1970 - 1980

In the 1970s, Bondi was the beach to go to for board riders in the eastern suburbs and waves were crowded. South Bondi Board Riders was the first club formed so its surfers could compete against other clubs.

The next formed was the invitation-only Panache, which focused more on the art of surfing. It was started by the Ford brothers, Ron and Victor, who described its surfers as ‘fanatical’. Other key members of the group included Brad Mayes, Kurt Russel and Steve Corrigan.

The club’s name came from a book Victor was reading. ‘I had to look it up in Chambers Dictionary … it basically means … to perform with theatrical grace.’

Their disciplined approach proved useful battling Bondi’s water pollution, caused by the sewage ocean outfall. When conditions got too bad, Panache riders would pile into a kombi van at 4.30am and travel to Narrabeen to surf and watch legends perform their art on the more consistent and better shaped waves.

In an interview at the time, Victor said: ‘I don’t think there’s a guy here who’s never had either ear infection, flu, gastric or something, as a direct result of Bondi’s water.’

The first time the club went to Narrabeen, ‘everyone was so completely blown out by the waves and the standard of surfing.’

Victor studied Narrabeen’s successful surf culture and transplanted it to Bondi. ‘The push, enthusiasm, competition, whatever they had then, is here now and we’re going to try and keep it here, force each other to improve … ’

Panache began to make an impact in competitions and its juniors posed a threat to Queensland’s dominance of Australian events.

Panache focused on the beauty of surfing. Victor described it as ‘an art, nothing less. You’ve got to sell it as a sport, but underneath it’s an art. If there’s ever a time when sport and art combine, then surfing is that time.’

Club rivalry remained strong and by the 1980s two splinter clubs formed, Bondi Board Riders and ITN (In The Nude). Panache eventually folded and today, of the early clubs, only Bondi Board Riders remains.

Images courtesy Bruce Channon and Greg Webber.