"That's a ripper bonzer cobber!"

It's been a deadly, sick Australia Day today - lots of language, lefts and laughing. Over here, words like "deadly" and "sick" have two, opposite meanings - excellent and wonderful on one hand or fatal and unwell on the other, so tonight I'm celebrating our ever changing Aussie version of the English language.

My late grandfather grew up on a farm and used to call me his cobber. He was born over 100 years ago. I haven't heard Aussies using that term lately, but "mate" or "friend" is about the same.

Bonzer board image by Campbell Brothers

I like the bonzer surfboard idea - three or five fins with big single to double concaves. The Campbell Brothers have built some deadly sleds over the last 40 years. They look like they would rip. "Ripper" and "bonzer" both mean roughly the same as "excellent" over here.

Lately I have seen some Aussie slang books in the shops. Hopefully, they explain the correct use of phrases like these - most of which have fallen on hard times and unused as our language continues to morph:
1     Silly as a two bob watch or
       Falcon short of a car park
       means
       Not much common sense or intelligence.
2     Mad as a meat axe
       Mad as a gum tree full of galahs or
       Bit of a crank
       means
       Very mad, odd or eccentric
3     Crack a mental
       means
       Lose one's temper
4     Flat out, like a lizard drinking
       means
       Extremely busy
Hope you had a bonzer Aussie Day cobbers.

Bonzers, Belief and Simon

Found this image on the Campbell Brothers facenook site. I'm not sure why there are no fins. As far as I know, Duncan and Malcolm Campbell have pioneered three to five fins on surfboards since 1970. Maybe it looks more UFOish that way. But the fin is the critical distinguishing feature between their baords and the rest of the planet's.

Image courtesy of Magicseaweed

They call their boards "bonzers", which is Aussie slang for fantastic, excellent. The first time I saw a"bonzer" board was at Coolum, on the Sunshine Coast of Australia around 1976. It was owned by the late Pete Hansen (RIP) my old hitchhiking buddy and I'm still kicking myself for not trying it out. While the rest of us were soul arching on single fins and click clacking on twinnies, Pete was scorching across Laguna Bay and Rainbow Bay on this alien three-finned board with super severe concaves through the tail.

Image courtesy of Magicseaweed

The Campbell Brothers are still making bonzers in a range of shapes and even featured a few in the Malloy Bothers' surf movie, Shelter. Some punters like this Brit below have whole quivers of bonzers.

Image courtesy Cambell Bros

Simon Anderson exposed the Thruster to the world at Bells Beach in Easter 1981. Unlike today where it's about 2 foot and no contest, Bells that year was massive. Simon won that 1981 Bells Contest, the Coke Surfabout and the Pipeline Masters in the same year. Three fins became real popular. And 30 years on, guys like Dean Brady (also a huge natural footer like Anderson) are jamming their thrusters into pits like this.