro but that was a long time ago and most of those involved have moved on. I heard today that someone got punched in the head last week but that is the first I have heard of anything like that in a long time. Most days there is just a lot of respect and tolerance. Anarchy? No, there is a definite hierarchy but it is based on ability. People who over-step the mark usually just get told quietly what is expected. This has developed over a couple of generations and the best young surfers and the high school up and comers are all the same. Lots of piss takes and bullshit in between sets but all good natured. It is a tricky wave with a jacking take off and that discourages a lot of people. My world? Family, friends and work are what matter. Surfing is a wonderful thing but at the end of the day it is recreation. Life is elsewhere.
Laurie McGinness
It more a lifestyle than recreation for some. The whole violence thing can see both sides of the coin it's no good when used to intimidate decent respectful people but if theres people taking advantage of a situation and thats how you can keep some order in the line up so be it.
The problem with some so called local enforcers they use it for their own benefit and not to maintain order in the surf.
But holding a grudge for 30 plus years is something else.
yeah it's more a lifestyle for me , and I understand where people are just recreational surfers .
I think grudge is not a good word to describe what happened into Hawaii , but more like mental scarring of a culture!
x
Yeh well it all comes back to how you view a gang of heavyweights bashing the shit out of a lightweight. There is never any justification for that in my book. I can understand someone getting angry and lashing out but this was pre-meditated. You think some behaviour justifies that response, I don't. Probably best to leave it there. Hope you are scoring some waves. My opportunities will be limited for a few weeks but I have had a fair run recently.
Laurie McGinness
It depends on the circumstances that caused the lightweight to get the shit bashed out of him Blindly. Premeditated behaviour maybe but if theres been extreme provocation well I can see how that would pan out. Hope you weren't personally involved in getting hurt but theres always two sides to each coin I'm on neither side its just an intriguing part of the story.
Reverse Kanga seems to be very in your face from what I recall he sent off a few stories with bug's name to it if thats true maybe the wrong person copped a few beatings if bugs deserved them so be it. Sometimes the law protects arseholes.
finish on this...when you get bashed by someone , the beating is often the end and you carry a few physical scars ....when someone smarter than you bullies you , and tears you down with their intellect...it can be a lot more scarring than any beating !
EG, someone calls you a black cunt , tells you to fuck off back to where you come from ,as you are not welcome and should realise that you are descendent from an ape , do the world a favour and neck yourself!
So intellectual giant insults a lower intellect...and gets bashed!
x
I can't let that go sharkman. It is a total distortion of the events under discussion. The examples you give are grossly out of proportion to what actually happened. Similarly, effects of a beating are as much psychological as physical and when, as in this case, the intention of the beating was to humiliate and demean, then its impact is far beyond that of any insult. Your argument seems to be that by offending Hawaiian culture they became responsible for the whole history of dispossession and exploitation, which is just bullshit. And what was the result? More respect for their culture? I doubt it. From any perspective but the very limited one of the narrow gang culture to which they belonged, it was simply a bunch of thugs committing a criminal assault.
Laurie McGinness
firstly BB , I was actually there for more that 30 years and have my stories first hand , you went once for 3 mths , and know it all. So yeah my account of events is the other side of the story told from the underdog's point of view , don't know where you get your versions , sounds like the surf media!
as for beatings WTF would you know , your philosophy seems to be to call the police if there's threats in the water. If you get overwhelmed by somebody's intellect and they are insulting you to a point you have no answers , well fuck yeah , crack em one! Beatings are sometimes revenge , not just meant to humiliate and demean as you say, and sometimes it's macho shit who is the best fighter , and sometimes verbal bullyings lead to suicide ...so for you to say " beatings impacts are far beyond that of insults , you really do not what you are talking about!
You are clever when you try and make a case that I blame the dispossession/exploitation caused against Hawaiian Culture of BDTD 1&2 , no just in our surf culture , and the facts sure prove my case that a group of loudmouthed foreign surfers went to Hawaii shat in the face of Aloha , then ran home with their tails between their skirts , and here we are still discussing it....so where's the apology from the BDTD Crew, won't be one as they made money off it, now that's a great story?
x
See below
Laurie McGinness
No he didn't , but if Junior wasn't there , I reckon Rab would have never surfed again , as would have been severely beaten !
x
Thats pretty full on re Rabbit and Jagger/Eddie Why did he have to ask for permission? Does Eddie still have so much pull or is there more who rabbit has upset. Thought the meeting with the Aikaus at the hotel where MR was made a positive example of was supposed to pacify these problems did more happen after?
Plenty of Aussies, Yanks and other nationalities have been there before and after how did those before go was there any problems for them? Terry Fitz etc? Why was Rabbit such a target?
