Exhibition: Legend Bobby Brown - the Edge of Glory

The starlit wave is still, home is the surfer, home from the sea...

Bobby Brown in the North Cronulla
shorebreak in '62. Photo: Bob Weeks 

[Click to enlarge]



After successfully touring the East Coast from the Noosa Festival of Surfing earlier in the year, down to Victoria for the 50^th Anniversary of the Bells Beach Easter Pro Surfing event, the exquisitely put together Bobby Brown Exhibition is coming to Bobby Brown's spiritual home in Sydney's South - in the Sutherland Shire.

The Exhibition will be on display in the showroom of Jackson Surfboards in Caringbah for just 10 days. From Saturday September 10th until Sunday September 18th, 2011.

The Exhibition forms part of the Jackson Surfboard’s “living history” philosophy, which works to bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days of surfing, surfboards and the golden age of Australian beach culture.

I was on the Gold Coast 10 months ago for the opening night of the Bobby Brown Exhibition at the Surf World Gold Coast Surf Museum in November 2010. To view my original report of that launch night and my summary of the exhibition click here.

The Exhibition is meticulously put together by its Gold Coast-based curator, former pro-surfer, Andrew McKinnon. As a 16-year old surfer back in 1970, Andrew was the last winner of the third and final Bobby Brown Memorial Surfing Contest held on the beaches of Cronulla.

Rabbit co-MC'ed the opening
night at Surf World on the Gold
Coast last November. Photo: Core

As an extension of all his research into Bobby Brown’s history, and inspired by the depth and expanse of the story, Andrew is currently working on a book that will encapsulate the life and times of Bobby Brown - surfing legend.

If you want have a look at a nice clip of the Exhibition you can see the clip that was posted on the Coastalwatch website by clicking here.

This showcasing at Jacksons will be the last public display of this collective for some time, so if you are from any part of Sydney, or for that matter, anywhere in NSW, you might want to plan a trip to Sydney's South side over this 10-day period to check the exhibition being held in one of the very surf establishments in which Bobby Brown spent the early part of his surfing career.

At the Gold Coast launch, Cronulla
surfing identities, Steve Core [left]
and guest speaker Gary Birdsall.
Photo: Terry Baker

So mark it in your diary or stick a post-it note on the fridge. On Saturday 10th of September there will be an official launch function, kicking off at 1:00pm ,with a free sausage sizzle. Special guests will be Bobby's brother; John Brown and pioneer surf photographer and publisher of Surfabout Magazine, Jack Eden.

Next year, Jackson Surfboards will celebrate their 55th year in the business and they have been in the same location for the past 48 years. That was long before Mick Fanningg was even born! That's some history in this young sport of ours.

Check on-line at: Jackson Surfboards

or the Jackson Surfboards Facebook site

Or have a look at the Bobby Brown Surfing Legend website.

Check out my new blog on Surf Exhibitions, Forms, Swap meets and dry land surfboards events. Called Swap Surf Click right here to see it.

Something to say or add? E-mail us at swapsurf@gmail.com

*