WINGHAM is a town with a proud sporting tradition, although it's not a place usually associated with surfing.
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However, had it not been for Wingham residents, Saltwater Boardriders Club wouldn't be celebrating 50 years this weekend.
"Just about all the original members were from Wingham,'' Phil Rowsell recalls.
"We were all surfing together at Saltwater and we decided to form a club,'' Peter Muxlow added.
"There were a few blokes from Taree...Alan Butler, Dennis Jones, Warwick Griffis, Lachie Eggins was one of the young ones. But most of us were from Wingham.''
Surfing, or competitive boardriding at least, was still in its infancy in Australia back then.
"Those were the days of Midget Farrelly and Nat Young, they sort of gave it a push,'' Peter said.
But surfies weren't all that well received by the general public.
"Long haired louts they called us,'' the now folically challenged Phil laughs.
"I had a cousin who was a copper at Bulahdelah. He told me that if I ever drove my car through Bulahdelah with a surf board on top, he'd book me straight away,'' he added.
"He never did though.''
This was also the long board era.
"My first board was nine foot six,'' Peter said. "They were all around the same size.''
And just getting to Saltwater was an adventure back then. There was no road. While Saltwater has great cultural significance to the Biripi people, white Australia virtually ignored it, preferring Old Bar, Black Head or Crowdy Head.
"There were a lot of goats on the headland,'' Peter said.
"But not many people. The only reason we could get there was because we all had VWs and we could get through a rough track behind the sand dunes.''
To young surfers, it was heaven. Uncrowded heaven.
"If there were six of us in the water at the one time we'd say it was crowded,'' Phil said.
"And it was the best break,'' Col Nelson, the club's first champion said.
Competitions were held monthly and Col emerged as the overall winner. He still has the trophy to show for his efforts.
The club also had a logo and members wore club shirts. While not as regimented as the surf life saving movement, there were still rules. Year round surfing also presented its share of problems. Some had wetsuits, but Phil said they weren't that effective.
"Better than nothing,'' he said.
"But not much better. Some blokes didn't even have one, they just put up with the cold.''
Leg ropes? You're kidding.
"If you were out the back and you lost your board, you had to swim in and get it,'' Peter said.
Dodging wave-powered lost boards was also a hazard for other beach goers and could lead to friction between the surfers and the recognised guardians of the beach, surf lifesavers.
Boardriding clubs steadily grew in popularity. Peter remembers inter-club competition with Stockton, Merewether, Crescent Head and Port Macquarie.
"We weren't much good,'' Peter laughed.
"So I used to get a couple of blokes from Forster to surf with us in competitions.''
But in the end it was about having fun - 'good, clean fun,' Phil explained.
The majority of members were aged from 19 to 23. There were some younger surfers - Paul 'Wally' Walton being one.
"Good surfer, too,'' Peter said.
As such there were plenty of weekends away chasing waves and other attractions.
"We'd meet at the Manning Hotel on Friday night and decide where we'd go. We'd take off when the pub shut and come home Sunday and mum would be yelling at me, wanting to know where I'd been,'' Col said.
But the club lapsed after a couple of years. Some had family commitments, others drifted into different sports.
"Short boards started to come in,'' Phil said.
"And I couldn't ride them.''
"We had about 15 quid in the bank and when the club started again, we gave it to them,'' Peter said.
Then there was another hiatus before a group led by Joe Vitalli resurrected the club in 1974. It's been going strongly ever since.
Peter, 68, Col, 72 and 71-year-old Phil will all be there to reminisce on Saturday night at festivities to be held at Club Old Bar. Peter's spent the last few months trying to round up other originals.
The festivities will start at 6.30 and more than 200 past and present members are expected. Plenty of waves will be caught before the night is through.