Rab and BDTD crew upset/insulted the whole Hawaiian Surfing Culture.Eddie is a front man , and, an us and them culture formed over the next decade or so , to the point Kanga had to hole up in the Kuilima hotel with protection , Reno Abellira actually set up the first meetings with the Aikau family to try and broker a peace , but by then the whole story had spread thru the islands and to the mainland , twisted versions of events surfaced , very ugly......Rab , Shaun and Kanga were targeted as they were the front men......Rab became ASP president , and this gave him access to Hawaii .......I reckon up until about 10 years ago ,when the famous altercation between JBG and Koby , things are much better now , but not for the original sinners haha!
x
How did Koby v Jonny Boy impact the rabbit situation?
there was still an intimidation factor against visiting Australians and Californians , JBG used to verbal a lot of Aussies then the famous incident in the Eukai dunnys where Koby called out JBG , and Kobes came out of the dunny , JBG followed and the Young aussies commanded some respect and a new era in Hawaiian/Aussie relations was born.....so when BDTD II came out , the inner sanctum of surfing saw it as just a money making episode and self promotion for the few involved , and the mutual respect continued!
x
So Kobes beat the shit out of JBG?, and a new respect was born?...i'm confused is this what your trying to say?
yes , it came to a head and was sorted in the pipe dunny's , actually JBG and Kobes became friends!
x
Barbarian Days...hands down the best with an honourable mention to 'The Rise and Fall and Rise of Mark Occhilupo' & 'The Life of Brine.'
Redrum
Someone mentioned Kongs book above, it was the first surf bio I ever read, still to this day cannot get over how big ,the chip on his shoulder was , at least as big as an old growth Jarrah log . Hope he got over it , it would have ruined his life all that pent up hate.
Got relayed a story by a couple of older guys who took me under their wing to go surfing when I was still a teen grom: when they were groms it was a massive day at Suicides and they decided to go sit out on the shoulder. Then proceeded to watch Kanga take wave after wave, as he paddled past "G'Day boys..." Left an impression on them I guess.
Those tight pintails really held in that kind of wave, some pretty rad surfing was done on them. Still ride them from time to time. Article pic is a gem.
VJ....is suicides that wave next to Margaret River?...... also...was Kanga the first surfer to ride "The Box"?
Blindboy is pretty much right with the criminal underbelly drifting in from Waikiki, I worked in a surfboard factory in the mid 80's up the back of Waikiki, it was more a front for criminal activity. They liked me and I got threatened and intimidated and when I told them I was leaving they gave me a good biffing and was told to keep my mouth shut. Not real nice people and they don't like whites unless they can profit from the relationship.
Fuck that’s heavy crustt
back in the 60's when pot was being smuggled into Hawaii from California, the first Californian dealers to Hawaii were pretty heavy . Then the locals fired up took control , as the whites had taken the land and business's , so the locals controlled what they could , which was drugs gambling and prostitution.
So yeah pretty heavy culture , but the North Shore in the 70's was the wild west , people disappeared , gun fights , was not a place to take a holiday , but if you wanted to be a complete surfer , Hawaii was the Holy Grail.
Now days it's so damn tame , actually a nice place to have a holiday!
x
Eddie Rothman;
https://www.swellnet.com/forums/politico/67906
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2015/01/09/eddie-rothman...
It seems there are a few people that are posting here now under different names to the posts that BaSz has linked to . The names may have changed but the stories haven't .
I don't call it growing old , more like rapid cell deter..ia ... tion......................
The beat goes on.
Swillnuntting 101, in a nutshell.
Ha ha classic.
Aaahhhh ,
Crypto commenting on localism in some far off foreign land . Like some sort of local legend that never was .
Draws parallels to this bloke
https://youtu.be/t8YDJ8zi2OE
I don't call it growing old , more like rapid cell deter..ia ... tion......................
Can we talk about ian kairns again???
The Tom Carroll biography was a good one.
The Kanga snap back shot on the cover still stands the test of time as a very radical move in a radical spot on the wave after all this time. I have seen countless cutback shots since then but that one is an all time classic not yet repeated. His cutbacks inspired me big time way back then.
There is something about turns done without the big wide arms and body twists so much part of modern surfing that appeals. John John does it a bit (his skater background) where his upper body and arms are quite relaxed but a whole lot of action happens in the carve.
Frogg
Kanga just stands there like a big Kook
Then does an outrageous Snapback...PTs words i think- Fucking Unreal pic..Best Ever !
Eddies boys Da Hui have a bigger fight on their hands supporting the Waikiki beach boys against Dive Oahu and Brian Benton. Whats this got to do with Kanga nothing at all but lets face it without the Da Hui backstory Kanga would be just another former pro surfer with the Da Hui and Rothman story his is a little more compelling.
Sounds like some Roman Emperor, a Roman Emperor that had a unique style. Yeh.
Mind you, I have not seen footage, ok, I may have seen, but, it must have been inconsequential.
So, what is your positive shit. I am payed up this month, so, I am safe.
It looks like a VHS, the size.
By the looks of things, the seeds, and inspiration and birthplace for the bronzed ozzies.
By all means, those with a musical bent strum along if you must.
So sharkman, you're the expert. Spell it out. Exactly how were the Hawaiians insulted? What I was told at the time is obviously wrong since it didn't include anyone's face being shat on or being told to neck themselves. So cut the hyperbole, put it out here, what exactly was this gross and terrible insult to aloha?
Laurie McGinness
maybe there was no grand insult. just violent times.
i know nothing about da hui or hawaii. but if memory serves me correctly, in the 70s you didn't need to insult anyone or do much at all to get a punch in the head. maybe it was the same in hawaii.
catching the ferry to manly for fish and chips was usually enough to get into a fight or two.