Rare Footage of Michael Peterson Winning the 1977 Stubbies at Burleigh

(Video courtesy of Monty Webber)
Michael Peterson at his zenith and Mark Richards on the rise.
In a split run (two different covers) both MP and MR feature on the cover of Tracks 593. Check it out for an original take on two, divergent paths in pro surfing.
tracksmag.com.au/current-issue

[@kevinm5564]

This just proves that good surfing is good surfing. These guys are shredding!

[@gregwebberworld]

All the footage was shot by our eldest brother John. And I’m pretty sure he edited it as well. I lovely record of the first man on man event.

[@Sidetrackification]

Excellent, thanks for posting this!😊

[@Eventual-Visitor]

What format was it originally shot on, Super-8?

[@matthewellks3099]

@@Eventual-Visitor yes mate, and they borrowed my projector that I never got back to watch it on 😁

[@krobinwoollacott8584]

Lol. Check out the skyline in the background. Lived in Palm Beach in '75. Make no mistake. They were the great days.👍

[@SurfahSistah]

I love this era of surfing. So much flow⚡️

[@dannieduplessis2432]

Hello from Cloud 9. Watching this i miss the old Gold Coast. I loved living there and growing up there was amazing. Bongs in the back of the shagon wagin and goin to the old thetre for more bongs. Thanks for showing this...i was there then....dont remember any of it but i know i would of loved it. Thanks again for showing this....

[@MK-su6eg]

Loved MP and was a original rebel , soul surfer, who took on the worlds best.... and had a long winning streak! Rest in paradise! Aloha from Hawaii!

[@machismo4256]

The final was held in late afternoon 2-3' slop. Michael Paterson made ever wave look like 2 meters of gold.

[@ozbluesman]

I was shooting photos from the water. Front row seat for great surfing.

[@Alex_Correa]

Michael was the best surfer of all times! I love Kelly, but Mike was very special and the original! This video was well recorded and well edited! Thank you so much for sharing such a golden material!

[@springfieldbearpatrol2937]

MRs board looks cool. Interesting to see these guys doing so much more on the shorter boards (post long board era) and the progression would continue with the Thruster coming out just just a few years later.

[@liamlynch3039]

Happy to re-live it as I was grom then but so sad it's now a distant memory.

[@francus7227]

4 world Champs on solid surf, with boards they trust. Richards '79-'82 Townsend '76 Thompson '77 Rabbit....'78

[@aussiedownunder4186]

Shaun THOMSON!!!

[@francus7227]

@@aussiedownunder4186 I put him.

[@Lime-Spider1959]

Fitting that MP won the first . Those early Stubbies comps were the tipping point. Still had that soul feel but the tide was turning. Behold the Circus !! Joints on the hill , nights at the Playroom , Margaret Depraved . Loved it.

[@user-eg2hi1xq4y]

So sick, I was one yrs old. Just insane guys killing it, hot chicks mental waves. Looks fun!!!!

[@thatismattjohnsonjohnson3146]

Chicks were super hot and super friendly in the 70’s-80’s. Today, we have “chicks??” With blue hair and baggy clothes everywhere.

[@Killemgrillem00]

There is a very good book out on this guy.. Good read. And he was probably tripping this session.

[@lukeArmstrong524]

What a awsome era.

[@pauljones999]

What about the Surfers skyline in the background 🤦😵‍💫 ..half a dozen high rises compared to todays shitshow !?!?!?

[@gregreed402]

Watching these guys surfing manoeuvres shows how stiff and boxy the designs back then held the surfers back so much . I would like to see them ride the boards of today . They would be ripping

[@Lime-Spider1959]

They were ripping then !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You just had to be there to have perspective FFS :)

[@whitewaterwarrior3339]

Timeless surfing from an interesting fella🤙

[@JimSuperwhite43]

A reminder of just how drastically high performance surfing has changed since those days.

