These vintage pictures will transport you back to the beaches and the big waves of the '60s and '70s.
If the Beach Boys’ hit single “Surfin’ U.S.A.” is an indicator of anything, it’s that surf culture hit the mainstream in America in the 1960s. During the ’60s and ’70s, surf fever was all the rage, especially in California, and it could be seen in the fashion, the art, the music, and most importantly, the attitude.
It was largely thanks to Hawaiian surfers George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku that surfing first began rising in popularity in the U.S. in the early 1900s. After all, their series of surfing demonstrations had attracted a lot of attention in California. But by the 1960s, the once-small group of devoted surfers who first latched on exploded into a major subculture.
While some early surfers were criticized as “beach bums” for spending all day on the water, the negative stigma around surfing soon faded away. Amidst the rising, free-spirited counterculture in America, surfers fit right in with their chill vibes and love of big waves. Around the same time, surfing was also rising in popularity in countries like Australia and New Zealand.
See our gallery of vintage photos below to relive the golden era of surfing.
The Ancient Origins Of Surfing
The earliest evidence of surfing as we know it today comes from 12th-century Polynesia, where cave paintings depict the early days of surfing. Eventually, the Polynesians brought surfing to Hawaii, where it continued to evolve. The ocean was highly important to these Indigenous islanders, and that reverence is made evident through their art, sports, and culture.
But for a long time, surfing remained virtually unknown to the Western world. It wasn't until the 18th century that non-islanders first became aware of the sport, when British explorer James Cook traveled the South Pacific.
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Cook's ship surgeon William J. Anderson recounted the first time he witnessed surfing near Tahiti:
I saw a man paddling, in a small canoe, so quickly, and looking about with such eagerness, on each side, as to command all my attention... He went out from the shore, till he was near the place where the swell began to take its rise; and watching its first motion very attentively, paddled before it, with great quickness, till he found that it overtook him, and had acquired sufficient force to carry his canoe before it, without passing underneath. He then sat motionless, and was carried along, at the same swift rate as the wave, till it landed him upon the beach. Then he started out, emptied his canoe, and went in search of another swell. I could not help concluding, that this man felt the most supreme pleasure, while he was driven on, so fast and so smoothly, by the sea.
Public DomainA 19th-century depiction of what early surfing may have looked like.
Another Cook crew member, Charles Clerke, recalled observing surfing in Hawaii: "Upon this [early version of a surfboard,] they get astride with their legs, then laying their breasts upon it, they paddle with their hands and steer with their feet, and gain such Way thro' the Water, that they would fairly go round the best going Boats we had in the two ships, in spight of every Exertion of the Crew, in the space of a very few Minutes."
Cook and his men were likely the first Europeans to ever see surfing, and the sight was truly astounding to them. Sure, they had seen plenty of large ships that could carry explorers around the world, but they had never seen such meticulously crafted boards like the ones in Hawaii and Tahiti.
As the decades went on, however, and more Westerners journeyed to Hawaii, settlers became increasingly oppressive to the natives who lived on the Hawaiian islands. During the 19th century, many American missionaries strongly discouraged surfing due to how much skin was exposed during the sport and the gambling that sometimes took place during competitions. But surfing didn't die out, and by the tail end of the 1800s, Hawaiian tourism started to pick up. As such, many new visitors to the islands learned about surfing — and some even wanted to try it out for themselves.
The Rise Of Surfing In The 20th Century
While surfing wouldn't break into the mainstream in the United States until the 1960s, one of the first times surfing was done by the mainland happened back in 1885. According to Good Times, that July, three Hawaiian princes — David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui, and Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole — hit the waves at the mouth of California's San Lorenzo River, riding boards made of redwood. A crowd of roughly 30 to 40 people were swimming nearby, and the surfing princes began to attract attention.
The story of the three princes became something of a piece of local lore, though historians often disregard it as inconsequential to surfing history. That said, it resonated with the right crowd, and when George Freeth, a young man of Native Hawaiian and Irish descent arrived in California about two decades later, the American interest in surfing was evident.
Public DomainGeorge Freeth, a pioneering surfer of Native Hawaiian and Irish descent.
Though his life was tragically short — Freeth only lived to be 35 after contracting the Spanish flu — his impact on surf culture was undeniable. Freeth arrived in Los Angeles in 1907, and he's credited with having the largest impact on surfing in the state out of all the early pioneers. He worked as a lifeguard in Redondo Beach and Venice Beach, where he often gave surfing exhibitions and became known as "the man who walked on water."
Another early pioneer of surfing was Duke Kahanamoku, an admirer and later friend of Freeth's, who helped spread surfing throughout the U.S. and other countries by also giving demonstrations. His fame was bolstered by two Olympic gold medal wins for swimming in 1912 and 1920. But it would still be several decades before surfing really went mainstream — and that's likely due in part to a major shift in the landscape: the rise of the shortboard.
Public DomainDuke Kahanamoku was a Native Hawaiian who helped popularize surfing across America and other countries.
The Significance Of The Shortboard In The 1960s
Traditionally, most surfboards were considered longboards. The Hawaiians had three different types of boards: Olo, Alaia, and Paipo. Olo boards were 15 to 20 feet long, solid wood, and difficult to make, meaning that they were mostly reserved for the upper class. The Alaia was sort of a standard, yet thin, board, and the Paipo was the smallest and least expensive board to make (and it was often ridden by children and beginners).
But starting in the 1930s, surfboards started to become somewhat easier to produce in America. Companies shifted from using solid, dense wood to using other materials like lightweight balsa wood. But generally speaking, these surfboards were all still considered longboards.
Then, in the 1960s, surfboard manufacturers started making shorter versions of the boards, which were known as shortboards. These new surfboards allowed surfers to make more intricate moves on the waves, and the shortboards were also much more maneuverable than their predecessors.
This allowed surfers to ride larger and faster waves, making the sport more of a spectacle — and more fun. While this alone isn't responsible for the explosion of surfing in the 1960s, it was certainly a major contributor. After all, who didn't want to have fun and look cool at the same time?
It helped, too, that popular culture latched onto surfing, with shows like Gidget and bands like the Beach Boys putting a particular emphasis on the sport. Since the '60s and '70s, surfing has never really gone out of fashion, and surf culture is still widely popular. But it's hard to deny that its breakthrough in the cultural zeitgeist was something special to behold.
After looking though these vintage surfing photos, check out vintage photos of skateboarding. Or, see some photos from the golden age of Las Vegas.
