Aloha and Welcome to the LEGENDARY SURFERS chapter on the early days of surfing in Aotearoa New Zealand that ties together Māori origins, the lifesaving era, and the late-’50s Malibu breakthrough.
Māori Traditions
Polynesians were the first to settle in the islands we now call New Zealand, or Aotearoa. They accomplished this in a series of planned and coordinated migrations in open ocean double hulled canoes, departing southward from Raʻiātea, which, in the local dialect, was called Havai'i – “birthplace of the gods,” not only the departure point for migrations south, but also east, to Hawai’i and Rapa Nui
Traditional genealogies (whakapapa) point to 1350 CE as the probable arrival date for many of the founding canoes (waka) from which many Māori trace their descent. Over time, in isolation, these Polynesian settlers developed their own distinct Māori culture. Contact with Europeans first occured in 1642, but did not really start until 1769.
Like their immediate ancestors, the Polynesians, Māori had their own wave riding traditions. On summer days, children and adults would ride kopapa (short wooden planks), small canoes, and even pōhā (inflated kelp bags) down the faces of breaking waves. These practices, known as whakahekeheke, were a fun part of coastal life. Missionaries arriving in the 1800s discouraged the pastime, regarding it as frivolous, and it gradually slipped from regular practice.
The Lifesaving Era
Similar to what was happening in all other English-speaking countries, in the beginning 1900s, “surf bathing” – swimming in the surf – became popular (again). As cities like Wellington and Christchurch laid tramlines to the beaches, whole communities flocked to the water on weekends. With the popularity came danger: drownings mounted. New Zealanders responded by forming Surf Lifesaving Clubs (SLSCs), just as had occurred in Australia.
In 1910, Lyall Bay SLSC was founded in Wellington, the nation’s first. Within a few years, clubs sprang up at New Brighton (Christchurch), Muriwai (Auckland), and Piha on the west coast. Their focus was rescue work. Lifeguards developed techniques using belt reels, rescue boards, and surf boats – heavy wooden craft rowed or paddled through pounding surf. Riding waves for fun was not yet their priority, but the seeds were sown.
Duke’s Visit, 1915
A great turning point came in 1915, when Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaiian Olympic champion and ambassador of surfing, toured New Zealand after his surf demonstration triumphs in Australia.
Duke gave two surfing demonstrations in the Land of the Long Cloud, one off the coast of the North Island and the other in the South. It is possible that while he was giving swimming demonstrations at other beaches, he may have also surfed, but these are not documented to my knowledge.
His main and best-documented surfing demonstration was held on 7 March 1915, when Duke used a board he had shaped locally, from New Zealand timber (kahikatea). This event is widely recognized as the introduction of stand-up board surfing to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Duke also gave an exhibition of swimming and surfboard riding at New Brighton beach in March 1915, while visiting Christchurch. The waves there were less favorable than Wellington, but he still rode some.
Though few boards existed in the country, Duke’s demonstrations inspired many. Contemporary and retrospective accounts agree that this moment “revived” surfing in Aotearoa, even if it would take decades for the culture to mature.
Interwar Years
In the decades after Duke’s visit, New Zealand surf culture grew inside the surf lifesaving movement. A few enthusiasts experimented with solid wooden surfboards, often modeled on Hawaiian or Australian designs. These boards were big, heavy, difficult to transport and mostly used as rescue boards. Still, some lifesavers rode them straight into shore during quiet moments between patrols.
Just like Australian SLSC’s were slow – even resistant – to include surfboards as a bona fide rescue tool, so, too, were New Zealand SLSC’s. Lifesaving competitions, for instance, promoted the use of other wave craft: (1) Rescue boards, often hollow by the mid-1930s, paddled prone or on the knees; (2) Surf boats, large rowing craft that became iconic in competitions; and (3) Surf skis, narrow sit-on-top paddling boards imported from Australia, which locals quickly adapted and started making their own.