[@thatismattjohnsonjohnson3146]

90% of guys that think they are ripping, are not ripping. Keep that in mind

[@BarbarraBay]

the boards changed rather than the talent

[@noturbo]

WOW so KOOL

[@wavester46]

Life is a funny thing. All those beautiful young girls sunning themselves on the beach are someone's grandmother now.

[@mitseraffej5812]

Yep, the boards and surfing has progressed immensely since 1977 but I’m not so sure about the female form.

[@TheWatcher-NM156]

They are so dried up now their crabs must carry canteens.

[@clarkemcclymont2879]

Yep, beauty is fleeting.

[@peaceful671]

Life moves so fast you don't even notice the years passing...

[@ugocdf7706]

I believe you are mistaken: it's not life, it's time the factor you were thinking about!

[@davidwarren4569]

They didn’t show me. Ah well. Such is life!

[@markpyne8354]

Rabbit was getting vertical. 🎉

[@RalphIrvine]

Good eye

[@RealSurfStories]

State of the ART ❤'77

[@lv42daze]

great post!

[@eileenhenryselby-smith9762]

Forgot how short the shorts were!

[@surfzion]

Wasn't Simon Anderson who popularized the three-fin boards ?

[@thatismattjohnsonjohnson3146]

He invented the the thruster.

[@mokachulis]

Mike looking like he's in a different universe.

[@fingerprint5511]

Someone can't spell Burleigh. Peterson was an epic surfer.

[@budthebusker]

I was there.

[@guyfitter3006]

Rabbit and MP ripping

[@SurfahSistah]

Ripping and tripping

[@robinbanks610]

MP👍❤️

[@frankiec5500]

MP was way ahead of his time..

[@ianisguerin4075]

On joue les amis polynésiens. Quelles sont les conditions de surf attendues pour les JO. Amitié universelle depuis la Gironde.

[@robertcleveland2038]

Who sings the soundtrack please 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@Lime-Spider1959]

The comments saying how much they "would" be ripping on todays boards is moot. They ripped and blew our minds with what we knew as the limit then. You just had to be there :)

[@cb874]

What soundtrack is that? Great song!

[@scottharden1827]

Cool

[@broderickwallis25]

Can i ask, has anyone before until now surfed upside down in the tube.... Yeah ME !!!! Winkipop circa 1996. As Mohamod Ali would say "I am the greatest" I am beyond just doing the same as everyone else, only a little bit better.... I have walked on the moon baby !!!!

[@doubletakejake2664]

The perfect time to surf no mega crowds

[@petersheely7246]

👌😎

[@mixwizzard8681]

i was 5 years old. 🏄

[@shakespeare_hall4788]

I was 21😥nearly 68 now😭

[@michaelbarrett2170]

Doubt it Bugs came 3rd didn't he?

[@boonnathan9827]

Bugs got a world title

[@robertcleveland2038]

Who wrote the song please 🙏🙏🙏

[@montywebber5324]

Col Meredith of Bourbon Street

[@davidbee3704]

RTFD

[@casper2095]

Great to know that, although I am still a kook even today, my surfing has actually progressed well beyond the big names of my youth.

[@Tscaperock]

When we were all normal! Men were men! Woman was woman!

[@ceeemm1901]

Well done 'chine'!

[@BlacksBeachBoogieBurner]

Where was Nat Young?

[@stewartcash555]

Rabbit 🐰 won

[@stevenhusmann3816]

wouldn't make it out of an amateur 60 and over heat today. Pioneers, but those boards sucked.

[@gregwebberworld]

what a moronic statement. I 46 years ago you dill.

[@calfolk7381]

Bronzed Aussies

[@markbrown-sb2zm]

Lets be honest , Crap surfing,crap styles,crap boards,end of story.

[@paulmartin9275]

Its called go with the flow, instead of todays Wack, WACK, WACk

[@markkelly4754]

Mark, we are waiting for your upload to assess your style. We will then work out whether you are better than MP, or not.

[@cisco6926]

MP at Pipe was insane back in the day

[@TheWatcher-NM156]

Sad what happened to MP towards the end of his life.

[@boonnathan9827]

Cool