THE upcoming ‘Swell Chasers: Surf Stories from the Mid North Coast’ exhibition at Yarrila Arts and Museum is gathering momentum, receiving a gratifying response from the community.

Contributors including leaders in surfboard design, industry, media, professional and amateur surfers, environmental activists and surfing fans have provided a wealth of material for curators to work with.

The exhibition will present a social and cultural history centred on surfing in Coffs Harbour and the broader Mid North Coast.

The multimedia collection will include paintings, photographs, sculpture and ceramics steeped in surf-culture and the ocean.

There will be an emphasis upon artefacts, designs, texts and mediums that are historically authentic rather than reproductions or fabrications.

“It will be interesting for all to see, but also only a small part of the area’s surf history, albeit better than lost in dusty sheds and hazy memories,” local surfer and champion bodyboarder Warwick Appleton said.

Another feature of the program co-ordinated by Tori Southwell, the Program Facilitator of the Gallery and Museum, will be a series of ‘Fluid Floor Talks’ with influential figures from the region’s surf fraternity.

Ahead of the exhibition, Appleton has come forward with an interesting local history conundrum, questioning if he and his friend Craig “Charlie” Bird were the first people to surf the treacherous Coffs Reef on bodyboards in around 1983/84.

“To my knowledge no-one had, but if someone had a serious dig on a surfboard before that, hats off to them because it would have been difficult on the surfboards before then,” Appleton told News Of The Area.

Growing up in Orlando Street the bodyboarder would often see the Reef spilling its guts on his way to surfing Park Beach and curiosity and the gung-ho spirit of adventure eventually got the better of him.

If anyone has information about the break being surfed prior, email media@newsofthearea.com.au.

Swell Chasers will be on exhibition at Yarrila Arts and Museum on Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour from Saturday 23 November 2024 until 2 February 2025.

By Kim SATCHELL