Surf Heritage Jol

The event at the Muizenberg Pavilion on Saturday 5 April, a partnership with the Muizenberg Improvement District (MID), aims to bring people together and to raise funds for the proposed Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame at the traffic circle at Surfer’s Corner.
 
In the plans for the structure, from the middle of the circle, protrudes a life-size bronze statue of the first person to surf in South Africa, based on some fairly strong evidence, in the modern sense anyway.
 
The belief is based on a series of photographs unearthed by big wave surfer Ross Lindsay in the early 2000s during a visit to Zimbabwe to visit his wife's great aunt, Heather Price, who was almost 100 years old.
 
As I have documented in my book Surfing in South Africa: “The old lady’s face lit up when he mentioned that he was a surfer. She hauled out photographs taken at Muizenberg during the First World War. The pictures showed her surfing with American marines, who had brought their boards with them on US Navy ships stopping off in Cape Town. There may be other sepia snaps, dog-eared and musty, buried beneath old papers in attics somewhere, but this is the first known experience of surfing in South Africa.”
 
As it turns out, the photos were probably taken just after the war, in 1919, but remain by some distance the oldest images depicting surfing. Funnily enough, after I penned the article in the Weekend Argus on Saturday, I got an email from a reader, Ellis Pender, who said he was reading the book South African beachcomber by Lawrence Green, first published in 1941.

Green was apparently a “prolific and popular author of factual books in the 40s, 50s, and 60s”, and for many years was the original “Wanderer” of the column “Tavern of the Seas” in the Argus, now penned by David Biggs.

Apparently, on page 29, Green writes, “I was at Muizenberg as a very small boy early this century when surfing was seen there for the first time. A Mr C.J. Lawrence, who had been in the Pacific islands, was among the pioneers. Then an enterprising boat-builder named Porter put the long, old-fashioned pine surfboards on the market."

Pender writes: “Bearing in mind that Green was born in 1900, and says he was "a very small boy" at Muizenberg when "surfing was seen there for the first time" it seems likely that Heather Price and her American marines were not the first to surf in the modern sense in SA.”

Either way, according to the press release, the “Walk of Fame” will consist of “paved pathways set amongst landscaped gardens and studded with plaques honouring the past, present and future legends of South African surfing”.

The fund-raising evening includes ‘The Big Jol’, featuring music by Robin Auld, no doubt some whacky witticisms by MC for the evening Deon Bing, as well as the official model of the circle, and historical displays.
 
Announced at the Pavilion will be “names of the first group of surfing pioneers to be included in the Walk of Fame” as well as the criteria for "future nominees who will be inducted annually”.
 

The missive goes on to say that “this exclusive social occasion and gathering of the surfing ‘tribe’ will feature many of the current legends of the South African surfing community”.
 
Surfers tend to see themselves as a tight-knit tribe, and the use of the word “exclusive” speaks in this sense. However, in terms of the every-day people who interact with the ocean at Muizenberg in post-Apartheid South Africa, there is obviously a much wider group who will interact with the circle.
 
It’s a fascinating topic, so-called “surfing heritage”. My friend and surfing historian Glen Thompson and I have debated it at length.
 
What does it actually mean? It means different things to different people, and it’s hard to make something talk to all people of myriad religion, culture or creed.
 
This is an excellent opportunity (email info@thesurferscircle.co.za) to ensure that we celebrate our multi-cultural present, without forgetting our fractured past, to which we need to be particularly sensitive.

The MID has been at pains to state its objective of fostering cultural diversity. As the press release states, “The Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame is a project of the Muizenberg Improvement District (MID), a Not for Profit Company that has been inspired by the pivotal role surfing has played in encouraging economic growth, fostering cultural diversity and gaining international recognition for Muizenberg as a destination of choice in South Africa.

“Surfing is both a recreational lifestyle and a competitive sport and the Surfers’ Circle aims to embrace the legacy of past and future achievements in perpetuity as a catalyst for change and social cohesion.”

It sounds good …

Apartheid may be dead in the constitutional and civic sense, but we can’t ignore the residual anger, particularly around Muizenberg, which was a racially segregated beach during Apartheid. Some of these views are justified, others appear unreasonably vitriolic.
 
But there could be a positive upside, a chance to join forces to make a difference. That Ms Price was a woman in post-Victorian Muizenberg makes for a bold feminist statement. Her skin colour would not be a problem in a normalised society. But in South Africa, it’s an almost impossible task to make everyone feel included when we commemorate heritage and culture in a public space.

No matter on which side of the debate you lie, this event has the potential to ensure a sense of inclusivity in the community. For those who believe there was not enough public participation, now is your chance to participate.

We should at least be talking about it, not only to push the conversation and the debate forward to grow our collective culture, but to help us find our shared heritage as South African surfers.

Tickets for the Big Jol are R250 each, or R2,000 for a table of eight, and are available from Rustenberg Pharmacy or Epic Print in Muizenberg. Contact Tessa at muizies@gmail.com for details on how to obtain tickets / tables via electronic banking. Tickets numbers are limited and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

For details on the Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame, how to make donations or to volunteer your services please contact Chevone Petersen at  manager@mid.org.za or 021 788 1196.

Stay up to date with the latest news on the project and the launch function at www.facebook.com/pages/Surfers.Circle.Muizenberg