Piha surf history: the rock, the boards and the first tour
Compiled by Surf Haunts · Updated 2026-09-21
At Piha, the big rock in the middle of the bay makes the beach easy to recognise. It also makes a useful point of reference for two quite different moments in surf history: the arrival of lighter Californian boards in 1958 and a professional tour event at North Piha in 1976.
The landmark has a longer history
The rock is widely known in English as Lion Rock. Te Kawerau ā Maki's settlement documents identify it as Te Piha, an island pā in the middle of the bay. The documents also record the area's significance to Te Kawerau ā Maki.
That history belongs alongside any account of the beach. The surf dates below describe much more recent events.
What changed in 1958?
In November 1958, American lifeguards Bing Copeland and Rick Stoner arrived with Californian Malibu boards. Te Ara describes their four-month stay at the Piha Surf Lifesaving Club and the demonstrations that followed.
Compared with the older longboards, these boards were shorter, lighter and easier to turn. Their balsa cores were covered with fibreglass and resin. Riding across the wave's face became more achievable, rather than simply heading straight towards the beach.
Piha was part of a change in equipment and technique. It wasn't the beginning of all wave-riding in New Zealand, and the arrival date shouldn't be confused with the whole visit: that stay continued into 1959.
North Piha and the professional tour
Surfing New Zealand records North Piha's 1976 event as the inaugural stop on the World Professional Surfing Tour. By then, the story had moved from visiting surfers showing people new boards to an organised international competition.
North Piha matters here. The tour record names that part of the coast specifically, so a photograph of Lion Rock shouldn't be read as a photograph of the event or its exact competition area.
What do you remember?
Have you got a family photo from Piha, an old board picture or a memory of the 1976 event? Email us with a date, a detail or a correction. We'll check it, ask before publishing your contribution and agree how to credit you.
Our Piha print
Our Piha print takes an elevated view of the rock and the long shoreline. It simplifies the landscape into broad colour areas and repeated surf lines. The photograph is a separate view of Piha, not a record of either historical event described here.
Compiled from public historical sources and fact-checked against them at the time of writing – not a first-hand or local account. Corrections and memories are welcome; we verify before publishing anything sent in.