Surfing

The WA Mourns the Passing of a North-West Legend

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

The WA surf community is mourning the loss of local identity Kyli Manchester.

As a youngster, Manchester showed promise on the football field with Claremont colts, but it was his talent in the water – especially in the raw, heavy waves of the North-West desert – for which he will be best remembered for.

Though he settled in Dunsborough, Manchester travelled to Gnaraloo and Broome every winter to coach surfers.

In 1997, Mark Occhilupo and Kelly Slater were among a handful of the world's best surfers invited to the state's North-West for The Billabong Challenge.

It was during this event that word got out about an indigenous fella who was sticking it to the world's best surfers, as he rode the best waves of the day during free-surfing sessions .

Surf film legend Jack McCoy and legendary shaper Maurice Cole were just two who were impressed by Manchester's prowess in the heavy desert barrels.

Manchester's efforts were rewarded with a memorable barrel sequence that was published in Australian Surfing Life magazine.

And he also scored a show-stopping barrel on Psychedelic Desert Groove,  the classic surf film that documented the competition.

"It was really good to see him get some recognition in '97.  He was one of the first underground guys to get recognition...it was a proud moment for him", Chris Wilson said.

"He was pretty much the king of The Bluff. He had the waves so wired – it was bordering on ridiculous what he could do, Alfie Cater said.

by Jordan Marchant

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