Composition Sunset, 1987

A composed surf image from Peter Crawford’s 1987 archive.

The photograph balances line, water and space, showing Crawford’s eye for structure as much as action — a quieter full frame study from the late-eighties surf archive.

Mystery Bolt, 1989

An unidentified surf image from Peter Crawford’s 1989 archive.

The surfer, location and board details are still to be confirmed, giving this full frame piece the feeling of a true archive mystery — a sharp moment held in motion.

Hawaii, 1989

Paul Burnett photographed by Peter Crawford in Hawaii in 1989.

A full frame surf image from the late-eighties archive, carrying the scale, speed and atmosphere of Hawaiian water.

Indonesia, 1989

A full frame surf image from Peter Crawford’s late-eighties archive, captured in Indonesia during a period when the region was becoming central to modern surf imagination.

Burleigh Point, Queensland, 1980

Bruce Raymond drives high across the lip during the 1980 Stubbies Surf Classic at Burleigh Point.

A surfer at the peak of his professional career, Raymond brought together elements of traditional single-fin power and the sharper, more progressive lines beginning to shape modern performance surfing.

This image captures a high-speed floater moment at Burleigh — a powerful meeting point between classic single-fin surfing and the future of competitive performance.

Associated with McCoy Surfboards.

Dee Why Point, 1989

Shane Herring at Dee Why Point, photographed by Peter Crawford during the rise of one of Australian surfing’s most electric young talents.

At the time, Herring was being spoken about as one of the best surfers in the world. This image captures him with the speed, instinct and looseness that made him one of the most talked-about surfers of his generation.

Mark Richards, Bells Beach

Bells Beach, Victoria, 1983

Four-time World Champion Mark Richards skims across the Bells bowl in the twilight of his professional career.

By 1983, Richards had already shaped the direction of competitive surfing. His twin-fin surfing defined an era — fast, loose and unmistakably stylish — while the early 1980s marked a major change in board design and performance surfing.

Captured from the water by Peter Crawford on Kodachrome 64 film using a Nikonos underwater camera, this photograph holds the speed and movement of Bells with remarkable clarity. Working with limited frames, moving water and manual focus, Crawford had to pan with the surfer to freeze the motion.

MR is pictured riding under his own MR Surfboards label, wearing a Victory wetsuit — two names closely tied to this period of Australian surf culture.

A powerful archival image from a defining moment in modern surfing.

Jodie Cooper v. Freida Zamba.

Women's Finals presentation, Rip Curl Pro

Bells Beach, Victoria

Easter 1986

Women’s presentations have never been more controversial than this. The throng has packed in not only to officially proclaim Jodie Cooper’s win over Freida Zamba at the Rip Curl Pro but also to crown the World Championship 1986. An astounding moment. The crowd has been chanting Jodie’s name for 10 minutes. Photogs Tullemanns and Simons are ready in the immediate foreground. The thing is, as a less-than-ecstatic reception would suggest, the judges have drifted south in a 4-1 split. The Bell AND World Title go to Zamba.

Derek Hynd 2026

Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew & Peter Harris

Rip Curl Pro, Bells carpark

Easter 1980

In the perfect unscripted moment, Easter 1980, Bugs slugs down the sponsor's beverage post heat with Stubbies Pro victor Peter Harris, his right arm gesturing to his pal about the course of what's just transpired, or could it be to the bogan P plater with the reverse lights on, who’s just asked if he's leaving. The greater aspect of the shot, of course, is the dirt, THE DIRT, the curse of 10000 surfers in the wet.

Derek Hynd 2026

Gary Elkerton, Chappy Jennings
Wayne Bartholomew and Tom Carroll
Bells carpark

Easter 1982

Seminal period shot at the best of the freshly tarred base of the Bells carpark with Gary ‘Kong’ Elkerton, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew, Tom Carroll and Chappy Jennings, 1982. Literally on the face of it, this Crawford image of a young Kong, with others scratching for a lift down to Johanna, captures key moment in the rise and rise of pro surfing at Bells Beach. Kong's eventual debut main event heat at solid Bowl would feature the destined teen in a signature red/yellow custom Rip Curl suit blazing a low-line to high-line speed attack to leave fans and critics alike speechless.

Derek Hynd 2026

Dane Kealoha sails over a 1981 boomer far outside to check the wave of battler Gabe Callaghan's life. Photog Crawford pulls focus with a Century 650. Bells Beach, Victoria

1981

The 1981 Easter Swell at Bells Beach, famously known as "Big Saturday," is regarded as the most iconic day in the history of the Rip Curl Pro. Occurring on Easter Saturday, April 18, 1981, the event featured massive, clean waves generated by an intense low-pressure system in the Southern Ocean. The swell was so significant that it shook nearby Torquay and Jan Juc, with spectators hearing the "dull booms" of the waves before seeing them. Gabe Callaghan rode a particularly memorable wave that started at Bells, passed "the Button," and continued down into Winki. The wave was captured on video and became part of surf lore, often referenced in discussions of epic Bells Beach sessions. While the famous "Big Saturday" swell provided huge 15-to-20-foot waves for the early rounds, the final itself was contested two days later in significantly smaller surf, around 2 to 3 feet, at the Rincon section of the break.

