White Europeans nearly killed surfing. In the early 1800’s ‘men of god’ [calvinists] arrived in Hawaii and promptly outlawed the sport of kings. But like the Polynesians’ newfound saviour, surfing refused to stay dead, and rose again to popularity throughout the 20th Century, this time with the masses [being no longer exclusive to royalty].

Yet over the last few decades, by some bizarre twist of fate, during the peak of surfing’s vindication, it is the descendants of those culture killing, land grabbers that seem to have dominated the sport on the world stage. But today the tide is slowly turning, as the world of professional surfing expands to the far reaches of the globe, direct descendents of those original surfers are making their presence felt. This year we have surfers native to Hawaii and Tahiti on the world tour, with dozens of other talented Polynesians right behind them on the ‘QS. Closer to home, one of our top young freesurfers has ancestors who first inhabited our nation, while another has Navajo Indian blood pulsing through his veins.

But, history lessons aside, the last hundred words should be taken with a grain of salt. An ‘us vs them’ mentality has no place in society, let alone a surf mag. And at the end of the day, part of the reason we picked these four guys [aside from the fact they all rip] is that they would be the first to tell you that, whatever has come before, it doesn’t matter one bit, especially in the water. After all, it’s just surfing.

DALE RICHARDS

DALE AND THINKING ABOUT HIS LAST – AND NEXT – SURF. SHORTY

PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS REGARDING INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS, IN RECENT HISTORY AT LEAST, HAVE NEVER BEEN SIMPLE. They have consistently evoked strong opinions and points of view from across the spectrum. And, to begin with at least, my interview with Dale Richards, one of Australia’s most recognised Aboriginal surfers, was looking to be no different. Researching the article prior to the interview I encountered a number of varying accounts. “He doesn’t like being labeled as ‘The Aboriginal surfer’. He doesn’t want to be known for the colour of his skin but for the his surfing. He hated all that hype during the Quiky Pro that year.” [In 2007 Dale won the trials of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast and in doing so became the first Aboriginial surfer to compete in a World Tour event, sending the Australian mainstream media into a bit of a frenzy, and hence becoming the involuntary face of Aboriginal surfing in the eyes of lay persons the world over.] In stark contrast, another member of the surfing industry argued, “He’s quite happy to market himself on the back of his Aboriginality, it sets him apart from others and that’s what a lot of young surfers are looking for to make it in the industry.”

So it was with some trepidation [and confusion] that I gave Dale a call one sunny Friday morning and poised myself for one of the more difficult interviews of my short career thus far. But to my delight, what I encountered on the other end of the line was a refreshing, laidback young man, who couldn’t care less about what other people think of him, or the colour of his skin, or the industry for that matter, and who’s thoughts revolved solely around the surf – how good it had been recently and when his next one would be.

So to answer the question in his own words, is Dale uncomfortable with being pigeonholed as ‘the Aboriginal surfer’? “I don’t really mind. It doesn’t really bother me.” Does he feel any pressure to play the role to get more media coverage? “Not really. It doesn’t really phase me, I try not to think about it too much.”

But don’t confuse this laidback attitude with apathy or arrogant ignorance. Dale cares about things. He cares about his fellow indigenous surfers. On demand he can list a number of young Indigenous rippers from every corner of Australia. He attends Indigenous Surf Titles when he can and never misses the Indigenous Classic, which is run annually as part of the Surfest in Newcastle. “Otis Carey from Coffs won it this year, he surfs so well. And there were two really young kids, I can’t remember their names right now, but they were ripping!” So [according to Dale at least] the future of indigenous surfing is in good hands, but where does Dale see himself in that future, or even the present, is he happy to be a role model to the indigenous community? “I definitely want to be one and I just hope that I can be a good one.” But surely that’s a heavy responsibilty for one of the most laidback guys in surfing? “Not really, I probably should feel it more but nah. I just do my thing.”

Dale doesn’t know much about his Aboriginal heritage, “I don’t know which tribe I’m from or anything like that. I’m adopted and I’ve been with my adoptive family since I was about five months old. All I know is that I was born in Townsville.” But once again this shouldn’t be misinterpreted, he’s not ashamed or deliberately disinterested with his origins, like most things in life he just doesn’t let it worry him. Before the interview I spoke with Dale’s manager, Chris Orr, about his plans for the year ahead. He gave me a list of trips, events and ideas that would spell a lot of coverage for Dale. To me it sounded like a crazy year on the road and a whole lot of work. But when I asked the man himself what he had coming up this year his response was typical Dale, “Nothing, there looks like there’s a bit of swell coming, I’m just hanging out for waves really.”

So there you have it, Dale Richards, a young surfer of few words [but many photos], with a mysterious past, a bright future and not a care in the world.

A COOLANGATTA UPBRINGING HAS HONED DALE’S RIGHTHAND BARREL-RIDING SKILLS, BUT WHEN THE ODD LEFT POPS UP HE STILL KNOWS WHAT DO WITH IT. SHORTY