‘I was held under water, pounded round the back of the head, then pulled up and pounded in the face. They knocked all my teeth out and flattened my nose. I had cuts all over my eyes and lips.
I finally blacked out and that’s when one of them gave me a giant backhander and brought me round and ordered, ‘Swim to the Beach,’ and I just said, ‘Ah that sounds like a good idea.’
excerpt from ‘Bustin down the door’
Biography of Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew
Author Tim Baker
Rabbits book ‘Bustin down the Door’ has been out for over a decade now.
Its a classic story about Rabbit’s life and his journey through the birth of Pro Surfing
In his book Rabbit tells the story of his vision of professional surfing from a very young age.
The quote above is taken from a chapter called ‘Hawaii 1976-77’
The season previous (75-76) Rabbit, MR, Shaun Tomson and a few others had charged the North Shore (in particular Pipeline) like no others before them. And had returned home triumphant heroes after taming the massive waves of Hawaii.
In true Brash Aussie style Rabbit, in his article for an American surfing magazine, proclaimed the ‘changing of the guard’ in the surfing world.
This did not go down well with the Hard core Hawaiian locals and resulted in Rabbit’s beating.
Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew enjoying a much mellower surf at his beloved Snapper Rocks in 2008
‘I was just a naive kid. I must have appeared as the absolute enemy trying to steal the last vestige of their heritage….. surfing.’ Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew
The article was called ‘Bustin down the door’. You can purchase Rabbit’s book here on Tim Baker’s site
Recently a movie has hit the cinemas with the same name.
Its a fascinating documentary of that very same season and tells the story from all points of view.
See the trailer below