This year’s Freshwater Duke Day festival, celebrating the anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku’s famous surfing demonstration at Freshwater Beach on the 10 January 1915, was held on the weekend of the 10th and 11th of January.

Activities included the Dawn Photo Shoot (pictured) and many stalls and other community activities held on the grassed area adjacent to the Club.

As part of the festivities this year, the famous Hawaiian surfboard maker, Tom Pokaku-Stone, was invited to demonstrate the ancient art of making solid timber surfboards. He fashioned a timber surfboard, similar to the Duke
board, out of a very large slab of (Paulownia) timber!

Tom also very closely examined the original Duke Board in the Heritage Room (pictured below), and was confident that it was, in fact the board Duke made, and rode, at Freshie over 110 years ago.!