Dee
Why Surfing Fraternity - D.Y.S.F. -
is The Oldest Board Riders Club in Australia. What makes us
part of Australian and International surfing history is that we
continue to compete every month in a spirit of sportsmanship and
friendship whenever possible (when it's not possible we just compete
like a bunch of leggy-pulling snakes out to win at all costs). So
anyway, we're not just part of history, we make history every
time we hold a contest, beat that! And the
history of DYSF is a long, proud and often
hilarious one, which sadly has not always been properly archived. 
We hope to rectify that with this web site and this page is merely a
small, hesitant step towards recounting a history full of
great waves and times. And so: "It
all started when Matt, Jack and Leroy realised that this could be the
last surfing trip they'd ever go on together until the Big South ....... Swell
that would once again bring them 
all together and change their lives for
all time .....
oh ... hang on, that's the script for Big Wednesday .....
o.k. ..., well let's see ..... here's some copy loosely translated from
the DYSF 40th Anniversary booklet : "Dee Why
Surfing Fraternity was formed in March 1961 which makes it the oldest
surviving board riding club in Australia, if not the world. The formation of the
club was the culmination of a long series of events triggered by the
arrival in 1956 of a group of Californian lifeguards. They brought with
them the new, lightweight Malibu 
surfboards and modern Australian surfing really could be said to date from
their visit. Among those inspired by the surfing of these
visitors were John Dessaix and Doug Andrew who by 1957 had begun
surfing Dee Why on hollow plywood copies of the Americans
board. In 1958 another group of Californians
visited including the legendary Phil Edwards, photographer Bob Cooper and
Rennie Yater 
one of the most influential surf designers and innovators of the time.
Great friendships were qucikly established with local surfers,
including the late Bob Evans founder of Surfing World magazine, who brought
the Americans to Dee Why. Bob Cooper and Rennie Yater along with local surfers, Barry Cardiff,
John 
Dessaix and Bruce McManustook,soon headed off on what was to become an historic "Surfari" to the north coast .
By this stage the balsa in the malibus had been replaced by polyurethane foam and in a major breakthrough for local surfing, Greg McDonagh began making what were probably the first Australian fibreglass and foam boards at his Brookvale factory. The lure of surfing was by now beginning to
draw some of the local surfers away from the Surf Lifesaving Clubs
which until then had been the centre of their beach activities. The
freedom of the new sport compared to the regimentation and
discipline of the surf life saving movement was a lure hard to resist. Some, like Doug Andrew
and Barry Cardiff, simply divided their time between the two. By 1959
Dee Why was firmly established as the centre of surfing on Sydney's
northside. Doug 
Andrew led the way with real purpose at
The Point and was the first surfer to take-off inside
"Suck-Up". Midget Farrelly and Kevin Platt were regular visitors
from Freshwater and a very young Kevin Brennan made the occasional trip
over from Bondi. Other locals included John Cormack, Warwick
Phelps, Bruce Ellison, Chris Cannings, Bruce Coppard and Phil
Rose.
Many of these surfers were
riding
Greg McDonagh's new
fibreglass boards and were discovering for the first time the
awesome and certain
destructive power of the rocks at The Point. It was the power of
the waves though, which kept tempting them further and further inside.
1959
was also the year that Doug Andrew won the very first
Australian Championship of the 
modern era at Collaroy before he was lured back
to surf life-saving where he also enjoyed huge success in
competition. Doug also won a very early Bells Beach Surfing competition - a true "Waterman".
By 1960 surfing was booming and the new board factories that
had sprung up in Brookvale could hardly keep up with demand. Crowds
increased exponentially that summer as kids and their new boards
descended on the sands of Dee Why. The time was right, winds and swells seemed favourable and after some old
friends and familiar faces got talking, Dee Why Surfing Fraternity
was suggested, seconded and very quickly started.
The founding group,
including John Cormack, John Dessaix,
Glenn Martin, "Love Dog McManus", Chris 
Cannings, and Ed Cornish, had
established themselves firmly at Arthur's Corner where Howard Avenue
meets The Strand.The
first meeting of Dee Why Surfing Fraternity in March 1961 adopted the
black swan, large flocks of
which frequented Dee Why lagoon, as
the club emblem. Other
clubs sprang up quickly including North Narrabeen, Maroubra, Manly and
Windansea. Dee Why and Maroubra had a particularly close relationship
in those early years as they shared a similar hard core surfing
culture. The first competition though, was 
against a keen group from Collaroy who were in
the process of forming a club. At the second
committee meeting it was decided to write to Long Beach Boardriders in
California, where Phil Edwards was a member, to establish a sister club
relationship. The letter was written and appears to have been posted
but what came of the idea is unknown.(And anyway, they came and went, we just keep chargin'!.- ed.)
