In the late 60s, countless surfers were drawn to Margaret River by Paul Witzig’s film, Evolution, featuring the now iconic scene of 16-year-old Wayne Lynch flying across Mainbreak’s long left-handers to the sound of Ravel’s “Boléro.” It was just one chapter in a film famous for tolling noseriding’s death knell. “I just wanted to get Wayne in the best possible waves and we heard this place might have been it,” recalls Witzig. “We knew we were onto something special as we came around that corner and got the first look at the Indian Ocean.” Many of the surfers first attracted to Margaret River by Lynch’s surfing set up camp and never left. Within 60 years, the quaint little timber and dairy town grew to become the most popular tourist destination in Western Australia. It now boasts multi-million-dollar properties, dozens of wineries, and a surfing academy (to say nothing of a couple of drive-thru liquor stores). With improvements in surf equipment, some of the more hollow waves in the area may have upstaged Mainbreak, though it still remains the town’s most reliable surfing hub. In issue 24.5 of TSJ, readers will find a portrait of life in modern day Margaret. Below is the footage from Evolution that started it all.
