1948 - present

John Michael Sullivan was the driving force behind Bondi Beach’s declaration as a national surfing reserve, in 2017, after being inspired by the Gold Coast’s dedication the year before. John grew up in Bondi, has been a member of the South Bondi Board Riders Club since childhood and is well versed in the beach’s board-riding history – in fact, he co-authored the book Nine Decades of Longboards in Bondi, with Martin Greer. In 1995, he organised a 500-strong reunion of the ‘clubbies’, and the nostalgic event was dubbed the endless reunion. He’s proud that one of the club’s long-lasting legacies is its mentoring of young people, a tradition that continues to this day. One colleague he credits for being a significant mentor is Barry ‘Magoo’ McGuigan, for leading surfing trips up and down the New South Wales coast to teach young club members how to surf.

John worked with a range of surfing-affiliated groups before bringing together various clubs and government bodies to prepare the submission to the board of National Surfing Reserves (NSR) that Bondi be included in the list of Australian beaches and surfing areas that are forever protected. According to the board members, surfing reserves are “iconic places of intrinsic environmental, heritage, sporting and cultural value to a nation and embrace all peoples to enjoy, understand and protect special coastal environments of universal value to the surfing world.”

To be declared a national surfing reserve, a beach or surfing area must have top-quality waves, that is, a national-class surfing break; be considered sacred by the members of the local and national surfing community; and be in long-term use by the members of the local and national surfing community, such as the members of its long-term surf-lifesaving club and/or its board riders’ club, either of which has a significant history.

Bondi became Australia’s 21st beach to be declared a national surfing reserve, joining New South Wales’s Maroubra, Angourie, Lennox Head, Crescent Head, Cronulla, Merewether, Killalea, North Narrabeen and Manly–Freshwater; Western Australia’s Margaret River, Kalbarri and Yallingup; Queensland’s Burleigh Heads, Currumbin Alley, Snapper–Kirra and Noosa; South Australia’s Daly Head, Point Sinclair and Mid-Coast; and Victoria’s Phillip Island.

Taking on the lead role in securing Bondi’s official status as a culturally and environmentally significant Australian site was John’s way of giving back to his community. On the eve of his 70th birthday, he could view his lifelong dedication to the Bondi surfing scene as a major accomplishment and the ‘dedication’ of the world-famous beach as his crowning achievement. 

Courtesy John Sullivan.