The history of Peter Berry

[Mike Fernandez]

Please stick to historical facts about the person, or well founded rumors, but no opinions (EI:I think George Greenough is great because he invented the spoon.) This does no good in attaining the history of the person.

[Tony Wales]

I have put a couple of shots of Peter Berry up in my Personal Gallery. Go to: album.php?user_id=1930

Peter Berry was the backbone of the Southside Kneeriders Club in Sydney when it was formed in 1984. Prior to that Peter had been involved in running the Sitmar Cruises events at Maroubra in the late 70s. A lot of kneelos from Sydney owe a debt to Peter even if they don't know it - especially if at any time they surfed in Southside or Sydney Club events.

[Headwax.]

Great pics TonY!

I;ve gort a few minutes, if you put up with the typos.

Peter was the old man of the sea while we were all babes. He wore a long beard and had squinty eyes. He had a car, a four wheel drive thing, khaki coloured. Maybe a land crusieer. He had a lot of hangers on, most not as strange as he was.

He took plenty of film of his surfing exploits, seemed to wander around in the desert alot to get the footage.

His boards were the radical thing. Fibreglass rails that looked like they would cut your fingers off at the knuckle, A lot of them seemed to have spacey aluminium tubing to hold onto and kneel between, just the thing for taking out in the northwesters at maroubra just before the big storm hit in summer, and had you running up the beach so you wouldn't get electrocuted.

The boards went like they looked, they could cut a line through a wave like a cheesecutter would cut through half melted butter... I don't think I ever saw one turn in the tradiotional sense, you had to manhandle the rails and drag them around... still it was the seventies and boards weren't meant to turn.

We were all riding slabs or heavy duty HB pintails, Berry's boards were a refreshing change.

One of his crew was a guy called Cameraon or similar. He was a cool dude with long wavy hair he once had a job in the Coogee beach surf shop, somewhere on the hill and not close to the beach at all.

I hear now he has changed his haircut, lives with his mum and rides shotgun for the Sydney Kneeboard club.

(Not that they can show their faces after ringing in those ringins at their last show.)

that's all I can tell you, and not all of it correct.

But he was there at the beginning of the MKA, the meeting, the lining up at the little desk at South Maroubra club to pay our dues. Berry and Glen Perry and Rod what's his name with the keel fin Taren point board and Parksey, and John Oneil who apparently still lives in mascott and is rumoured to frequent Phillip Island every year.

So many old faces ...

tapping into the pensive

cheers

[DYdamo]

Not that they can show their faces after ringing in those ringins at their last show.)

So Andrew......TELL me....who are the ring-ins.....PLEASE

[Headwax.]

Hi Damo

That'll teach me for typing stream of consciousness.

I'm truly very sorry to let the cat out of the bag.

I really did think this was common knowledge!!

Best to get in touch with one of the organisers for the details.

I'm sure they won't mind.

You can check the details with Mel from the Novos, the wackas (Smurf?) or the Sydney Captain. They all have their emails on their sites.

Apologies for clogging up Peter's thread!

At least there are now more than two posts on it!


cheers

[DYdamo]

responded then deleted .....don't care anymore.....

[Headwax.]

From the photos that Tony posted Peter Berry was not as old and craggy as my ninteen year old brain had imagined.

I see that Chris Crox in the photos section seems to be Berry/GG incarnated, all-be it with carbon fibre and kevlon.

[albumimg]14289[/albumimg]


Off topic:

apologies Damo,

all in the spirit of fun. I'm sorry that you took it otherwise. I guess I'll add you to the small but growing list of kneelos who desire to stick pins in my wax effigy at night.

In the last post, I used a false and unfair way of "arguing", as seen in the old expression "when did you stop beating your wife?" which implies that an unproven "fact" is true and argues from that standpoint. It's probably a non sequeteur and a fine example of 'begging the question." Could be wrong though.

From wikipeadia

Formally speaking, the fallacy of petitio principii has the following structure: For some proposition p,

p implies q
suppose p
therefore, q.

take care

Andrew Finnie

[Tony Wales]

On Thursday night, March 20 '08, I attended the book launch at Northies Pub at Cronulla of "Beyond The Green Room - A History Of Boardriding Clubs From Bondi To Garie". While ASP head honcho Rabbit Bartholomew was launching the book I was having a look around the crowd and spotted Maroubra kneelo stalwart Cameron Haynes, when the formalities were over I headed over to Cameron and lo-and-behold he was there with Peter Berry.