We hope to rectify that with this web site and this page is merely a
small, hesitant step towards recounting a history full of
great waves and times. And so: "It
all started when Matt, Jack and Leroy realised that this could be the
last surfing trip they'd ever go on together until the Big South ....... Swell
that would once again bring them all together and change their lives for
all time .....
oh ... hang on, that's the script for Big Wednesday .....
o.k. ..., well let's see ..... here's some copy loosely translated from
the DYSF 40th Anniversary booklet : "Dee Why
Surfing Fraternity was formed in March 1961 which makes it the oldest
surviving board riding club in Australia, if not the world. The formation of the
club was the culmination of a long series of events triggered by the
arrival in 1956 of a group of Californian lifeguards. They brought with
them the new, lightweight Malibu surfboards and modern Australian surfing really could be said to date from
their visit. Among those inspired by the surfing of these
visitors were John Dessaix and Doug Andrew who by 1957 had begun
surfing Dee Why on hollow plywood copies of the Americans
board. In 1958 another group of Californians
visited including the legendary Phil Edwards, photographer Bob Cooper and
Rennie Yater
one of the most influential surf designers and innovators of the time.
Great friendships were qucikly established with local surfers,
including the late Bob Evans founder of Surfing World magazine, who brought
the Americans to Dee Why. Bob Cooper and Rennie Yater along with local surfers, Barry Cardiff,
John Dessaix and Bruce McManustook,soon headed off on what was to become an historic "Surfari" to the north coast .By this stage the balsa in the malibus had been replaced by polyurethane foam and in a major breakthrough for local surfing, Greg McDonagh began making what were probably the first Australian fibreglass and foam boards at his Brookvale factory. The lure of surfing was by now beginning to
draw some of the local surfers away from the Surf Lifesaving Clubs
which until then had been the centre of their beach activities. The
freedom of the new sport compared to the regimentation and
discipline of the surf life saving movement was a lure hard to resist. Some, like Doug Andrew
and Barry Cardiff, simply divided their time between the two. By 1959
Dee Why was firmly established as the centre of surfing on Sydney's
northside. Doug Andrew led the way with real purpose at
The Point and was the first surfer to take-off inside
"Suck-Up". Midget Farrelly and Kevin Platt were regular visitors
from Freshwater and a very young Kevin Brennan made the occasional trip
over from Bondi. Other locals included John Cormack, Warwick
Phelps, Bruce Ellison, Chris Cannings, Bruce Coppard and Phil
Rose.Many of these surfers were
riding
Greg McDonagh's new
fibreglass boards and were discovering for the first time the
awesome and certain
destructive power of the rocks at The Point. It was the power of
the waves though, which kept tempting them further and further inside.
1959
was also the year that Doug Andrew won the very first
Australian Championship of the modern era at Collaroy before he was lured back
to surf life-saving where he also enjoyed huge success in
competition. Doug also won a very early Bells Beach Surfing competition - a true "Waterman".
By 1960 surfing was booming and the new board factories that
had sprung up in Brookvale could hardly keep up with demand. Crowds
increased exponentially that summer as kids and their new boards
descended on the sands of Dee Why. The time was right, winds and swells seemed favourable and after some old
friends and familiar faces got talking, Dee Why Surfing Fraternity
was suggested, seconded and very quickly started.The founding group,
including John Cormack, John Dessaix,
Glenn Martin, "Love Dog McManus", Chris Cannings, and Ed Cornish, had
established themselves firmly at Arthur's Corner where Howard Avenue
meets The Strand.The
first meeting of Dee Why Surfing Fraternity in March 1961 adopted the
black swan, large flocks of
which frequented Dee Why lagoon, as
the club emblem. Other
clubs sprang up quickly including North Narrabeen, Maroubra, Manly and
Windansea. Dee Why and Maroubra had a particularly close relationship
in those early years as they shared a similar hard core surfing
culture. The first competition though, was against a keen group from Collaroy who were in
the process of forming a club. At the second
committee meeting it was decided to write to Long Beach Boardriders in
California, where Phil Edwards was a member, to establish a sister club
relationship. The letter was written and appears to have been posted
but what came of the idea is unknown.(And anyway, they came and went, we just keep chargin'!.- ed.) The First
Committee
President:
Midget Farrelly
Vice President: John Dessaix
Committee: Greg 'Tamba' Taylor, Ed Cornish, John Cormack, Doug Andrew, Bruce Mc Manus.
Vice President: John Dessaix
Committee: Greg 'Tamba' Taylor, Ed Cornish, John Cormack, Doug Andrew, Bruce Mc Manus.
The
First A Grade
Competition Team
Competition Team
Midget
Farrelly, Chris Cannings, Peter Cornish, Henry Addison, Bob McTavish,
Phil Camey,Doug Andrews, John Dessaix, Kevin Platt, Dave McDonald, Phil
Rose,
Glenn Martin.
Glenn Martin.
The story continues. We're looking for information: photo's ( we can scan and return)articles, press clippings, tall stories and dollar bills both old and new - anything you think might be of interest to help us build a comprehensive, permanent archive of DYSF history and memorabilia.Ccome back soon - If I get more wine I'll keep typing. ©dysf2007