Big Saturday is often cited as the largest clean swell during a professional contest at Bells Beach, surpassing previous records set in 1965. Local lore suggests that "when Easter is late, Bells gets big," a prophecy fulfilled in 1981 when Easter fell in mid-April. The day is remembered not just for the wave height but for the perfect alignment of wind and swell direction, creating long, rideable walls of water. Footage from the day, including the documentary Wizards of the Water, remains a primary reference for big-wave surfing at the location.

D. Hynd - caption / Amac - text 2026

Audience, Rip Curl Pro
Bells staircase, Victoria
Easter 1982

General crowd scene on the staircase at Bells during the semi-finals of the '82 Rip Curl Pro. Rincon is mid-tide and challenging on a failed swell, but the Easter tide will bring the wave to life within the hour.

Derek Hynd 2026

Derek Hynd, Wayne Lynch (unidentified), Simon Anderson
Bells Beach carpark, Victoria
Easter 1981

Simon Anderson celebrates his 1981 win with a tinnie out of the boot of the renowned Falcon whilst Derek Hynd - who had Simon roundly beaten in the semis before a five-minute charity extension changed the result - takes solace in the champers. Wayne Lynch might be laughing at something Hynd has said, but Simon could well be thinking about the poetry of it all, "Beer mate, only beer".

Derek Hynd 2026

Note the thrusters on the roof of Simon’s car. The 1981 Easter Swell at Bells Beach, famously known as "Big Saturday," stands as the most iconic day in the history of the Rip Curl Pro. Occurring on Easter Saturday, April 18, 1981, the event featured massive, clean waves reaching 15 to 20 feet, generated by an intense low-pressure system in the Southern Ocean. This historic swell served as the proving ground for Simon Anderson and his revolutionary thruster surfboard design. While most competitors arrived expecting small waves and brought twin-fins, Anderson debuted his new three-fin setup. His victory in the contest legitimised the thruster design, which quickly became the global standard for high-performance surfing. Big Saturday occurred at a unique moment in surfboard design, with single fins, twins and thrusters all being ridden by various finalists. From this point on thrusters would rapidly become the dominant mainstream fin set-up for years to come.

Amac 2026

Bells carpark, Victoria
Easter 1981

The inimitable Jack McCoy, circa Easter 1981, post-Tubular Swells and pre
his great 25-year body of work. Due to the 1970 Bells/Johanna World
Championships and the cultural melting pot they created, Jack, as the Hawaiian team’s first alternate, was so captivated by the country that henceforth Australia was home.

Derek Hynd 2026

Cortina dawn patrol
Bells Beach carpark,
Victoria
1987

Low rider and driver at dawn, Bells Beach 1987. For every planned attack
that paid off, many more will end here in anti-climax. Alas, yet again, the
dreaded Bells swell lag has trumped a buggered surf rat now asleep behind
the wheel. Possibly having done the ton through the night in the Cortina GT
on The Deadly Hume, high on expectations of a booming new swell come
dawn.

Derek Hynd 2026

Cheyne Horan. Easter free surf
West of Bells, Victoria
1983

Cheyne Horan in period colour and board to suit on the groundbreaking
Lexcen/McCoy winged keel design. Whilst critics doubted the validity this
particular Easter with results slipping, next year on a Lexcen/Fitzgerald
winged keel he won the Bell. PC had a unique rapport with everyone. He
could shape-shift to fit a subject’s personality. Notable is Cheyne's
commitment to design evolution, no matter the ramifications, in a highly
subjective sport. Once again, there’s PC striking a photojournalistic balance.
Particularly in the tight space behind PC’s lens, the better the subject, the
better the result. PC could place himself six inches from the best surfers in
the world, pull focus, get the shot, and not be in the way.

Derek Hynd 2026

Peter Harris Champ ShowerStubbies 80

OP Bondi 85 On The Nose.

OP Bondi 87 OnTheNose.

Judges Cards Stubbies 1980

Rip Curl Bells Beach Pro presentation in 1980.

Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew and I were in the final which I won. There was no priority buoy in those days. Every heat had a lot of intense jockeying and hassling for the inside position. Whoever was on the inside had first choice of wave.

I always liked to try and hold inside position from the start of a heat. To achieve this beach positioning in relation to your opponent on the initial paddle was important. Bugs walked down after me and went straight to my inside standing on the beach.

So I waited until he started to make a move towards entering the water and then I ran around his right hand side so I would have the inside as we paddled out.

Competitive surfing back then tested your surfing ability and heat strategy.
The jumper I’m wearing was made by my wife. She knitted the MR logo into it. - Mark Richards

Printed on aluminium composite panel and finished with a hand-applied resin coating that enhances colour, depth and detail.

Produced in a limited edition and supplied with a certificate of authenticity.

California, 1980s

Peter had a remarkable ability to capture exactly what he saw and felt. Shot on Kodachrome slide film with the use of flash to make the colours pop in a vivid, almost neon like way.

Printed on aluminium composite panel and finished with a hand-applied resin coating that enhances colour, depth and detail.

Produced in a limited edition and supplied with a certificate of authenticity.