Midget Farrelly skateboard

Date1960s

Object number00026673

NameSkateboard

MediumTimber, metal, rubber, clay

DimensionsOverall: 610 x 150 x 85 mm, 1719 g

ClassificationsToys, games and souvenirs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA 'Midget Farrelly' timber skateboard for surf and ski training. On top, a black arrow with text reading 'Surf Ski Trainer, Skateboards Surfboards, Brookvale'.HistoryBernard 'Midget' Farrelly (b. 944) won the 1964 World Surfing Championships and was runner up in 1968 and 1970. He bagan surfing from the age of six on an 18-ft hollow plywood paddleboard and from 1962 to 1970 was considered the best competative surfer in the world. He was instrumental in forming the Australian Surfriders Association and in 1964 helped launch the International Surfing Federation. He founded Farrelly Surfboards in 1965 at Palm Beach, Sydney and in 1966 released his lightweight, easy turning Stringerless surfboard. Over the next few years he continued to produce innovative board designs. Skateboards were first mentioned in Australian surfing magazines in 1963 and were called rollerboards. They were often homemade from a plank of stiff timber and fitted with rollerblade wheels. By 1964, mass-produced skateboards were available in Australia and Midget Farrelly skateboards were one of three Australian brands available.SignificanceThis material is representative of Australian surfboard design and surfing memorabila in Australia in the 1960s and 1960s. This was a period when the professional surfing ciruit was in its infancy and surfers such as Midget Farrelly and George Greenough were consolidating their reputations as significantt board designers.