As old age circles us ever closer in the lineup at Noosa West Beach Access 11 (aka God’s Waiting Room) and our posse of ancient surf dogs talks more about waves we’ve ridden rather than are still to ride, it’s so heartening to see the traditions and culture of the surfing life we grew up with still alive and resonating down the generations.
A Noosa local of several years now, Hunter Williams is younger than all but one of my grandchildren, so there’s a bit of an age gap, but there are few surfers I’m happier to see in the lineup than the 11-year-old all-boarder, surf savant, film-maker and shaper, who is undoubtedly the most stoked grom in a town full of them. Before I stop burying the kid in praise, let me just say that the thing I admire most about Hunter is that not only does he want to ride surfboards, shape surfboards, film people riding them, watch other people’s films of people riding them, and share the waves with other people riding them, he wants to peel back the layers of the onion and discover the how, the why and the wonder of what came before. No doubt other groms feel the same, but I haven’t met them yet.
Which brings us to Hunter’s “toothpick”, a magnificent reimagining of the 1940s and ‘50s designs of the late Bill Wallace, delivered in September as the result of a promise made by shaper and councillor Tom Wegener 18 months earlier.
During the local government election campaign early last year, Tom Wegener and family hosted a “festival of great ideas” at the Land and Sea Brewery. A lot of good ideas were thrown around that afternoon, but taking the prize was Hunter’s idea of a “lending library” of historic surfboards so that his generation could learn more about what came before. The prize, thought up by Tom in the excitement of the moment, was that he would shape Hunter a scaled-down toothpick to get the ball rolling.
Being a busy councillor, frequently distracted by the business of roads, rates and rubbish, it took Tom a while to get going on this project, but eventually he sourced a well-loved but beaten-up paddleboard from Noosa’s long distance paddling legend and multiple world champion Lachie Lansdown, who had won many events on this board. As he stripped the fibreglass off the board to get to the foam core which would become Hunter’s toothpick, Tom explained the Hawaiian concept of “mana” a spiritual energy or life force which can be carried by objects, like Lachie’s board. Hunter watched wide-eyed as the plan shape for his toothpick was laid out over the foam blank.
For the official launch of Hunter’s Wegener Tool Co toothpick, they had to wait out Noosa’s long winter wave drought, with filmmaker Samuel Fairbank (who also made that great short Book of Hunter last year, so he’s as big a Hunter fan as I am) on speed dial as they waited for the conditions to come together. A small window opened just after midday on a weekday and they had their chance, without the weekend crowd.
Tom says: “On small days like this you can see that Noosa has the perfect sandbank for the toothpick to find its trim and keep going on a nice clean swell. It shows how incredible the toothpick is as a surfboard. With down the line speed and control, it offers perfect trim on a wave. [California shaping legend] Skip Frye says perfect trim is the ultimate surfing experience, and I have to agree.”
In Samuel’s great short film, Once Upon A Toothpick, you can see the power of the glide and the stoke of the trim written on the faces of the old dog and the young pup, not to mention in cameo appearances by family and friends. Also starring is an afternoon of tiny, perfect waves on the Noosa points, reminiscent of what we used to take for granted at First Point.
You can watch Once Upon A Toothpick at the Wegener Tool Co YouTube channel, and it’s also worth visiting wegenertoolco.com to see what else is in store from the highly creative Margie and Sunday Wegener.
NFS #35 registration open
Earlybird registrations for the 2026 Noosa Festival of Surfing opened on Monday 17 November. I’m writing this ahead of that date so not sure what divisions are open, probably age divisions only, but I do believe that the earlybird window is quite short, so don’t dilly-dally to get your 10 per cent discount! The festival starts on Black Friday 13 March and runs through to 22 March. Info at noosafestivalofsurfing.com or social media. All the usual fun and games and hopefully a week-long swell for the points.
