Pat Morgan

Pat Morgan was born in the roaring 40’s when the whole world was growing at a rapid rate. The timing was perfect in the 60’s for Pat to embrace a love of surfing at a time when shaping surfboards was in its infancy.

Those who went down the path of this sea change would reap the benefits of being able to follow a lifestyle some people would just dream about.

Pat was one of those guys who was a massive contributor to surfing’s future prominence in Torquay and around Oz. To understand the power of Pats shaping, you only have to watch the famous 1972 surf movie Crystal Voyager. There is a scene where the famous pioneer photographer and filmmaker George Greenough is surfing a remote break with Nat Young. The waves are a flawless 3...4 feet and he is carving on one of Pats 7’ keel fins.  Nat was to say that it was one of the best boards he rode at that time in his life.

He started work as a cabinet maker in Brighton Victoria and you could say that he was a talented craftsman who realised his talents were better spent creating some of the best surf craft in its day. Pat started surfing at age 18 at Torquay. The apprenticeship started in 1959 when Pat started shaping with the best of the best. George Rice. During a busy year of production he rubbed shoulders with many now influential names in the surf industry including Peter Davies and Doug “Claw” Warbrick. In that first season he shaped 8 boards a day in one season with George and this equated to about 800 boards that year alone. During the next 14 or so years he shaped 10 to 15 boards per week equating to about 5000 boards.

Realising it was time to spread his wings Pat Morgan surfboards opened at 17 Anderson Street Torquay in 1966. The shop was an instant success and it wasn’t long before Pat’s shapes were being ridden by champions of our sport.  The long clean lines, round railed, round nose boards with a long shallow fin were perfect for the big west coast waves. They suited the long walls of Bells and Winky Pop and even right down to his incredibly cool spray colours on his experimental models were well sought after. Victoria has consistently large surf and Pats boards were best suited to big waves.  He was a revolutionary trail blazer who was not scared to experiment with his surfboard shapes and he was responsible for the development of the keel fin board. They were designed to sit high on the wave and underneath the curl. Pats boards had a unique three green circles logo and are well sought after today as collectables.  

Pat now lives in Rainbow Bay Queensland and surfs everyday still riding tapered boards. His current quiver Includes 11ft, 12ft and 14ft surfboards and 11ft, 10ft stand up boards.

We are honoured to be placing Pat’s surf designs on our t-shirts and if you want a collector piece, check out his range on our site. My pick is the Original logo and the one of Pat standing out the front of the old cottage. This cottage has a special place in my surfing history when I was 16 I moved out the back of Pat’s to reside in an old caravan. Often I heard the zipper of the foaming machine and all I can say is those were the days!