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But I digress; lets get back to my youth (wish I could) and my quest to be the great Australian surfie. Also the memories of the music – and that dance. Many great stories of the 60's surf era in Australia concerned our national dance – THE STOMP. It was banned in some venues because of the fear that if everyone stomped in unison it would create a shock wave that would destroy the building. Folklore or not it is a good story. The Stomp was an Australian dance that did not require a great deal of expertise. Let me quote from an ABC radio interview with 1960's pop/surf singer Little Pattie. Presenter Rod Quinn asks the questions.  ROD: The Australian music scene in 1963 was dominated by one thing, the stomp, our own dance craze. The person who was the greatest stomp exponent of them all perhaps was Little Patti (Patti Thompson). How did you do the Stomp Patti? LITTLE PATTI: Well the Stomp was very easy to do, and I think that was the essence of its success, because everybody could do it. I think prior to that there were lots of fancy dances - rock and roll, jive. You really had to be triple jointed and weigh about four stone to be lifted and thrown around. But the Stomp came along. And nobody sat down for the Stomp. Everybody got up. You didn't have to be clever at all. It was two beats to each foot, with a little bit of movement and an intense look on one's face, hands behind the back, head down slightly. Also, you could do it anywhere you liked. It didn't have to be in a hall, which was good, because a lot of floorboards suffered because of kids doing the Stomp and getting a bit passionate about it. A language evolved around the surf scene and also the mode of surfing transport, which changed over the years. The panel vans of my era were affectionately known as shagging wagons or f**k trucks. Stickers proclaiming that “If it's rockin don't bother knockin” and “Don't laugh your daughter my be in here” abounded. And yes there was a deal of male sexist attitude. Some of the records and performers that featured during this surf era were:
I even understand that (Sir) Robert Helpman Australia's premier ballet dancer of the time made a surf record in 1965. Must track it down. For me however life as a surfie in Forbes was not long lived. My then girlfriend and I won a stomp competition by the banks of the Lachlan River at Apex Park Forbes in early 1963. The band on the night then played a song by a new English group. The song was 'Love Love Me Do', and the group were the Beatles. It signalled the end of my surf era and another new direction. Rob Willis Jan 2005
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