RealSurf Surfers' Forum

>>a blank only with no glass or resin, and no fin

I saw Nick Carroll commented on Beach Grit.

"Respectfully I disagree with Matt's summation of Midget as "unpopular". Or maybe gainsay it. He was the most respected and loved Australian surfer of all time. Wait for the tributes you'll read over the coming days from all the great surfers who've gained from their contact with the guy. The paddle-out for him will be the biggest ever."

we relish the mire and miscreants until innocence is lost. it's then we know we've truly lost something.

Hope to see some great old footage come up soon.

From Derek Hynd.

"About Bernard Midget Farrelly - alot's going to be written over the days, weeks, months. Bringing it all down to the nub though - He Could Be Believed - He Was Worth Believing. Thus he was one of the greatest exceptions to the rule of surfing. Simply, telling it the way it was. Erudite to an intricate fault, spanning the disciplines of Surf Board Riding, Hang Gliding and Wind Surfing from pioneer levels, developing an industry around his talent; and being arguably the greatest contest surfer of the 1960's via Makaha then Manly then runner up losses in countbacks at Puerto Rico and Bells, Midget was far more of a broad doyen than just about anyone who has ever existed in the lifestyle. Critically important was the grand enduring controversy surrounding Nat, Bob, and the rise of the Witzig media style - little known amidst this shift in surfing world politics at the centre of the mid '60's was a profound personal tragedy that far outweighed any supposed new way of presenting surfing to the public. Simply, things far closer to home changed the man. Surf shit was penny ante compared to a far bigger picture - Life, Death and The Universe. A truly great man, gone."

Surfing today at Dee Why, around midday, nor easter already blowing and look north.........5 or 6 hang gliders riding the up currents off Long Reef. A throwback to a time of Midget. Just had a nice feel to it.

Back in about 1968 when I was at school there was a photo of Midget in the Herald surfing a sizeable wave on a bellyboard. This was because he had broken his leg. His leg was in a plaster cast and covered in plastic to make it waterproof. He just couldn't stay out of the water. A long shot but does anyone have that photo?

ChrisB ... Try the Trove site, they have most newspapers online.