Angourie National Surfing Reserve — as iconic as Morning of the Earth
Angourie Point was declared a national surfing reserve in January 2007.
Angourie Surfing Reserve near Yamba is a designated national surfing reserve — the first for New South Wales. The break is on the north side of Angourie Point, on the edge of the Angourie section of Yuraygir National Park Brown Sign link.
Surfing reserves are considered “national class quality waves” located at a destination considered sacred by the local and national surfing communities.
The first surf reserve in Australia was Bells Beach in Victoria, established in 1973. New South Wales has since been joined by Crescent Head, Lennox Head, Maroubra, and Cronulla.
National Surfing Reserves recognise the sites of cultural and historical significance in Australian surfing. They also acknowledge the surfing way of life and link past, present and future generations with our oceans, waves and beaches.
Another iconic symbol of Australian surfing is Albert Falzon’s 1972 classic, Morning of the Earth, which is one of the greatest surf films of all time. Its psychedelic imagery and audio-visual tour de force captured the spirit of a generation and became an instant benchmark of avant-garde cinema.
A fantasy of surfers living in three unspoiled lands and playing in natures oceans, it tells the story of a group of friends exploring the measures of all things beautiful: searching for virgin waves in Bali, Hawaii and Australia, shaping their own surfboards, building their own homes and living off the land in harmony with nature.
With G. Wayne Thomas’ billboard topping soundtrack (the first Australian soundtrack to go gold fyi ) and surfing featuring some of the world’s best, Morning of the Earth is a must-watch for any surfer and cinephile alike.
Surfing Australia
I had the pleasure of working with the film’s legendary director Alby Falzon while co-editing Surfing Australia travel guidebook back in 2007. (It’s become a well-thumbed classic you can still find a copy of.)
His career in filmmaking was considered a natural progression from international still photographer to magazine publisher. In 1970, he was co-founder and publisher of the seminal surf newspaper Tracks (now Tracks Mag.), with David Elfick and John Witzig.
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