Piha and the Teardrop Ski
On Auckland’s rugged west coast, Piha became a center of wave craft innovation, after forming a SLSC in 1934. Its heavy surf demanded strong equipment and skilled lifesavers. So, in the late 1930s and ‘40s, Don Wright, a Piha lifesaver, refined the Australian surf ski to meet the tougher local conditions. His teardrop-shaped surf ski was wider in the middle and more maneuverable than Australian models, sacrificing a little bit of speed for more stability.
The Piha Teardrop Ski spread quickly to clubs around New Zealand. Though it was primarily a rescue craft, it encouraged wave-riding. Lifeguards could catch broken waves back to shore, gliding in tandem with the surf. While it wasn’t “surfing” in the modern sense, it kept alive the thrill of riding waves just for fun.
After WWII
After World War II, lifesaving clubs flourished. Patrols grew, carnivals drew big crowds, and board-and-ski events became central to competitions. Riders typically caught waves straight toward the beach on their long, heavy boards. Few managed to angle across the wave face, and the boards themselves lacked the lightness and fins needed for sharp turns.
Magazines in the 1950s circulated plans for hollow boards with added rocker and even keels. A handful of experimenters tinkered with these ideas, but for most, surfing remained a sideline of lifesaving. The surf lifesaver, rather than the surfer, was still the dominant beach figure.
The Malibu Breakthrough
Everything changed at Piha in the summer of 1958–59. Two young Californian lifeguards, Bing Copeland and Rick Stoner, visited New Zealand while traveling the world. They brought with them their own Malibu Boards. These were lightweight, streamlined surfboards made from balsa encased in fiberglass, with a fixed fin.
Originally a brainchild of Bob Simmons, who incorporated Bud Morrissey’s parallel rails, his shapes were made from lightweight materials, including balsa wood, and sealed in fiberglass. After Simmons discounted the value of lightness, his plan shapes were further refined by Joe Quigg and Matt Kivlin, who championed the lightness of all-balsa boards protected from soaking by coating with fiberglass. This design and composition had taken Southern California by storm, causing wood planks to become obsolete.
In the powerful Piha surf, Copeland and Stoner demonstrated a completely new style unseen: cutting across wave faces, turning, trimming, and gliding with speed. Locals were stunned. For the first time, New Zealanders saw surfing as an art in itself, not just a way to come straight in on a rescue board.
Bing Copeland later recalled: “Upon returning to the beach we were surrounded by guys wanting to give our boards a go. I believe our boards never left the water during the daylight hours for the next few weeks.”
While in the country, Copeland & Rick Stoner helped New Zealanders build copies of their boards, mentoring a young Piha clubbie Peter Byers and others.
After the Americans left, Peter Byers started making boards for others and by late 1959 he was shaping the first commercial surfboards in New Zealand. Within months, a small but dedicated community of “surf riders” emerged alongside the clubbies. Surfing’s modern era had arrived on the shores of Aotearoa New Zealand.
End Note
It has been estimated that by 1960, there were six boardmakers and 75 surfers riding Malibu-styled surfboards. By 1967, the numbers had grown tremendously to about a dozen board makers and 15,000 surfers. Today, of course, those numbers have vastly grown.
Sources & Resources
Te Ara – Lifesaving and surfing (esp. “The rise of surfing” and “Lifesaving develops”). Authoritative national overview linking Māori origins, Duke’s 1915 tour, SLSC craft, and the Malibu arrival.
Surfbreak Protection Society & NZ media on Duke’s 1915 NZ demonstrations (locations/dates, centennial retrospectives).
SurfResearch.com.au -- collations on Duke’s 1914–15 tours and NZ lifesaving craft in the 1920s–50s.
Piha local histories on the 1958–59 Copeland/Stoner visit and early boardbuilding.
1915 newspapers (e.g., Evening Post, Christchurch Star) published reports of Duke’s surf rides.
Piha SLSC archives preserve photos of Don Wright’s teardrop surf skis.
1959 Surfboards – early Byers boards occasionally surface in collections/museums.
Matt Warshaw's The Encyclopedia of Surfing, 2003, p. 409.
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