Surf writer Nick Carroll’s new two-part documentary on surfing in Australia Bombora hits Australia’s ABC1 next Thursday. Before it airs The Australian discussed surfing and what it means to Australia comparing Carroll’s doco to fiction writer Tim Winton’s must-read coming of age surfing novel Breathe.
Bombora, a documentary about the history of surfing in Australia, is no exception. It’s not just the history of a subculture but an ambitious argument that surfing is the ultimate embodiment of Australiana. “It’s impossible to imagine what Australia would be like without surfing,” surfer and author Tim Winton says in the introduction to the first of the two episodes. . . . That’s a big claim, but the documentary, driven by the encyclopedic and analytical mind of veteran surf journalist Nick Carroll, makes a convincing case: the original European settlers revelled in Australia’s warm water, which allowed them to do things they’d never imagined; as the country urbanised, it turned its back on the bush and made the beach its playground; surfers emerged to epitomise the young nation’s culture, especially after youthful rebellion became such a ubiquitous rite of passage, and their larrikin spirit was transformed into a multibillion-dollar fashion industry that “would one day outsell the high fashion houses of Europe”.
Being fans of Nick Carroll and Tim Winton we believe both are adding art to the world through surfing and we’re looking forward to seeing Bombora just as soon as it comes out on DVD (hint, hint, Nick).
[Link: The Australian]
