Handmade wooden handboard

Maker B W H

Datec 1929

Object number00018292

NameHandboard

MediumWood, leather

DimensionsOverall: 242 x 195 x 20 mm, 0.25 kg

ClassificationsToys, games and souvenirs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis varnished wooden body surfer's handboard is decorated with a poker-work head and shoulders self portrait of a surfer smoking a cigarette. The initials BWH are in the lower left corner, with the dates 1928-29 in the lower right corner. Surf season dates from the 1929 to 1937 also appear around the portrait. HistoryAt the end of the 19th century body surfing was adopted into formal surf lifesaving practice and competition, becoming an integral part of the developing sport. Pacific Islander Tommy Tanna, who taught some locals the art while he was working as a houseman at Manly in the 1890s, most likely introduced it to Australia. Bodysurfing changed the nature of the swimmer's interaction with the sea, enabling the swimmer to move past the threshold of the breakers. The handboard was used from around the 1920s to help the bodysurfer hold a wave longer and to keep his or her head up throughout the shoot. A product of the early days of surfing on the east coast of Australia, the handboard was usually a piece of light wood and was cheap and simple to make. It served the purpose of assisting the inexperienced body surfer and as a help in bigger surfs. The handboard was eventually replaced by the enormously popular ‘Surfoplanes’, which were inflatable rubber mats with a couple of handles attached to the top. Easy to use and less damaging if encountered at speed, the Surfoplane, or "surfos” were first demonstrated on Bondi Beach in 1933 and continued to be used well into the1970s. SignificanceThis rare handboard is representative of the early designs used by bodysurfers in the first half of the 20th century. The pokerwork portrait and seasonal dating is unique and personal, and documents the use of the board.