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Photo: Duke Kahanamoku in Waikiki

Duke’s surfing demonstrations back in 1915 at Freshwater Beach, just around the headland from Manly. Together they ambled along to where Aussie surfing all started. Hearing Snow’s story was manna from heaven for the stoked young West Aussie who’d just been awarded the first Duke trophy.

Photo: On the beach at Haleiwa with (L to R) Bobby Owens, Nina Vance, Kanga, Fred Hemmings, Mark Richards and Bruce Jenner.

"It is not the critic who counts. ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly"

Photo: Kanga going hard off the bottom at Main Break, Margaret River in May of 1969.

Late autumn also means the roaring forties are coming alive with intense storms in the Southern Ocean which, in turn, send bigger swells towards Margaret River. The ten-day event in May 1969 was blessed with big swells in ideal conditions and offshore breezes most of the comp. Surf International magazine called it the best contest in the world.
The first round was held in thumping beach break waves at Scarborough Beach in Perth. Nat Young and Queensland’s Peter Drouyn dominated the open division while Wayne Lynch continued as the standout in the juniors.

Photo: The Lady Kennaway brought my Great Grandfather George Cairns to Victoria in 1849.

You can read a little more about Ian’s early years in Melbourne (below) and why the Cairns family moved to Sydney. That’s where Ian first learned to surf, at Avalon, before relocating to far away Western Australia in 1966. Ian’s great grandparents had set the tone for adventure.

Photo: KANGA Volume 1 set for delivery on April 16th.

The KANGA book has taken my collaborator, Wayne Murphy and I over three years of hard work and multiple re-writes. It's fundamentally a History of Pro Surfing through my eyes and through the eyes of many of my peers, both friend and foe. We have decided to break it into two Volumes.....my competitive career and my administrative career. It's quite a journey. We hope you like it. Kanga