Huntington Beach, California, 1984

Tom Carroll, Mike Newling and Simon Anderson photographed by Peter Crawford at Huntington in 1984.

The image gathers three figures inside the international surf scene of the eighties, a moment of people, place and professional surfing on the Californian coast.

1985

A beach pageant scene from the 1985 OP Pro, photographed by Peter Crawford.

Part contest culture, part coastal theatre, the image records the broader world that surrounded professional surfing in the eighties.

Duranbah, Queensland

Mark “Occy” Occhilupo photographed by Peter Crawford at Duranbah.

The image carries the speed and confidence that made Occy one of the defining surfers of his generation, set against one of the Gold Coast’s most familiar high-performance breaks.

Bells Beach, Victoria, 1977

Steve Jones, Terry Richardson and Keone Downing photographed by Peter Crawford at Bells in 1977.

The image sits inside the gathering energy of late-seventies professional surfing, where international surfers, local conditions and Australian contest culture were all pushing the scene forward.

Pipeline, Hawaii, 1988

A Pipe Masters composition from Peter Crawford’s 1988 North Shore archive.

With the surfer still to be confirmed, the photograph holds the scale and theatre of Pipeline under contest pressure.

Pipeline, Hawaii, 1984

Joey Buran photographed by Peter Crawford at Pipeline during the 1984 Pipe Masters.

The image places Buran inside the intensity of the North Shore contest arena, where timing and nerve were everything.

Pipeline, Hawaii

Derek Ho photographed by Peter Crawford during the Pipe Masters era on the North Shore.

A composed Hawaiian surf image, holding the scale, danger and focus that made Pipeline one of competitive surfing’s great stages.

Backdoor, Hawaii, 1988

Derek Ho at Backdoor in 1988, photographed by Peter Crawford during a charged North Shore contest period.

The image captures the size and pressure of a heavy Hawaiian set, with Backdoor’s speed and angle giving the frame its force.

Stubbies, 1977

Shaun Tomson photographed by Peter Crawford during the 1977 Stubbies era.

A tight water image from the early Stubbies period, the photograph captures the intensity of late-seventies contest surfing and the close physical presence of Crawford’s archive work.

Stubbies, 1978

Cheyne Horan photographed by Peter Crawford during the 1978 Stubbies era.

Captured in a driving water moment, the image carries the pressure and speed of late-seventies contest surfing — a raw full frame piece from the emerging professional surf scene.

Burleigh Heads, Queensland, 1978

Terry “Fitz” Fitzgerald photographed during the second Stubbies contest at Burleigh Heads in 1978.

A major figure in Australian surfing, Fitzgerald brought speed, precision and unmistakable style into the competitive arena.

This image places him inside one of the defining contest settings of the era — Burleigh, Stubbies and the growing theatre of professional surfing.

Associated with Stubbies, Rip Curl and HB, the photograph captures a key moment in the late-seventies Australian surf scene.

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.

Burleigh Point, Queensland, 1978

Rabbit Bartholomew on a roll at Burleigh, winning the Stubbies Surf Classic in the same year he claimed his first world title.

The Stubbies was more than a surf contest. It helped reshape professional surfing, bringing the man-on-man format into the spotlight and turning Burleigh into a natural arena for a new kind of competitive drama.

Captured from the water by Peter Crawford on Kodachrome 64 film using a Nikonos underwater camera, this close-up holds the speed, pressure and theatre of the moment.

Rabbit is pictured during the era of Stubbies shorts, Quiksilver, single fins and the emerging professionalism of Australian 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

A day worth remembering
Port Campbell, Victoria

Easter 1979

Waiting for some boomers. Port Campbell 1979. The search for surf during a Rip Curl Pro lay day.

Derek Hynd 2026

Maurice Cole and luminaries & Messrs Green McKnight, Lynch, Byrne, Tomson, Pawson Law, McCoy, Llamas, Collier.

Rip Curl Pro Final, Rincon rocks

Easter 1981

The quintessentially most illuminating, if not gregarious, surfer of all, Maurice Cole, points due south at yet another Simon Anderson ride against Cheyne Horan in the 1981 Rip Curl Pro final at Rincon. Just about as much an institution as the event itself, no event seemed complete without an intimate pack of locals, owners, pros and friends compressed against the Rincon rocks on an incoming king tide during an Easter full moon(included amongst others are Alan Green, Bob McKnight (filming), Shaun Tomson, Critta Byrne, Bud Llamas, Vince Collier, Wayne Lynch, John Law, Jack McCoy and the greatly missed John Pawson.

Derek Hynd 2026

Quiksilver Trials Bells Beach, Victoria 1979

Buzzy Kerbox, foreground, on the fickle mid-tide in the foreground during the 1979 Quiksilver Trials. The best wave of the heat appears to be about to go unridden, the first about to break in The Bowl.

Derek Hynd 2026

MR and Bugs

Rip Curl Pro, Bells

Easter 1980

Mark Richards and Wayne Bartholomew, dusk, post-event 1980. No disrespect to Cheyne Horan or Shaun Tomson, but for a traditional Victorian crowd at Easter, it was all about flannelettes and piss, M.R. and Bugs. Here, M.R. assumes the apologetic politeness of a Clark Kent in victory, while Bugs assumes Churchillian staunchness in defeat.

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Mark Richards, Margo Oberg, Claw, Greeny

Rip Curl Pro, Bells

Easter 1978

Winners Mark Richards and Margo Oberg, Rip Curl Pro 1978 - the latter paying for champers up the nose as Doug Warbrick let's loose another cork. Alan Green offers Doug some sage advice.

Margo Oberg won the women's division at Bells four times (1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981). MR also won four Rip Curl Pro titles (1978, 1979, 1980, 1982) and won the 1978 final on a twin-fin against Rabbit, riding a single-fin.

D. Hynd / Amac 2026

Keone Downing, Steve Jones, Terry Richardson

Rip Curl Pro, Bells

Easter 1979

Keone Downing contemplates his completed heat at Rincon in 1979 as Steve Jones warms himself.The great single-fin-channel-bottom rider of the day Terry Richardson looms large for his heat.

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

Buzzy Kerbox, Larry Blair
2SM Coke Surfabout 
Bells Beach, Victoria

1979

Larry Blair and and Buzzy Kerbox prepare with a sense of urgency shortly after arriving at the airlifted 1979 2SM Coke Surfabout. No time to waste. With Bells pumping, the big gamble has paid off.

Derek Hynd 2026

The 1979 2SM Coke Surfabout was notable as the first airlifted surf event in history. When Sydney's northern beaches remained flat for eight days, contest director Paul Holmes organised the unprecedented transport of the final 16 surfers, officials, and TV crew via six light aircraft to Bells Beach in Victoria to compete in 8-10 foot waves. Photographer Peter Crawford travelled with the surfers. The airlift from Narrabeen to Bells was a massive logistical feat, undertaken at great cost to sponsors Coca-Cola and radio station 2SM, to ensure the show went on. Cheyne Horan defeated Larry Blair and Simon Anderson to claim the title in dramatic, big waves. The event was the richest in professional surfing at the time and won a Gold Logie for 'Best Sports Event' on its television broadcast. Surfabout pioneered the "man-on-man" elimination format, adding intense excitement for spectators and viewers.

Amac 2026