History of Surfing

Where Did It All Begin?

Paradise spawned a great aquatic sport - surfing was an integral part of Hawaiian culture by the time Captain Cook arrived on the Kona coast in 1779. His journal described in great detail the act of riding on a shaped piece of hardwood as the great waves rushed towards the shore - men and women either lying or standing on a wooden board and directing it towards the beach as the swell of wave carried them along. However, even though we have evidence from the writings of both Captain Cook and his First Lieutenant James King and drawings depicting the activity in the archives, there is no definitive evidence of where and when surfing first began. Experts have not been able to determine the exact movements of the Polynesian people and there are records that show surfing was part of the heritage of those in New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, the Marquesas and the Hawaiian islands. It is however believed that the art of standing on the surfboard and controlling it to ride the waves was refined if not initiated in Hawaii.

When Captain Cook and James King wrote about Hawaii and the way the locals "played" in the sea it sealed the fate of a people who had been developing over thousands of years - a people who lived by a strict set of rules based on taboos. They had rituals and beliefs that tied them closely to the sea and to the land and they had gods and festivals that celebrated their way of life and their use of the sea - surfing was enjoyed by all yet was definitely the sport of Kings.

Once word got out the Hawaiian islands attracted the attention of many more of the white people and more ships arrived bringing all manner of disease and ideas. Missionaries brought new Gods - new languages - new ideas and new beliefs. Surfing and it's rich culture began to die out and the ceremonies and taboos that had ruled the Polynesian people faded, to be replaced by the white man's world. A population of between 400,000 and 800,000 had shrunk to a mere 40,000 by 1896 - all due to the disease, alcohol and various other poisons that were brought to the islands by other cultures. Missionaries frowned on the waste of time spent on surfing and playing - on the lack of clothing of both men and women - and the mixing of the sexes in so many areas of life. As the Polynesian culture began to change the desire to surf and all of the rituals and knowledge that accompanied it, gradually faded away. But there were a few who maintained the sport of surfing even though their culture, their beliefs and their land had been overrun. Visitors would sometimes attempt to "catch a wave" while in the islands and those who did would take that experience home with them. But in comparison to the way it was when Cook first arrived the love and sport of surfing had all but died. It wasn't until 1907 when arenownedauthor, Jack London, and his wife were vacationing in Hawaii that the stirrings of a resurgence in popularity began. How ironic that the practice of surfing was virtually wiped out by the white missionaries and their influence on the natives and yet it was three white men who are credited with bringing back the "sport of king".