Surf's man-made waves lash Piha

Henderson High School student Josh Whittington said he didn't feel in danger during the now infamous surfing lesson. Photo / Janna Dixon

The man accused of putting children's lives at risk in the Piha surf has been involved before in volatile clashes with members of the small community - including the lifeguard who this week tried to rescue his pupils from a rip.

Surf coach Phil Wallis led the TV news when he and surf lifesaver Duncan Clarke, a star of reality show Piha Rescue, had a tug-of-war in the water over a teenage boy who Wallis said did not need rescuing.

Wallis confirmed to the Herald on Sunday this weekend that police arrested him last year over allegations that he had assaulted his wife.

She returned home, after spending time in a women's refuge. The police inquiry was dropped after his wife retracted the allegation, and he insisted there was never any substance to the claims.

He says police were also called over a confrontation with another Piha resident, in which he claims he was assaulted.

Certainly, Wallis and lifeguard Clarke have repeatedly clashed in what locals have termed "surf wars".

Clarke said he respected Wallis and his surf school, but believed the coach took unacceptable risks.

Wallis, on the other hand, said the Piha Surf Lifesaving Club did a great job - but he saw Clarke as interfering unnecessarily in his lessons.

Two years ago, Clarke "rescued" an American tourist from one of Wallis' classes in what the lifeguard alleged were dangerous sea conditions. "He was terrified," Clarke said yesterday.

But Wallis maintained then - as he did with this week's rescue - that the man was never in any danger.

The community is split into a Clarke camp and a Wallis camp.

Father-of-four children, Paul Whittington, 52, was at the beach watching his 14-year-old son Josh in the surf lesson. He supported the surf coach.

"Kids on surf boards in a rip - that's not unusual around here," said Whittington.

Josh added: "I didn't feel in danger. No one was in danger. Rips are a whole lot of fun."

On Clarke's side, however, is a sizeable band of parents who over the years have removed their children from Wallis' classes because they perceive his training as too brutal.

One mother, who did not want to be named, claimed a similar incident occurred a few years ago.

She said: "Two of my boys were in Phil's school and on this particular day the waves were high and some local people said they shouldn't go out.

"Phil insisted they did, but I pulled my sons out of the class that day and out of the club. The kids who did go out were apparently frozen in fear on the waves. I haven't spoken to Phil since."

Another parent, Jane Smith, claimed her son had been so put off the water after being scared in Wallis' class that he had not gone back to surfing for five years.

Wallis now says he is keen to repair relations with Clarke.

"Lifeguards do a brilliant job and Piha Surf Life Saving is a brilliant club," he said. "I understand why Duncan acted the way he did. Emotions run high in a rescue. But it serves nobody in the community for anything like this to happen again."

Clarke agrees: "I don't think the rescue was fairly represented on television. I do think the kids were in danger."