Surfs Up at the Gerringong Library and Museum (GLaM) this Thursday, to mark it being the new home for a display of local surfing memorabilia from the 70s, 80s and 90s, movies and photos from the collection of David Muir.

“This night came about from a chance meeting with Mike Farrell at the Perfect Break Café two years ago,” says Gerringong’s Jeff McCarthy, one of the founding members in 1981 of the Werri Beach Boardriders’ Club [see details of current activities at the end].

“Mike, an early Secretary of the Boardriders’ Club, had a Super 8 camera and water camera and took lots of photos. He told me he had 1,400 feet of film and didn’t know what to do with it. From there we had the idea to convert the film to MP4 format with funding from the Boardriders’ Club.”

On Thursday, at the second Night at the Museum event, Jeff and other exhibition organisers will talk about the places and faces of Gerringong and the surf culture.

“Such a big percentage of the population moved here for the surf, all the Bombo or Nowra boys were drawn to Werri,” says Keith Sawers who edited the Mike Farrell footage into 3 separate films.

“We are just so happy to share this, the great experience, the great lifestyle - because it was a happy environment that we lived in.”

Keith and Jeff will talk about the beginnings of the Werri Beach Boardriders Club.

“The club began really because we wanted to have some control, some say, in what happened to the beach,” says Keith.

“Council wanted to put a stormwater pipe out to the south end from the new estates. We opposed it, then the National Parks and local Wodi Wodi families came on board. And that was that.”

The club is one the oldest boardriders clubs and is a member of Surfing Australia. In 1983 it launched the micro gromit club for kids “to get them into the culture and learn how to surf and respect the ocean,” says Jeff.

The night at GLaM will be a celebration of these early days of the surfing community and the social life centered around Werri Beach, says Jeff.

“The exhibition depicts the surfing community of the late 70’s to early 80’s. It was a simpler life then, with lots of friendships formed and fun times, hanging out at the South End or the corner of the North End – and the fun days at Cleary’s Paddock when surf was no surf.”

Kent Ladkin, owner of Natural Necessity Surf Shop and a patron of the exhibition, remembers the early days when he and his brother made Honey Surf wax on a farm in Toolijooa.

“All my partners and my brothers - the local guys who were working with us - would meet at Werri at 7am and depending on the break and what the surf was like, we would take a democratic vote and either go to work or surf all day,” he says.

The movies and photos capture the essence of the simple relaxed lifestyle of enjoyed in this coastal community. There are iconic shots of the south end and the white golf club house and the green headlands before development.

“I hope people will recall these memories with great fondness,” says Jeff.

“The Honey Surf wax factory at Tooli’, the dances at Gerringong Town Hall, the band Badger at the Bowlo, Nicho’s Nook, The Surf Shop.

“Some people have passed away (Neil Elphick, Michael Dibley) and some have moved away, but the word has gone around and we have people coming from Cairns and the North Coast and elsewhere, to recapture and celebrate living and surfing in Gerringong in the 70’ to 80’s.”

Night at the Museum: Surfing Nostalgia of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Thurs June 9, 5.30pm-8pm

Gerringong Library and Museum, Blackwood Street $10 includes glass of wine and light refreshments

Werri Beach Boardriders Club meets twice monthly at Werri Beach and Gerroa. It is a family friendly surfing club providing local short board surfing community with opportunities to develop their competitive surfing skills in a fun, supportive and social setting. They have opens, seniors, juniors, womens and microgroms divisions.