The Kirra Surfriders club has changed over the decades, and even changes year by year and month by month

For me it started when Darryl Green and I used to surf in a different club ( Bay Area ) in the seventies. We had our 20 year reunion in 1990. I was having a beer at the bar with Daz and I told him I was moving to the Gold Coast for work reasons. He responded with ' you'll have to join Kirra as they could do with a hand on the committee.' Darryl was well aware of my previous work in Board clubs , Area Associations and as coordinator of Surfest and the BHP Steel International pro event in Newcastle.

I knew Scammel in those days too. We would drink in the same bar( bel Air ) and we would feud with other clubs ( food fights and microphone speeches in the Band Breaks) We even had each club's sticker on the entrance door.
Scammel used to drink with everyone else in the Bar, ( men only them days) where we'd meet and get a skin full before heading to the Band in the Ladies Lounge. He used to scare the shit out of me ( and everyone else ) He looked like Gandalf the Great wizard out of Lord of the Rings, or Catweeazle or something.

Everyone wanted to fight Scammel and he had a reputation bigger than Newcastle itself. He was a big bloke and there was no one worth his salt in those days that hadn't squared up against Scam. It was to my relief that he started talking to me and I was thankful he was on side. Scam had the reputation for sure but it was Greeny who they say never lost a fight. Everyone wanted to fight Scam but no one wanted to fight Greeny....he never lost.!!!!!!

One day on the Goldy, Darryl told me to go to the Patch Back Bar. I went in to this room full of strangers and was elated to have Greeny nominate me and Scammel second it. I was told to stick around after the meeting . We all went into the front bar and I remember feeling a little intimidated when I saw 2 tables full of these big blokes. Scam Greeny Dave West Po Cross and a heap of others such as Kerry Gill, Tom Petersen, Chris Urah.
I had a lot of people to meet and much gossip to catch up on. With the master gossip artist himself there, Scammel was able to get me up to date reasonably quick after the Club Meetings. This, for me, was some of the fondest memories I have in the Club. Throw in Tom Petersen and you had sparks flying in the after meeting conversations that went around the front bar of the Queenslander. Aaagh front bar beers after the meetings...nostalgic!

I just had a flash of Scam and Tom having a fight in the front bar but that's another story.

I quickly found out that I was one of many Novocastrians who were in the Club. Scam, Daz, Westy, Urah and Wayne Dawson were all originally from Newcastle. Add me and Mick Howard and we were a team. I knew Dawso as well as I went to school with him.

Meetings used to be such a laugh. Scammel, Sean Fanning, Bullo and Visco all made us laugh. Westy was funny but we would laugh at him as well as with him.

It was tradition at meetings when a grommet was up for nomination to make them stand up. Sometimes no one could see them and we would get them to stand on a chair. One time this grom was exceptionally small and we were yelling get up on a chair" and the reply came back from the little grom "I am!" It was so funny to see. He was already on a chair and looked lucky to be three feet ....brought tears to my eyes... it was one of those "you had to be there" things.

The team in them days was different to now. Craig Scat Pitchers, Neal Purchase Jnr, Jamie Kastaglis, Chilli, Danny Tukino, Gary McNeil,Trudy Todd and others made up the team then
There was a stage where Sean Fanning, Aaron Pinnager, Mike Wally Walters, Joel Green, Aaron Waters, Ismael Trotter , and Darren Handley used to make up the team. Scot Fletcher, Bruce Kay and Jevon Harvey were in there with there support too
Nowdays it is Brad Lancaster, Adam Fletcher , Corey Zeims, Mick Rabbidge, Jason Marsden, Mick Fanning, Damon Harvey and others.

Trips away were such fun and I was team manager for about 5 years. I used to take many members of the team away in my Stationwagon. We went away that much that we used to call that car the Aeroplane.
My first trip to North Stradbroke Island was memorable. We went in Greeny's gangster car. I don't know what it was but it was a luxury cruiser. Tom Petersen, Chris Urah, Greeny and me. On the ferry I asked Tom "how long is the trip" Tom replies " about 3 beers"....he'd done it before!
We stayed with Tom's mum, Joan and Don Watt. Now Don Watt was one of the most amazing guys to meet. He'd been in Auswitch, Dacau and Belson (or something) Prisoner of war camps in WWII. The thing was that he kept escaping them, that is why he'd been to so many. His book is a great read. He always had a positive attitude, a smile on his face and some thing happy to say.....after all he's been through!

I had the grommets in the car on the way to Straddie one year and Eric Burdon's " Sky Pilot " comes on the tape . Well Sean, Mick, and Damon started getting real exited and started singing to the top of their lungs... " How High can you fly....But never, never, never reach the sky" I was amazed they knew the song let alone the words and to sing with such commitment they must have done it before....."mum loves this song and plays it all the time" says Sean and the boys all kept singing away. I asked them to do it for the crew at the next presso, but we never did get around to it. It was a sound to hear....and I thought, personally hilarious!

