Bondi Stories, vol.1.

A
The Lost Valley
ll beaches have a local crew, guys that have paid
their dues, done their time and earned their spot in
the lineup. But, few beaches are as universally known
and ridiculed as my local. Bondi is known, to the real
core local surfers, as Scum Valley. The term was coined
way back before the beach became a magnet for media
tycoons, yuppies, cafes and would be actors, when big
Maoris and bikies ruled the streets and tough pubs were
the norm. Bondi was rock-n-roll in those days, not the
generic pop shit served up today. But, what is not widely
known, is that Bondi has always had, and still does have,
a hard core local crew of surfers.
Over the years, numerous Bondi locals have made it
on the world stage, most notably Cheyne Horan and
Richard Cram. But, just below these guys were dozens of
surfers who, at any other beach, would have been the
standout surfer, guys like Ant Corrigan, Col Sutherland,
Dean Cook, Spot Anderson, Bill Power, Dave Davidson,
Mikey Beam and George Wales.
In the 35+ years I’ve called Bondi my home break,
I’ve seen a lot of changes, most of them not great, from
a locals point of view. I've seen some great waves and
some insane surfing, seen guys come and go, and seen
way too many of the boys, guys I’ve grown up with, who
didn't make it out the other side.
So, that’s what makes this day so special.
The bi-annual Bondi Single Fin Classic was first run five