The '92
In honour of the beginnings of the Raglan Surf Company, we are proud to release the first pieces in our exclusive Heritage line: The '92.
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Surf Into Summer: Mike Court
Mike Court is one of the original trailblazers of surfing in New Zealand. He was the first to start doing ding repairs back in 1962, he introduced the Billabong brand into NZ and he started up The Hamilton Point Boardriders Club with a few of the other Original surfers of Manu Bay. The Boardriders has since been renamed, more aptly, to The Raglan Point Boardriders and continues today. We were lucky enough to catch Courty out in Raglan one day, where he provided endless stories and an incredible photobook of memories.
Surf Into Summer: Shaping Raglan
In 1973 Don Wilson opened the first surf shop in Raglan, called Wilson Surfboards. The evolution of surf in Raglan does not surprise Don. “After Endless Summer, we all knew Raglan was going to be famous.” Raglan is now home to a buzzing community of shapers. A collective, ran out of mini factories, garages and backyards. Independently dependent on one thing, the surf.
Surf Into Summer: The Point
Piecing together the puzzle of Raglan’s surf history uncovered names and stories that some thought were all but lost. Each week of searching brought on new names and new adventures, some added to the story, some it a new twist. As the stories unravelled we had to backtrack and give credit where credit was due–this one involves the historic day that Manu Bay, “The Point”, was first surfed.
Surf Into Summer: Butch Walters
Butch Walters is the first name engraved on the Men's Junior's Point Board Riders trophy, which he won back in 1964. As of the summer of 2015, he could still be seen in the water at Manu Bay, riding his longboard. When we sat down with him, not only did he share his story and fond memories of surfing in Raglan, he pulled out boxes of slides, old photos of Raglan Town, Ngarunui Beach and of course surfing at Manu Bay.
Surf Into Summer: The Originals
Raglan has a rich local history of surfing. From soulful characters to defining moments, we set out to highlight and uncover a big part of Raglan’s surfing history that some may not know about. The Originals have been surfing the points since the late ’50s.