Barry Bennett: Brookvale surfing great has surgery after falling through ceiling at shop
Internationally acclaimed surfing pioneer from the northern beaches, Barry Bennett, needed surgery after he crashed through a ceiling and fell to the floor of his iconic shop.
Manly
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One of the pioneers of Australian surfing has been severely injured after falling through a ceiling at his northern beaches’ business.
Barry Bennett, 89, the founder of Bennett Surfboards at Brookvale, has had skin graft surgery to a badly lacerated arm after the accident on Wednesday morning.
Mr Bennett, who is in the International Surfboard Builders Hall Of Fame, fell feet first through the floor of the mezzanine storage area in his iconic Harbord Rd shop at about 11am.
He landed heavily in the retail surfboard and paddle board showroom below.
Northern Beaches Police said Mr Bennett, who received an Order of Australia Medal last year, was rearranging stock when he fell through the flooring on the mezzanine level.
He crashed down on a surfboard that was lying flat across a X-frame stand.
Paramedics told police that the surfboard and stand broke his fall and possibly reduced the impact and severity of his injuries.
When police arrived Mr Bennett was conscious and lying on his right side. A senior employee had used a bundle of bubble wrap to support his head.
Four ambulance crews were sent to the building where they treated him for lacerations to his arms and legs.
He was taken to Northern Beaches Hospital. He is now recovering from surgery.
Mr Bennett is known in the surfboard design and manufacturing world as one of the so-called “Brookvale Six”, the men who created the bedrock of the industry in Australia and helped launch surfing into its culture.
The Six also included Denny Keogh, Scott Dillon, Greg McDonagh, Bill Wallace and Gordon Woods.
On its website the business boasts that “Bennett Surfboards has been in the surfboard business longer than any other Australian manufacturer”.
Mr Bennett, who is a member of Manly Life Saving Club, told the Manly Daily last year that he still puts in a full week’s work at the alongside sons Greg and John.
He also founded Dion Chemicals, Australia’s biggest supplier of surfboard “blanks”.
Mr Bennett said he spotted a commercial opportunity in 1956 after seeing the American surf team on-tour for the Melbourne Olympics, riding lightweight balsa surfboards with fins.
“The (timber) long boards served their purpose as a lifesaving tool but the new balsa boards made surf board riding into a fun thing,” Mr Bennett said. “They could cut across unbroken waves rather than just ride the white-water.”
With the advent of polyurethane boards by 1960, the Fairlight entrepreneur said demand for surfboards exploded.
“We were making 40 to 50 boards per week, and there was an eight-week waiting list.”
Mr Bennett’s family declined to comment.