Who is Robert Conneeley?

[foamy]

Aussie Surfing Legend Status - What qualifies a man for that honour foamy, specifically, what are the qualifications, in your view, that are needed to qualify for such an honour?

Ummmmm.

Robert Conneeley, junior world champion and innovative board designer and an Australian Hall Surfing Hall of Fame Award winner. That is enough for me to confer Aussie surfing legend status. I guess I could be a harder marker, but it is just surfing.

Possibly, any of those three, depending on the level. To have all three, that will do me.

[Larry]

Your pantheon isn't mine ...

[oldman]

I'm with Larry.

Surfing - legend. Fark that.

[Skipper]

Skipper, got your head on the right way mate, or does everything need a footnote with you?

I suspect my irony detector is on the blink.
Could be saltwater aspiration or too many negative ions from the barrage of lightning cracking about me tonight.

[Larry]

You have to watch that skip, that irony, it delineates the impurity of notional thought - but this is just a surfing forum, shit like that just passes us by.

[Skipper]

Yeah surfing. I vaguely recall the feeling.

[Beanpole]

You have to watch that skip, that irony, it delineates the impurity of notional thought - but this is just a surfing forum, shit like that just passes us by.

That's why they have banned puns in China. A few double entendres and the place will go to the shitehouse.

Connelly seems kind of legendary to me as far as legendary stuff goes in relation to earlyish Australian board designers and explorers of that era. People seem more legendary the further away from you they are. Being in the Hall of Fame and razzed by Lazz is a double whammy. Legend.

[Larry]

roll them up

[surfresearch]

1. Who is Robert Conneely? A board builder? Ship builder? Any knowledge in the brains trust?
Robert 'Bonza' Conneely
Bondi, Natural foot.
Began surf riding as a junvenile with surfoplanes.
1958- first balsa wood Malibu by Gordon Woods
Holiday residence at Cudmirra, NSW with direct access to the family named Conneely's Reef.
2nd Juniors, Australian Titles, Bondi 1963
circa 1963-4 Shares house at Sunset Point, Hawaii with Hayden Kenny, Doc Spence and others.
1964- 4th (Gordon Woods Custom, 9 ft 8'' x 21 1/2'' x 2 3/4") Makaha International Championship, Hawaii (December)
circa 1964 Vice-President of the Australian chapter of the Windansea Surf Club
1st Juniors, 1964 Australian Championships, Manly NSW (May, Nat 2nd)
1st ,1965 Bells Beach Contest, Vic (Easter) This contest was noted for its large surf, Nat 2nd again.
5th, 1966 Australian Titles, Greenmount, Queensland
In 1966 Robert Conneely was sponsored to San Diego World Titles by Hayden Surfboards.
circa 1966?, Robert Conneely’s Surf Shop, 164 Campbell Parade Bondi Beach.
Hayden Surfboards-Robert Conneely's Spaceship model, circa 1967
Finalist 1968 Australian Titles, North side, Sydney (May)
Hayden Surfboards- Robert Conneely Expression model, circa 1968
1970, extended North coast excursion includes George Greenough inspired Hull designs at Wilderness Surfboards, Angourie.
Gordon and Smith Surfboards 1974
Moved to Western Australia, circa 1975?

2. I came across this board minus fin and am intrigued by the design and wonder what profile 'skeg' it might have been paired with...
Bugger. Photos too big. Will upload tomorrow...
See:
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000304.html
For the Hull design (with some Conneely content) see:
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000326.html
If further information is required, please email me via the webpage.
Geoff

[Beanpole]

Robert Conneeley does not hold 'mega legend status' amongst older surfers .. etc etc - That's just NC blowing off about a bloke and an age he knows nothing about.
Conneeley was a goose, he tried to surf fin up one day and ripped a gonad loose when it all went wrong, he oiled his hair and looked at girls. He was careful of his company. He wasn't a graceful surfer and had little poise on a wave, plus he couldn't go left - this was admitted in an interview once I forget where.
He was a good bloke though, and he did ok at big Bells.
Big deal.
We used to catch the same bus down to Bondi on the weekends, I used to pour his old man beer at the Diggers -

'Mega legend?


Turn it up.

Well, shite, if he oiled his hair and looked at girls that negates all that other stuff achievement wise I guess

[Yuke Hunt]

Larry definitely seems to have a disliking for the boy ... ?

My guess ... Robbie pantsed his sister back in the day.

['llo-and Behold]

Cheers Geoff.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xu1je6xbc7rym ... 8.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kjjo5apm59kap ... 2.JPG?dl=0

[Beanpole]

That ones very similar to the one I had and looks from about the same vintage.
Mid to late seventies. Mine was a rounded off squaretail.