Torquay on the Great Ocean Road has a rich surfing history
Everybody knows that Australia is a sports mad country. Australians especially love water sports and amongst those, thanks to being blessed with some of the best beaches in the world, Australians have produced some of the world's greatest surfers. A lesser known fact is that Australia has been the birthplace of some of the most successful surfing related brand names in the world. At least two of these brand names began in the little town of Torquay, Victoria, just sixty miles (ninety-five kilometers) away from Melbourne.
In the early days of surfing's modern history, there was no such thing as "surfwear." Surfers had to improvise: they would cut off a pair of jeans or buy oversized trunks that gave them the freedom of movement they needed. While Hawaiian shirts became a fad amongst surfers, they were not strictly speaking "surfwear." It was two small companies in Torquay that can be credited with the invention of surf clothing.
They have both gone international now, but the two largest manufacturers of surfwear in the world, Quiksilver and Rip Curl, both have their origins in Torquay. One of the biggest surfing competitions in the world, the Rip Curl Bells Beach has been running since since the early 1960s and became a professional contest in 1973. Back then, it was run on a shoestring and the most the winners could hope for as a prize was to win back their travel expenses. Today, it is a multi-million dollar contest that is an important part of the world surfing circuit.
From its early years, this Torquay contest has played an important part in the history of surfing. Back in 1981, some of the biggest waves in the contest's history took Simon Anderson to his second Bells Beach victory. Simon Anderson rode those waves on a surfboard of his own design. His "thruster" surfboard proved itself on that day and variations on that design can be seen in all modern short boards.
A city that has played such a prominent role in the history of surfing is naturally going to have a surfing museum. As you would expect from a small town that thinks big, Surf World Museum in Torquay is the largest museum dedicated solely to surfing culture in the world.
But the question remains: does Torquay have anything to offer those who don't surf? Torquay is the first stop on the Great Ocean Road, heralded as one of the world's greatest scenic highways. If you stay in Torquay, you can enjoy the scenery without even having to drive. The Surf Coast Walk takes as long as 11 hours to complete and covers a distance of 19 miles (30 kilometers). Whether you want to tackle it all in a day is up to you, though. It has been segmented, so you can park in one area and take in as much or as little as you like in a day.
Non-surfers often don't know this, but the world's greatest waves are usually found along the world's most stunningly beautiful stretches of coastline. When you take the Surf Coast Walk past Bells Beach, Jan Juc and other Torquay surfing spots, you will see this firsthand. Spend a day in a Torquay accommodation. Whether you're a surfer or not, you will have a unique experience you will never forget.
In the early days of surfing's modern history, there was no such thing as "surfwear." Surfers had to improvise: they would cut off a pair of jeans or buy oversized trunks that gave them the freedom of movement they needed. While Hawaiian shirts became a fad amongst surfers, they were not strictly speaking "surfwear." It was two small companies in Torquay that can be credited with the invention of surf clothing.
They have both gone international now, but the two largest manufacturers of surfwear in the world, Quiksilver and Rip Curl, both have their origins in Torquay. One of the biggest surfing competitions in the world, the Rip Curl Bells Beach has been running since since the early 1960s and became a professional contest in 1973. Back then, it was run on a shoestring and the most the winners could hope for as a prize was to win back their travel expenses. Today, it is a multi-million dollar contest that is an important part of the world surfing circuit.
From its early years, this Torquay contest has played an important part in the history of surfing. Back in 1981, some of the biggest waves in the contest's history took Simon Anderson to his second Bells Beach victory. Simon Anderson rode those waves on a surfboard of his own design. His "thruster" surfboard proved itself on that day and variations on that design can be seen in all modern short boards.
A city that has played such a prominent role in the history of surfing is naturally going to have a surfing museum. As you would expect from a small town that thinks big, Surf World Museum in Torquay is the largest museum dedicated solely to surfing culture in the world.
But the question remains: does Torquay have anything to offer those who don't surf? Torquay is the first stop on the Great Ocean Road, heralded as one of the world's greatest scenic highways. If you stay in Torquay, you can enjoy the scenery without even having to drive. The Surf Coast Walk takes as long as 11 hours to complete and covers a distance of 19 miles (30 kilometers). Whether you want to tackle it all in a day is up to you, though. It has been segmented, so you can park in one area and take in as much or as little as you like in a day.
Non-surfers often don't know this, but the world's greatest waves are usually found along the world's most stunningly beautiful stretches of coastline. When you take the Surf Coast Walk past Bells Beach, Jan Juc and other Torquay surfing spots, you will see this firsthand. Spend a day in a Torquay accommodation. Whether you're a surfer or not, you will have a unique experience you will never forget.
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