Arrived to Australia from Hawaii and it is the biggest sport mania down under. Australia has about 2 millions surfers.
The origins of surf remounts to the Ancient Polynesian Culture and it has been first describe in 1769 by Joseph Banks during the first voyage of James Cook. (...)
Surfing was brought to Australia in 1914 by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku. “The Duke”, Olympic champion, was invited to give a surfboard riding exhibition, and promptly shaped a surfboard out of a solid piece of Queensland Sugar Pine. After Duke left Australia, Claude West, "the Hawaiian's star pupil" became Australia's first surf champ and ruled as such from 1915 thru 1924.
“Surfing soon captured the imagination of locals and quickly built up a cult of devotees and proceeded to capture the imagination of sporting Australians. A whole way of life had developed around surfing and the search for the perfect wave. It soon became commonplace along coastal towns to find long-haired surfers cruising the more popular beaches in beaten-up old cars full of friends, surfboards and good humour. In the early sixties, surfing was then introduced to Europe by Australian Lifeguards.” (...)
Australia has some of the best surfing sites in the world. In 1925, at a relatively isolated spot near a long white surf beach, Jim Cavill opened his 16 bedroom hotel and the surrounding township of Elston came to life and soon became known as Surfers Paradise, in the Gold Coast becoming one of the best places to catch a wave.