The November 15th lunch and auction drew a close knit and distinguished crowd of friends and legends,
and a few of the most generous people from the surfing community - perhaps the entire city
he Last Chapter
It was the kind of rare moment that you only get to see a few of in your life. It
happened so fast, blink and you would have missed it. On a sunny November
afternoon by the sea, what was perhaps the final chapter of the late Allan Byrne’s
surfboard shaping story was drawing to a close. Gathered together on the balcony
at Currumbin’s Elephant Rock Cafe was a small circle of AB’s closest friends, surfing
alumni and alumnae, colleagues and his Gold Coast surfing family.
You could tell by the meticulous fashion in which the finest of food was prepared,
you could see it in the crisp spark held in the eyes of every person in the room, that
today was a very special day indeed. Perched on the wall were some of AB’s most
spectacular creations, his first tow board, and incredible Indo gun, a Tom Carroll special
- they were all framing his last one, the very last spear. Emanating from the boards was
an electricity, a sense of connection - it was almost as if Allan was there in the room,
quietly watching on as people drenched themselves in the stories of greatness that
were all inspired from his mind, by his hands, and by his imagination.
The auction, to raise funds for AB’s family, was conducted in synchronicity both on the
internet and in person, the innovative format gave everybody a chance to be part of
it - with the online bids already pushing his last board over $10K before the final auction
commenced. Nobody could have predicted what was about to happen next, but
suffice to say it was a defining moment of mateship, honour and generosity that left
hardly a dry eye in the entire room - it was pure inspiration.
Left and right the bids soared, finally spinning to a stop at an incredible $25,000 - yes,
$25K for the last board ever shaped by AB. Quietly emerging from the back of the
room, a reserved and humble Spike Neumann came forth to claim his prize (along
with the other items he had also bought that day). Spike called
three big cheers for AB and the room responded loudly.
FROTH | Page 11