History of Surfing

The ancient Hawaiians also left petroglyphs (rock carvings) of surfers carved into lava-rocks. It is believed that the Hawaiians used surfing as a sport which in turn was used to distinquish class. The first surfboards were made from wood and the type of wood used on the board indicated the riders status in society. The lighter and larger boards (mainly wood from the wiliwili tree) were used by the upper class whilst the heavier shorter boards (mainly wood from the koa tree) were used by commoners.The surfboard became a valued and revered part of Hawaiian culture. However in the early 1800's the sport nearly became extinct when missionaries from New England arrived in Hawaii and began preaching against surfing. A few Hawaiian kings like David Kalakau, who were advocates of keeping the Polynesian culture alive continued to encourage their people to surf.

In 1905, a young man named Duke Kahanamoku and a group of his friends began surfing at Waikiki beach and set up a surfing club called Hui Nalu (The Club of the Waves). They were instrumental in reviving the sport and they later became known as the "Beach Boys of Waikiki".

Henry Huntington, a Californian land developer, was the first person to bring the sport to California, when in 1907 he invited George Freeth to give a surfing demonstration at Redondo beach. The sport caught on and the rest is history.

Wooden surfboards were soon replaced by fibreglass.

In Polynesian mythology a man named Ngaru dared the king of sharks, Tumuitearetoka, to catch him. However Tumuitearetoka couldn't catch Ngaru because he had invented a surfboard to keep ahead of him. The Polynesians believe Ngaru is the inventor of the first surfboard.

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