Operation Tipperary: Securing a statue for Tommy “Looney” Walker

The mission possible to secure a Manly statue for Australia’s first surfer, Tommy “Looney” Walker.

Leading up to the publication of the December 2023 Tawny Frogmouth, contributing scribbler Alan Fawcett had reservations that revealing the truth – that Duke Kahanamoku did not in fact bring surfing to Australia – would bring about a backlash. “The very idea that The Duke introduced surfing to Australia is so engrained in surfing history mate,” Alan told me. “People, I don’t know, they might not want to hear the truth. What are we getting ourselves in to here?”

People never want to hear the truth. Why should they? The truth is usually awful, true. But Alan had spent countless hours researching the facts of Australia’s patriotic little surfing history secret. And the risk of a little backlash? Please, it gets me up in the morning! Press print. Let’s rock. 

Rather than backlash, there’s been widespread stoke for the recognition of Tommy Walker’s pioneering wave-riding or, as it was known in 1909 – 5 years before The Duke arrived – “shooting”. And no one was more excited than North Steyne’s Ray Moran. “Liam, I read your article son, and boy, that photo you have of Tommy upside down has brought back some memories. Do you mind popping round to my house? I’ve got some things you may be interested in.”

A story in itself, Ray was the first man to surf Angourie Point in 1959! Soon after he even asked the Yamba Urban Area Committee to build a proper road into Angourie, the 6km walk made no easier when lumbering a hefty 1959 surfboard under the arm, only to be told, “Angourie is the arsehole of the world, and it will never be anything.’” 

Jump ahead to 1988, and CJ “Snowy” McAlister, perhaps the second most famous figure in Australian surfing after the Duke, sought out Ray to give him photos of Tommy Walker’s surfing exploits prior to the Duke’s arrival, as well as letters explaining Tommy’s achievements. These recall how, leading up to World War I, Tommy would work at Harwood Sugar Mill on the Clarence River, a short distance to Yamba, explaining the many photos of Tommy wowing crowds in Yamba from 1911-13, precisely as he did in Manly, his signature upside down stance while whistling the Tipperary proving unbeatable showmanship. 

What now? How to properly honour an incredible Aussie’s legacy? Alan and I believe there’s room on this peninsula for two surfing legend’s statues, and have called in the big guns, the artists Gillie and Marc, cited as “the most successful and prolific creators of public art in New York’s History” by the New York Times.

Gillie and Marc’s “Statues for Legends” program is “on a mission to give visibility to unique narratives that shape our sense of cultural identity, and that may otherwise go unheard or be forgotten.” They agree Tommy Walker’s story well and truly meets the Legends brief, and we have set ourselves an ambitious target to have an upside-down surfing Tommy “Looney” Walker statue, replete with whistling Tipperary facial expressions, to find a home overlooking Queenscliff by Christmas Eve 2024, to poetically mark 110 years since The Duke didn’t bring surfing to Australia. 

To bring Operation Tipperary to fruition, The Tawny will need everyone’s help at council, state, and federal levels of government, Manly Chamber, Tourism NSW and Australia, and everyone possible, to get on board, secure approvals, attract funding, create an epic tourist destination, and set the records straight. The statue will be interactive, meaning you’ll be able to stand on board alongside Tommy, maybe upside down and whistling the Tipperary if so inclined! Exciting times ahead.