Aaah Straddie. Full of good memories like the crew egging some poor couple on the most precious day of their life. Next thing eggs splatter! all over the special couple. The problem was, the wedding and the "incident" was right across the road from the Kirra house and next thing Wedding Guests were storming throughout the house," were are the bastards Were gonna kill 'em". The boys had bolted and left some grommets and a girl in the house. I saw blokes wondering back up all streets, jumping fences of neighbours yards, and climbing down from the roof. After this event, the club nearly got suspended from our own state association, let alone thrown off the Island!

On four wheel drive tour with Scammel, Greeny and Billy Low, from Straddie. Billy's guided tour of the island is one not to be missed especially with support comments from Mongrel and Greeny.
On the way back home from Straddie once, I got film footage of Sean, Joel, Mick, Damon, Deano, Parko and Westy singing with Rabbit around Rab's car on the ferry...... They look so young!
The traditional JD at the Lally's hotel with Greeny on the Friday night was another regular occurrence.
One year after the Teams event we were drinking Chilli Vodka with David Davidson and Aaron Pinnager. Heavy!

I recall being on a trip with the team to Fridays at Sunshine coast, and Scammel and I were drinking at the Bar when we were told the bus was leaving. The team waited for us as we kept playing hide and seek with the crew. They would look for us, for ages, everywhere. Gee it was hard to hide from that busdriver... but we did it! About an hour later I ran into one of the guys and I was shocked, that he was still there I said to him ' didn't you go home either?' and he replies 'no we are still waiting for you and Scammel!'.
I couldn't believe my luck- I grabbed him and we got Scam.
'no mate! I'm staying ! You should too! ' Scammel says. Anyway we left Scammel to get home all on his own the next day. I reckon the team must have waited about 3 hours for us and I was over the moon that they were still there! Couldn't believe it.

On another trip away we went for a friendly comp with Yamba Boardriders. After the comp we had a BBQ in the Park with both clubs. At sunset we wandered into the pub. Their was a relatively unheard of band called Bondi Cigars playing. I remember being last at the bar with Larry Taylor and Dennis Toya. The band was still on, but we all stayed on. Dennis wandered home and Larry and I started singing songs with whoever was there. In the mean time, Dennis gets attacked by the crew on the way to his room in the pub. Here he was, left totally naked as the boys had stolen his clothes off him. Imagine Dennis knocking on his room door at 1am naked.Imagine what his wife would have thought opening the door to a naked husband. He got the 'Animal of the year' award that year.

I recall one trip seeing Jevon spewing out the bus window at Soldiers beach. I think that was the final of the last Surf league teams contest series and we hadn't even arrived there yet.
It was common to see the odd "brown eye" on the trips away and I remember following the Kirra bus and seeing these two tiny moons hanging out the window in the streets of Sydney. The moons belong to Mick and Damon. They were so young then!

At Cronulla, we all stayed in the Junior football clubhouse. The whole weekend was freezing. The only warm place the whole time was at the pub.On the last day the caretaker made a special presentation to Mick Fanning He got his own private shower and he was stoked. The boys couldn't pick on him in the shower no more. I think Sean may have lost his virginity that night. I know Joel Green went missing all night and on the bus on the way home everyone kept paying out the driver for it was he, that got up to the dastardly deed of the weekend and didn't he cop it all the way from Sydney to Coolangatta.

The Patch was a crazy place. Our sponsor, our hang, our meeting room, we had pool tables, pinnies, bar service and heaps of room. Some of us even worked there. The Front bar was the place to be. You could always find someone to talk to and you would wish you weren't so busy so you could catch up with everyone more often. It was always a good place to be.
We even had music Jams there, and Sheeny and I were Managers. We would pack it out. I remember one night there was a blackout and we played acoustically by a candle or 10, and drank stubbies. It made a good scene as everyone sang along.

One night at a Kirra Teams Challenge presentation night, the sponsor was giving away a skateboard and you had to get on the stage, impress the audience and the Skateboard was yours. This bloke got his turn and went straight off the stage.... dropped about 5 feet and didn't move. The ambulance came, followed by the cops and the place got closed down.
To my recollection this was the last time drinks were ever served at the Patch

On that last night of at the Patch itself, Scam punches the Manager, for making the kids leave, and it was closed down. We all had to leave. So we didn't have our last night there. One thing that is peculiar about the club, is that we have been kicked out of most places in town, yet we seem to do it after the presentation is over. We never miss producing the goods.

On stage at one presentation, we had the representative from Sydney Club, ITN (In the Nude), come and get their award, in the nude. Queenscliff did their Club song on stage as their representative sand Elvis style

It is interesting to see the characters that make up the committees in the past twelve years. I think Scam was president when I started, Scott Oakes, Po, Bullo, Jevon and now Greeny have been presidents since.
The Secretaries have been Chris Urah's stepdaughter, Gary Hazel, Liz Fanning, and now John Robin. I introduced John to the club and he really impressed everyone by donating and setting up a computer in the club room. We voted him in as Secretary. Liz used to write club newsletters.
The treasurers include Chris Urah, Bernie Rosenberg, Clive Nichol, Darryl Green and now Gavin Clarke. Chris was a good Treasurer for his time, because times were tough then and Chris would take some convincing to spend the club's funds.
The Contest Directors were Scott Oakes, Gary Hazel, Sheeny and then Aaron Pinnager and myself. Aaron and I agreed that it would take more than one of us to replace Sheeny. Since then we have shared a lot of the duties with other members. I would have liked to held a Presidents Cup Contest in the committee's honour every year, with free drinks for the committee to thank them for the work they do.

