Yallingup is now the proud host of the first WA Surf Gallery which was successfully opened last Saturday night at Aravina Estate Winery and is now open to the public.
The gallery museum is a walk down memory lane for all surfing generations, with an extensive display of memorabilia starting from the 1950’s up to the present day and everything in between.
Local and state legends filled the room to open the long awaited spectacle and enjoyed contributing to what will be a monumental day in WA surfing history.
Surfing WA’s Mark Lane got the ball rolling for the event along with plenty of work from Peter Dunn, Mick Marlin, Jim King and Dave Ellis.
“This is a great day for the sport and the history will be enjoyed by many visitors to the area all year round,” Mr Lane said.
The extensive exhibition will continue to grow and evolve within the Aravina winery and will be a major drawcard for tourism and the surf industry in the South West.
On display are some of the original 1950’s toothpick surf boards made from timber, Pro Surfing trophies and Big Wave awards, 60’s and 70’s single fins, retro surf brand clothing, a timber bodyboard, magazines from all generations, modern tow in boards, vintage newspaper articles and stories from the riders about their memorabilia.
At the modern end of the room is a special trophy that belongs to local Taj Burrows and was won in Hawaii at the 2009 Pipe Masters.
The hand crafted board has a painting of Gerry Lopez styling on a wave and is also signed by the Hawaiian legend.
Aravina owner Steve Tobin provided the showroom and space to bring the gallery to fruition and is very passionate about the sport in this area.
“Surfing is more than just a sport or a profession, it’s a culture which is what makes it so unique, especially in this part of the world” Mr Tobin said at the launch party,” he said.
The WA Surf Gallery will be a permanent fixture at Aravina for at least the next two years and is open and free to the public for viewing.
Forecast: Thursday will have a 1.8m swell and ESE winds, Friday is a smaller 1.4m and E winds. Saturday has a new 1.5m west groundswell and clean E winds. Sunday drops to 1.3m and has variable NE winds.
Hotspot: Yallingup mainbreak on Saturday.
