Isabel Letham

Born: 1905 in Australia
Death: 1995 in Australia
From: Australia
Known for: 'Mother of Australian surfing

Bio:

She is the first Australian female to surf at the age of 15. There were no competitions at this time but she surfed with a prominent Olympic gold medal winner Duke Kahanamoku by riding tandem on a pine board. He had a demonstration at a local beach near Letham and she was one of the first in line to volunteer. At the time she was still in school. At the time, she reported she felt as if she were going off of a cliff with each wave. She surfed at Sydney's Freshwater Beach after this and kept surfing after Kahanamoku left back to Hawaii. She was named grand patron of Australian Women Surferiders Association. In 1993, she became of apart of Australian Hall of Fame. She died in 1995 and her ashes were scattered at Freshwater.

Lethem was also known for being an accomplished swimmer and body surfer. She taught many people in the United States and Australia how to swim. At one point, she was the Director of Swimming for the City of San Francisco in 1924. She also introduced water ballet to Australia.

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE2231b.htm

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