Surfing with shivers: the Gothic Far North Coast in poetry

Abstract

In 2015 Australian world champion surfer Mick Fanning disappeared behind a wave during a surfing competition, just as a great white shark’s fin rose up out of the water. The frantic fish thrashed about, knocking Fanning off his surfboard, leaving horrified viewers unsure of his fate (Lutz, 2015). The live television footage, broadcast to millions, became an uncanny reminder of one of the most uncomfortable aspects of surf culture: shark attacks. In fiction, memoir and creative nonfiction writing about surfing that acknowledges the underlying threat sharks represent, their presence in the line-up is referred to using euphemisms, ‘men in grey suits’ (Orgias, 2012), their impact is compared to being hit by a car with teeth (Adolph, 2019), and the aftermath of their interactions with humans is either horrific and tragic, or the inspiration for stories of resilience and adaptation (McAloon, 2016). The depiction of sharks in surfing culture is either darkly humorous or steeped in mythology (McCarthy, 2020). It is for these reasons the depictions fit within a Gothic tradition. My previous work on Australian coastal Gothic writing (Hawryluk, 2020) describes a place with underlying Gothic tones. The town of Ballina on the Far North Coast of New South Wales is one such place, becoming known internationally for a spate of shark attacks between 2015-2016 (McVeigh, 2016). This paper adds to existing Australian coastal Gothic writing and research focused on surf culture and depictions of interactions between surfers and sharks. A suite of my creative nonfiction poetry featured within demonstrates the Gothic elements present in Ballina’s history of shark attacks, interactions, and the way the town and its surfers have responded to its reputation as ‘shark city’ (Smith, 2016).