PLAY
VIDEO
THE
Australian surfing community gathered
in Newcastle in February to honour surf
photographer Peter Crawford who was
inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame at the
Australian Surfing Awards.
Crawford became the 39th inductee into the Hall of Fame.
His exceptional photographic talent, informed by his surfing
skill, allowed him to reveal surfing to the world from the
intimate perspective of his Nikonos water camera’s lens.
Many of the finest surfing photographs of the era - published
across and beyond the surfing world, in publications from
Surfing World and Surfer magazine to broader men’s
magazines like Playboy and Inside Sport - were shot by Peter
and captured the core spirit of the sport for all to enjoy.
Sadly Peter passed away in Bali in 1999 from the apparent
effects of a spider bite. He is survived by his sons Scott
and Justin. Crawford’s induction was one of a number of
presentations as part of the 2017 Australian Surfing Awards.
2016 World Surf League (WSL) Women’s World Champion
Tyler Wright and WSL standout competitor Matt Wilkinson
won the Female and Male Surfer of the Year awards, while
young Queenslander Ethan Ewing won the Rising Star Award.
Big-wave surfer and paddleboard champion Jamie
Mitchell, who finished an incredible fourth place in the
2015/16 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event and
won the 2016 WSL Nazare Challenge was awarded the
Milwaukee Heavy Water Award. Mitchell received $2,000
and a Milwaukee tool pack valued at $1,500.
The Peter Troy Lifestyle Award to the person who has given
his or her life over to surfing, and in doing so has enriched
the lives of other Australian surfers over time was awarded
to Jack McCoy who for over 30 years has been making
amazing surf films. Some of Jack’s works include Tubular
020 | Issue 16 // Winter 2017
Swells (1976), Storm Riders (1982), Occy The Occumentary
(1998), Blue Horizon and his most recent masterpiece
Deeper Shade of Blue.
The ASB Greater Good Award was taken out by Jade
"Red" Wheatley and The Walk for Waves, an 11-day
coastal walk from Newcastle to Manly. Wheatley, a double
leg amputee and skilful surfer, created the walk to raise
awareness and funding for Adaptive Surfing in Australia. The
walk culminated in a group of Adaptive Surfers climbing the
Sydney Harbour Bridge and raised close to $7,000 for the
Adaptive Surfers of Australia.
The Surf Culture Award for a project that captures and
explores a quintessential element of Australian surfing culture
was won by Men of Wood & Foam. Phil Jarratt initiated,
wrote and produced this documentary film, which premiered
on Foxtel’s History Channel on December 14, 2016.
The Simon Anderson Club Award went to Burleigh Heads
Boardriders who had a massive 2016, releasing its 50th
anniversary book Long Bongs and Burleigh Barrels.
Luke Shadbolt's epic Maelstrom was named the Nikon
Surf Photo of the Year and You and Me - The David 'Barney'
Miller Story the Nikon Surf Video of the Year.
The winner of the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year was
awarded a Nikon Photography Kit valued at $6,500 whilst
the winner of the Nikon Surf Video of the Year was awarded
a Nikon Film Kit valued at $5,500.
The Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of
Fame is proudly supported by the NSW Government through
its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW,
Newcastle City Council, the Australian Sports Commission,
Nikon, Milwaukee, Toyota, nudie, Andrew Peace Wines,
OnStone, Australasian Surf Business Magazine, XXXX
Summer Bright Lager and DrinkWise.