Obituaries

Surfers Pay Respects to Shorty

Sunday 29 November 2009

People from far and wide came to pay their respects to one of South Africa's surfing pioneers, Shorty Bronkhorst. We give you a photo essay of the day, held along the point in Jeffreys Bay yesterday. A special photo tribute by Garth Robinson.

Tribute to Jeff Hancock

Thursday 26 November 2009

Tributes continue to pour in for Jeff Hancock, iconic Cape Town surfboard shaper and former pro, who passed away in the Cedarburg, ironically on the same day as Shorty Bronkhorst. By Andre Mory, Rob Abel, Spike and several close friends. Photographs from Sean Jerram and Tammy Gardner.

Shorty Tribute

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Notice: Paddle out, Tubes, J-Bay, 10am this Sat 28 Nov, followed by a wake (bring & braai) at Supers carpark.

This is Ray Heard, with a message in cyberspace from Toronto in my sunset years. I want to share my thoughts on Shorty's passing. At Treverton and Durban High, Shorty and I were best friends. We only had one argument, which was over in a day or two. Shorty was a better surfer than me (though I still ride a long board) and was much tougher, though I gained some muscle fiercely competing against him on the beach and in the pool as a teenager.

Get Shorty

Saturday 21 November 2009

His real name was Leonard Johannes Bronkhorst. We all knew him as Shorty, a nickname he got in the 1940s as a pupil at Treverton Primary school in KwaZulu-Natal. South African surfers pay tribute to one of our pioneers, by Garth Robinson and Spike, with an interview that Janet Heard had with Shorty last year, and a tribute from old school mate Raymond Heard.