Ric Chan

Ric Chan is a surf photographer with Chinese heritage, who arrived in Western Australia in 1969 to cover the first National Surfing titles. Originally from New Zealand, he had been travelling along the East Coast in the mid 1960s. His photos brilliantly captured Australian surfing and cultural history for over a decade until he left for Bali, Indonesia in the early 1980s. Ric moved back to New Zealand in the 1990s starring in the television series Xena Princess Warrior and working in creative mediums such as film and radio. Now in his 80s Ric lives in Mandurah, Western Australia, with his family.

This series of images features the 1970s Surfin Safari event held at Trigg Beach. Rock band concerts and beach girl beauty contests were regular occurrences on our metro beaches. The entertainment events were normally sponsored by Perth radio stations and drew big crowds. Scarborough surfers Kirk ‘Boonga’ Ball, and Charles “Chuck” Stewart were in the crowd, as well as the State surfing champion, Tony Hardy.  Surf event promoter Tim Duff arranged an aerial flying display over Trigg Point, during a Trigg Point surfing contest. It was described as an amazing aerial display with coloured vapour trails and the pinnacle of surf promotion in WA at that time.