WA's women in surfing were celebrated at the WA Surf Gallery on Thursday night with the launch of a new exhibition at Aravina Estate Winery.
WA Surf Gallery curator Thea-McDonald put the WA's Women In Surfing exhibition together with surfing memorabilia from right around the state.
The exhibition celebrates not only WA's women who are and were professional state and world champions but those who surf for leisure.
Surfing WA chief executive officer Mark Lane opened the exhibition.
"Obviously the exhibition is based around what the women have done for surfing in WA," he said.
"It is wonderful to see so many people who started the WA Surf Gallery from the beginning to the current and all those in between is truly a wonderful moment we can all share.
"The whole ethos behind the WA Surf Gallery is that we capture a lot of photos and moments so when you move around the room you can see a photo or read a transcript which will take you back in time to that moment you had with a friend or special surf trip or an achievement you won or participated in.
"There are a lot of people I know who have collected a lot of surfing memorabilia for a lot of years - Jim King, Mick Marlin, Godfather, Bill Gibson, Peter Dunn, Mike Bosich and Thea McDonald-Lee.
"There are hundreds of hours which go into doing this and these people volunteer their time so you can enjoy the memories.
"To them and Aravina Estate owners Steve and Hayley Tobin, thank you."
Guests traveled from as far as the USA and Eastern States to be at the exhibition launch which included world surfing champions Jodie Cooper, Clare Bevilacqua, Natalee Fuhrmann along with state champions Emma Cattlin and Zari Hewson.
The driving force behind the exhibition was WA Surf Gallery curator Thea McDonald-Lee who said the gallery really wanted to celebrate women.
"There is some really cool stuff we pulled together to celebrate the women of WA," she said.
"As we got further into it we realised what a mammoth job it was because we had so many incredible things from so many incredible women to create a really cool snapshot of what these women have done over the last 60 years.
"The exhibition is a small reflection of the hard work that female surfers have been doing for many decades now.
"Whether is was busting down the door in big wave surfing, journalism and getting female surfers into Tracks magazine and into places where it was completely dominated by men.
"It was really you guys who have busted down that door.
"There are a lot of younger girls here today who will be able to look up to you and say, 'Hey I can surf professionally like you today because of what you did before that.'"
Aravina Estate owner Steve Tobin said the WA Surf Gallery brought around 60,000 visitors to the winery every year.
"This is a great occasion for Aravina and the WA Surf Gallery, we are absolutely thrilled and privileged to host the gallery for the last two years," he said.
"This is a fantastic initiative which will open the eyes of many of our visitors who will embrace WA's women in surfing history.
"The gallery is really about a celebration of a lifestyle in the region and the existence we all have."
