Tim Vanderlaan Go Pro

Tim has long been one of Cronulla’s longest surviving surf photographers who started shooting surf photos back in the Seventies. He still lives and shoots in the Cronulla area and has been known for  pushing the boundaries with his experimental camera boards. With the introduction of the Go Pro Tim’s got a new toy to play with. This shot taken at Wanda Beach May 2013.

 

Old Joes Milkbar

Inside Old Joes Milkbar at North Cronulla just before it was closed for business in the 90s and demolished it was a walk back in time. Advertising posters from the past still displayed and out dated parlor games along with more modern pinny machines. The counter was always the same, Toffee apples, milk shakes and hot chips bring back fond memories of youthful days spent at the beach.

South Cronulla 1955

The Beachfront and concrete walkway at South Cronulla 1955.

The Cecil Hotel

Many a good time was had at The Cecil Hotel at South Cronulla back in the day.

Pikers Hole

The most recent and heaviest reef discovery is Pikers Hole near Kurnell. Although it was surfed in the 70’s by a adventuress small few  it remained virtually riderless until 2000. It rates up there as one of the worlds heaviest slabs. On a big day its like Waimea Shorey in reverse on reef steroids. Photo Craig Stroh.

 

Cronulla Theatre

Cronulla Theatre opened on the 5th Oct 1928 and although there have been many renovations over the years the outside structure still remains intact today. In the 80’s bands like ACDC played there when it became a rock venue called The Last Picture Theatre for a short time.This shot was taken on the opening day.

Cronulla Steam Train

The Sutherland to Cronulla Steam Train operated from 1911 to 1932 and was eventually replaced with the train line which still exists today. The Steam train would turn around at Shelly Park for the return visit to Suthurland. 

 

Jim Banks Logo

 Jim Banks has been shaping boards since 1971 in his backyard under the house stripping down old boards then re shapping the foam.Banksy then ended up working for Clearline and then for G&S before eventually breaking out on his own.

Jim Davidson/ Spray Artist

Jim Davidson  grew up with a spray can in his hand. At the age of 12 years he found surfing … just starting high school and meeting a new group of mates was the key , they were all psyched on catching the next wave !!! The “mang gang” was formed in 1966 , a bunch of guys getting up at 4.00 am and riding pushbikes or hitch hiking to Cronulla beach , “the alley” was the spot , at that time uncrowded and no hassles from clubbies. They learned to surf , Jim had conned his father into buying a 9’6″ “Bonka” as they called it , coated in orange pigment and weighing about 20 kilos, and it cost the grand sum of $11.00 , it was a monster , jim was about to start “working” on surfboards . With his mate “scaba” (Peter Haling) they stripped the bonka and re-shaped it … ending up with a 4’6″ shorebreak special , then painted it with a red background and a spider over the whole of the deck , the very first paint job on a surfboard .

     From then on it all began , all Jim wanted to do , besides surf , was paint surfboards , pretty soon he coined the phrase ” if it stands still long enough I’ll paint it !!” He was still at high school when he started spraying boards at “JACKSON SURFBOARDS ” all these years later he still thanks “Jacko” for giving him a chance to mess a couple of boards up and as Jacko said “use all the bloody masking tape!!”

     In the 60’s surfers weren’t considered to be very acceptable , they were an wild mob who hung around the beach and had too much fun !!! long haired and flanno shirts , Jim’s dad called them “a bunch of long haired pansies” he fell short of bludgers , but he was thinking it !! Jim’s parents felt he could do better by going to university and getting a respectable career … that didn’t work . After dropping out and working a lot of dead end jobs … Jim deceided it was better to go back to the surfboard factories to self train and hone all his skills to become one of , only a couple of , surfboard spray artists in Sydney. And so it began , his illustrious career .

    In 1974 , he became GORDON & SMITH SURFBOARDS’ full time sprayman-artist , producing up to 100 surfboards a week , this gave him a lot of time to experiment and refine skills at the same time gathering as many skills and methods to produce so many designs , there was no training course and you can’t make mistakes on surfboard foam  you can’t rub out or paint over a mistake , it was a challenge to make every board a bit different to the rest and be stylish and saleable !!! Once he had the skills , people began recommending him to other manufacturers … how could he refuse , it was a passion to paint boards . There was JACKSON , EMERALD , SOUTHERN COMFORT , FORCE 9  in the Cronulla area , from south CARABINE , BYRNE BROTHERS , SKIPP , CHRISTIE soon word got to the northern beaches , BENNETT , ALOHA , CHANNEL ISLANDS , FRIAR TUCK , ISLAND-A-CLASSIC , NATURAL FLIGHT , MIDGET FARRELY and there were more boards generated by the pro-surfers , the board shapers and surfing identities TERRY RICHARDSON , THE BRONZED AUSSIES , PETER TOWNEND , CHEYNE HORAN , MARK OCCHILUPO , JIM BANKS , CRITTER BYRNE , MARK RICHARDS , BRAD MAYES , GRAHAM CASSIDY , ROSS AND DYLAN LONGBOTTOM , GARY HUGHES , ROSS MARSHALL and even MICHAEL PETERSON shaped a number of boards at GORDON &SMITH . It had always been a dream to move to the north coast , so in 1981 Jim and his wife moved to the North Coast. Jims work has appeared everywhere in the surf industry he has dedicated himself to the betterment of the art of surfing and beyond for the best part of his life. Below is one of his most best known artworks the The Storm Riders Movie  Poster.

Pictorial History of Cronulla

 A book published in 1988 dedicated to the history of Cronulla . Coastline shots, the commercial growth of the town, trams and trains and the ever-present water sports of the shire are covered in detail in this heavily illustrated book.Written by Pauline Curby. 128 pages, black & white. A4 format. Its still available.Picture on the cover featured The Point back in the day.