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Image Not Available for Bobby Brown Surfboard Riding Championships
Bobby Brown Surfboard Riding Championships
Image Not Available for Bobby Brown Surfboard Riding Championships

Bobby Brown Surfboard Riding Championships

Printer (Australian)
Photographer
Date1969
Object number00033583
NamePoster
MediumLithograph
DimensionsOverall: 545 x 440 x 10 mm, 1.86 kg
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis poster was produced for the second Bobby Brown Memorial Surfboard Riding Championships held at Cronulla Beach in 1969. Brown was a talented surfer from Cronulla, Sydney, who challenged Midget Farrelly's surfing supremacy in 1964. He beat Farrelly in the 1964 New South Wales Championship to take the title and in the same year was placed sixth in the inaugural World Surfing Championships held at Manly Beach. At age 18 Brown was the youngest finalist in the competition. He died at the age of 22 in a pub fight at Taren Point, Sydney. The following year the first Bobby Brown Memorial Surfboard Riding Championships was held at Cronulla Beach.HistoryBobby Brown was one of a group of young surfers that began to challenge Midget Farrelly's surfing supremacy in 1964. Brown beat Farrelly in the 1964 New South Wales Championship to take the title and in the same year was placed sixth in the inaugural World Surfing Championships held at Manly Beach. At age 18 he was the youngest finalist in the competition. Brown grew up in Cronulla and was a contemporary of Nat Young. They made several 'surfaris' up the New South Wales coast with Bob Evans in the early 1960s. Brown's small stature enabled him to crouch neatly when surfing and enter the inside of a curling wave. His aggressive style characterised by smooth movement and was a highlight of Paul Witzig's 1968 film The Hot Generation. He also featured in the films The Young Wave Hunters (1964) and A life in the Sun (1966). Brown never competed overseas, preferring to surf for his own enjoyment. He shaped boards for Brian Jackson up until his death at 22 in a pub brawl at Taren Point in 1967. In February 1968 the Bobby Brown Surf Board Riding Championships was held at Cronulla Beach his memory. The contest only ran for a few years.SignificanceThis rare poster for a competition that ran for a few years in memory of young Sydney surfer Bobby Brown. The contest sponsors included Jackson Surboards who employed Brown as a shaper.