Cam, Peter and I pealled off from the crowd and sat down and had a good chat for an hour or so (ironcally not one beer was consumed by any of us - how times change). Naturally a lot of the chat involved the formation of the Southside Kneelo Club and the old Maroubra Pro-Am contests - lots of stories and laughs.

Peter is in his early 60s now - still looks the same as he did in his 30s - and he still the same old Peter. Sadly his mum pased away recently.

Peter receives much deserved acknowledgment in the Beyond The Green Room book for keeping the Southside Surfriders Association alive during the 80's:

Quote: During the 1970s and early 1980s, Peter Berry and Don Bosco ably held the Southside together. It is ironic that for a period in the mind 1980s, the Southside was soley run by Peter Berry, who was infact a kneerider, not a stand up surfer."

I spoke with Peter Hunt who compiled the book on behalf of Surfing Australia and he correctly points out that the book never set out to be a definitive story on the boardriders clubs. Sadly the Southside Kneeriders which morphed into Sydney Kneeriders Club are not represented in the book - which is a shame as the Southside Club was the only club to actually cover the enitre geographical area from Bondi to Garie.

Peter Berry told me he was interviewed for the book but the information he supplied was not used and at the time he was unable to provide extra material. Talking to representatives from the Cronulla Boardriders, Cronulla Point Boardriders and Christian Surfers clubs they told me that they wrote the articles themselves and Peter Hunt compiled the stories as submitted.

The book is very much an "oral history" of the clubs, the stories and the legends, pretty much the same converstaion which Peter, Cameron and I had that night.

FYI: I will be contacting Peter Hunt to point out that nobody should be amazed that a kneelo kept the sport together in the mid 80s (not to detract from PB great contibution)- at that time kneelos were Presidents of the three biggest state associations in Surfing Australia; Robert "Bushy" Mitchell in Queensland, Ian Pewtress in Victoria and myself in NSW, ofcourse in NSW Mick Mock was the overworked, overstressed and overacheiving State Director and also guys like Tony Booth and Damien Coase did a lot of the leg work on the Central Coast and Newcastle.

[Headwax.]

Great work Tony. Thanks for the update

[Tony Wales]

One of his crew was a guy called Cameraon or similar. He was a cool dude with long wavy hair he once had a job in the Coogee beach surf shop, somewhere on the hill and not close to the beach at all.

The Cameron in question is Neil Cameron - not to be confused with Cameron Haynes - who never had any hair!!

A couple of years ago I was going out for a surf at Voodoo when i spotted a guy coming out of the surf carrying an old Peter Berry UFO - it was Neil Cameron, so yes he is still around.

[Tony Wales]

I have just been made aware of a video posted on You Tube by Andrew Finnie of an old Maroubra Kneeriders Club contest and the Sitmar Contests - ofcourse Peter Berry was a major contributor to both the club and the events. In the video there is footage of the 1979 Sitmar Cruises contest - when Peter, Cameron and I were having out chat on Thursday night Peter mentioned that he still had the screens for that T-Shirt at his place.

Me, droooling, must have ... must have ... must have ...

Here is the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDhsxsRbMGU

Thanks to Andrew for posting the video.

[Neal]

One of his crew was a guy called Cameraon or similar. He was a cool dude with long wavy hair he once had a job in the Coogee beach surf shop, somewhere on the hill and not close to the beach at all.

The Cameron in question is Neil Cameron - not to be confused with Cameron Haynes - who never had any hair!!

A couple of years ago I was going out for a surf at Voodoo when i spotted a guy coming out of the surf carrying an old Peter Berry UFO - it was Neil Cameron, so yes he is still around.

Thanx Tony, yes im still around (neal cameron) and have been working on a project with peter berry recently...cameron haynes and i went to the same primary school,..in fact, we may have even gone to kindergarten as well..In those days cameron and i sported a crew -cut..Cameron and i are still surfing..Peter gave it away in disgust 20 years ago (i will get him back in one day)..