Surf History

 Ancient Polynesian surfers

The ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing, called he'enalu in the Hawaiian language, can be traced back as far as 1,000 years ago, as men, women, children and Hawaii's great King Kamehameha enjoyed the thrill of riding waves. 

In the earliest description of the sport by a visiting European, Captain James Cook observed upon watching a Hawaiian surf rider in the year of 1777: 

Captain James Cook

"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was being driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea." 




Then in the 1800s, the waves fell flat with the arrival of the Calvados missionaries. Shocked and outraged by the state of undress and the easy mixing of the sexes that surfing fostered, the missionaries banned the sport. 

The extinct Polynesian pastime was then reintroduced in the early 20th century by Alexander Hume Ford, a globetrotting promoter who set about reviving Island tourism by romanticising surfing at Waikiki. 

Duke Kahanamoku

In 1912, came surfing's first international icon. Waikiki beach boy and celebrated Olympic swimming champion, Duke Kahanamoku. The only surfer to ever appear on a US stamp. 
While travelling the globe giving swimming demonstrations, Duke introduced his favourite sport to far-flung places like California, New York and Australia. 


One of the fans enthralled by the Duke was a young Wisconsin swimming champion named Tom Blake. Relocating to Hawaii, Blake would go on to become one of the 20th-century's most influential surfers through his innovative surfboard design, but most importantly, through his advocacy of surfing as a way of life.


(the content of this text is taking from the movie Riding Giants, 2:17-4:17)