waves and do his own thing. Heith, like
Bobby, would rather let his surfing do the
talking, and his surfing speaks volumes of
his persona and character.
Northern New South Wales’ Dreamtime
Beach would provide the backdrop it’s a partially sheltered beachbreak
that is framed by some stunning scenery
including the ominous Cook Island to the
north. Like a hidden gem, the place truly
personifies the special qualities that make
up most of the East Coast of Australia, and
occasionally it can turn on some incredible
waves if you know the right spot. What a
picture it painted this day, with golden
light streaming down and bouncing across
the water, into the early waves.
Bobby Brown was a surfing enigma, under
the radar, reserved, unassuming - a quiet
and polite man whose surfing was his
voice. He was also a proficient surfboard
shaper and a gifted carpenter for his
father’s Jack Brown and Sons building
company. His engagement to his muchloved childhood sweetheart Lorraine
McIntyre was the centre of his life at the
time, and they had planned to marry at
the end of 1967 and go to Hawaii for their
honeymoon - but that day would never
come.
Unlike Farrelly and Young, Brown had yet
to surf in Hawaii but there were few who
doubted that his natural surfing ability in
big or small waves would have seen his
true potential come to the surface on
the North Shore at Sunset Beach - to use
common surf terminology - Bobby would
have ripped the roof off Hawaii. He was
at the cutting edge of the pre-shortboard