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Midget built his first surfboard at age 14 in 1958. The board was a balsa pig, made from a Roger Keiren kit which included glued, square planks of balsa, 10 oz cloth, boat resin and wood fin blank.
Midget’s second board was a 1959 EPS/Epoxy made from a Greg McDonagh kit. The nightmares of EPS/Epoxy were learnt at a very young age.
By 1960 Midget had shaped his first polyurethane board. Urethane liberated and accelerated the Australian surfboard industry into full time being, centered in Brookvale, NSW, Australia.
At age 17 Midget was working alongside Joe Larkin (see page bottom), Bob Pike and Barry Bennett. By age 18 Dave Jackman , Mickey Mc Mahon, Denny Keough and Gordon Woods were all people who figured in Midget’s industry education. Amongst these people were talented shapers, glassers, sanders, finishers and good businessman. Amongst them Dave Jackman and Bob Pike were great athletes who helped kick off the sport in Australia. Bob won an International Championship in Peru, partly run in big waves.
The 1962 balsa board shown in these two Makaha photos was 9' long and very straight, as were most boards of the time. This board would have been one of the last balsas shaped by Midget in the Keyo factory. The board won the 1962 Makaha International Men's Championships.