THE Big Wednesday exhibition at the Orange Regional Gallery was opened by the member for Orange, keen surfer and ex-resident of Newcastle, Andrew Gee, last Wednesday with an audience of approximately 60-70 people (including many children), several of whom stayed for a viewing of the iconic surf movie of the same name.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Andrew shared a number of stories with the gathering including a time where he and his brother found themselves many hundreds of metres off shore of the Newcastle coast one evening with the night lights on the cliff faces in the foreground and the lights of the coal ships in the background and a long and difficult paddle to reach shore safely. Alas no shark stories.
The Big Wednesday exhibition features a collection of 20 surfboards leant to the gallery for the exhibition from residents that for one reason or another have found themselves in Orange and region but who have retained a love of surfing.
While the boards themselves provide a wonderful visual experience the stories and photos that accompany them are what makes the exhibition a must see.
A smattering of themes for these surf tales includes encounters with four-time world surfing champion Mark Richards from Newcastle, surfing in Nicaragua and New Zealand, a local councillor’s stories of surfing in the 60s in Sydney, an original Jack Haley balsa and fibreglass board (pre-dating blown foam, the interior of surfboards was made from balsa wood) and its journey from California to Orange, stories of surfing at Yamba, Coffs Harbour, Seal Rocks, Shelly Beach, Lurlime Bay and of course Lake Canobolas.
The story of Bush Nippers and its formation in Orange is also a must read.
The exhibition also features footage taken by Chris Bryan of what is regarded as one of the heaviest (big waves) days at Teahupoʻo, a village on the south-west coast of the island of Tahiti.
Super slow motion footage of surfing at some of the famous breaks in Australia is also featured. Enjoy.
The exhibition is open every day until it closes on March 1.