Gendering the waves: surfing in the gender order and the gender order in surfing

Duke Kahanamoku went to Sydney. He was Hawaiian, a two time Olympic swimming champion, a waterman so strong it took the future Tarzan, Johnny Weismuller, to beat him. On 15 January, 1915 Duke left the public baths where he beat his own world record for the 100 yards freestyle, went down to the beach at Manly, carved himself a board straight from a tree, and paddled out and caught a handful of waves, finishing with a head-stand. As if by a miracle, a god like man walking on water, Australia had been converted to a surfing nation.