One year, Chris' daughter went away to Uni, Chris went to work in the mines, and Bullo went to work in Sydney. I was Vice President and tried to keep things going on my own till next election. Gee it was hard. Sheeny was Contest Director and he helped me a bit. That was the lowest I have ever seen that committee. If only someone knew that they were going, we could have voted someone else in to keep things going, but we didn't.

The most recent involvements of the Club is the MP Classic in honour of legendary surfer Michael Petersen. It is a charity fundraiser and charity is a great part of the Club. The first MP auction in 2002 raised $11,405. We added this to other profits made from the comp and gave half to Mission Australia. Kirra has other beneficiaries and they include The Coolangatta Special School, Kirra Haven Senior Citizens, SAND and Surfrider Foundation. We also assist members with finance for helping them get to contests.

Another episode is the Bra boys. Maroubra supporters one year (200!?)had fights with the street kids who have hung around town for years picking fights with passers by on a Saturday night. Rumour has it that they copped a hiding when the Bra Boys confronted them.
They had the whole contest talking with antics that they got up to in their club tent. Even news reporters were there taking photos that they could never print! On the last night they wrote "Maroubra" in big white letters across the border in Boundary Street. This year most people are aware that they were behind the 19 arrests the night they took on the Balcony Bouncers in 2002.

Finally it is the 40th Birthday party of the club
Have a good Birthday Kirra Surfriders Club! Who knows what is in store for the Club's future?

At Straddie in 2002, The traditional Club barbie went down at the club house on the Saturday night. Me and Sutto had slept on the kitchen floor on the friday night after a night out at Lally's Tavern to get the draw for the comp. The next night, we were stoked when Terry and Trevor Cummings, at the Barbie, invited us to stay at there place in an actual bed. They had some last minute cancellations, and we took up their invitation swiftly.

One thing that we wanted to sort out was how to pronounce Marama's name. It was a Moari name and was not pronounced as it sounded. We got it out of her that it is pronounced "Mardama."
So all weekend you could hear everyone calling "Mardama." "Mardama." "Mardama."
We never forgot how to pronounce her name after that.

While the crew were getting ready, we witnessed Beaumont Blake grab a can and spray under his arms........with a can of Pea-Beau. He got Pea-Beau calls all week long.
During the night a black out occurred. I was so exhausted I was already blacking out on the lounge chair. I wouldn't have got up till Sutto was urging me to get going to Trevor's. All I could think of was another night on the floor or a nice warm bed for the night
This was enought to get us going. We wandered up and down Point Lookout streets and when we got to bush we new we had gone too far. we turned to go back and straight away we recognised Davo's van. He was staying there too! We were standing right in front of Trevor's house! Stoked.

Next day Geeny says to me you know how we talked about how we both had a feeling we were going to win or at least do better than usual, well maybe it is in the Pairs event to be held that day.
Well the comp on, we made the first round and were defeated in round two. To cut a long story short, team manager Davo checked the sheets, found errors and the announcer called the heat that had already commenced, in for a restart. Kirra was into the semi.

Corey and Pea- Beau were our team riders that day and we were all calling to Beaumont to " hit em high, hit 'em low....hit em with the old Pea-Beau"

The boys won, just to top off a great weekend at North Stradbroke Island's Straddie Assault.

Here's a song I wrote one day for the history magazine or the web or both

At the Club

Inspiration and motivation ..you get it at the Club
You join after nomination, the meetings are at the pub
You pay your dues and you face the news and you always get a laugh.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose and hope you don't come last.

I'm glad to be in KSC, I'm proud to be in KSC
I want to be in KSC, Coz Kirra is the only club for me

Comps are held once a month, depending on the day.
You put your name down then you're in, to rip and tear and slay.
You hope to go just like MP that's where I want to be.
In the Barrel or on the face, yeah, Kirra's the place for me

I'm glad to be in KSC, I'm proud to be in KSC
I want to be in KSC, Coz Kirra is the only club for me

We always send our team away, to places far and near.
And when the trip is over, it's good to have a beer.
North Stradbroke, the Sunshine Coast, not to mention Sydney,
To go to towns, surf and destroy, and bring back a big trophy

I'm glad to be in KSC, I'm proud to be in KSC
I want to be in KSC, Coz Kirra is the only club for me

When the trip is over, it's been good to get away,
but better to come back to Kirra for some of the world's best waves

But I'm glad to be in KSC, I'm proud to be in KSC
I want to be in KSC, Coz Kirra is the only place for me

regards
Stuart Ball