Vintage and collectable surfboards go under the hammer

A Taranaki surfing identity is to part with some of his vast collection of vintage and collectable surfboards at the Easter Masters' Surfing Championships in New Plymouth this weekend.

Wayne "Arch" Arthur will be holding a silent auction of about a dozen surfboards to raise funds for the SurfAid charity and the Taranaki Scholastic Surf team.

The New Zealand surfing pioneer, who was now in his 70s and relocated to Northland, said he had stumbled into collecting surfboards and it was now time to let some of his "babies" go for a good cause.

"I've had a surf shop or two over my time and part of the deal was I took trade-ins and then it got to the point where I was seeing these boards at landfills and I was like 'no, please not. No these things don't deserve to die that sort of a death'. So, I'd save them spend time and effort fixing the dings and giving them one last ride."

Arch, who had amassed a collection of more than 40 boards, said he had just about every local make of board made during the 1960s "that's the old dungas".

Many of those long and heavy boards had been available for the Dunga Derby a "politically incorrect" side event held at the Easter Masters and some adorn the ceiling rack at the New Plymouth Surfriders Club or have been repurposed as honours boards.

"They take a bit to ride and turn so that you know like you know what you're doing, but once you've developed that skill they're okay."

But some of the boards up for sale would even appeal even to a contemporary surfer.

"Man, I've got some classics in there. I've got a 1970-something Tom Smithers twin-fin that's almost like brand new. It has been ridden, but under strict instructions not to damage it. That's likely to go for north of $600."

Another board had more space-age qualities.

"I've got a Pope Bisect which is a bit of an enigma. It's a travel board that pulls apart goes into a carry-case and you can get it on aeroplanes and not have to pay an excess baggage fee to the airline.

"You can also put it in this case and go up lifts to the fourth floor rather than going bong, bong, bong up the staircase, and they ride surprisingly well."

The Pope Bisect retailed for $3000 but its reserve was only $800.

There were, however, some boards Arch could not part with.

"One in particular that I'm not putting up for sale is the very first balsa surfboard ridden by a New Zealand surfer who had been over in Hawaii. It was made by Scott Dillion in Sydney for surfer Campbell Ross."

Another staying put was made by the champion Taranaki skier Peter Quinn.

"Peter could turn his hand to anything. He would not pay full price, he would make it himself and he made these surfboards. I think he only made five or six of them and this is one that survived and I thought 'nah, that's a keeper' so that stays with the club."

Daisy Day, Arch's partner in life and surfing, was in two minds about parting with some of his collection.

"I'll be sad to see them go they've got a lot of history. I remember Arch coming home and saying 'oh, I've got a new find' and there'd be another 10 foot surfboard in the shop or in the house.

"There's still a few left that I've hidden actually and hopefully Arch has forgotten about, but were letting a few, quite a few go."

Arch's Vintage Surfboard Auction

The 30th Fisher and Paykel Easter Masters Surfing Championship will be held around Taranaki 28-31 March.

Boards were available to view from Thursday evening at Masters registration New Plymouth Surfriders Club, Fitzroy Beach.

Main viewing was on Easter Saturday 6.30pm-8pm.

Boards were also available to view online via the NP Surfriders Club Facebook page.

Successful bids announced at the Masters Prizegiving Sunday 7pm at the clubrooms.

SurfAid will receive 25 percent of funds raised while 25 percent will go towards the Taranaki Scholastic Surf Team 2024.