29/01/2026
Timeless pic of 2 amazing people,,,,
TWO UP AT TORQUAY
There is a fundamental element to the story of the coastal town where we are based, the beach is the background. All of the tall tales and true, all of the characters, all of the myths and legends are overlaid onto the background of the beach. The beach here has been drawing people to it for eons, every generation adding another layer in time. This pic is of Dick and Joan Garrard riding tandem at Torquay about 70 years ago. A similar pic of the couple was used in an early brochure providing tourism advice for anyone wanting to visit the area. There are a couple of things to remember when viewing images from this era . . . one is that this is surfing in Torquay pre wetsuits . . . it would only be for a few months each year that the water would be warm enough to tolerate prolonged exposure. There were no surf shops, if you wanted to ride a board you had to have the skills and tools needed to build one, have a mate that could or know someone who you could borrow a board from. The boards were long, heavy, hollow ply wood constructions that would take on water while being used. At the end of a session surfers would have to stand the boards up and let the water drain out. The Garrard's are just one of many Torquay families with the beach in their blood. Thousands of people each year learn to surf at Torquay, almost all of them learning on "G boards" the G is for Garrard, the beach . . . well . . . that remains the background.
Pic courtesy of the Garrard family
