Manly signs up in bid to quell growing surf rage

In 1914 Duke Kahanamoku visited Sydney's Freshwater Beach and showed Australians how to surf.

A statue of the legendary Hawaiian stands on the headland at Freshwater, but at nearby Manly Beach the surf has become a battleground - so much so that the local council has been forced to put up signs explaining wave-riders' etiquette.

The signs, the first to be erected by a coastal council, advise surfers not to "drop in" (catch a wave ahead of someone already waiting) or "snake a wave" (sneak in from the inside). They also note the importance of waiting your turn, and of notifying fellow surfers of whether you intend to go left or right.

Manly Council says the instructions are aimed mainly at visitors and beginners, who may not be aware of the rules.

Like other popular beaches, Manly has experienced incidents of "surf rage", sparked by overcrowded waves, locals' resentment at newcomers "invading" their territory, or novices getting in the way.

Manly is under pressure, with a regular surf school adding to the number of beginners in the waves.

The president of the local surfers' action group, Neil Ohlback, welcomed the new signs, saying they might prevent violent confrontations. "Instead of signs it could have been muscle," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Some of the guys were saying 'if it doesn't improve, we're going to have to do something about it ourselves'.

"There was definitely tension with the surf school. This way, if someone paddles up the inside instead of going around, you can point them in the direction of the rules."

But some locals have condemned the signs, calling them yet another encroachment by the "nanny state".

On Sydney's best known beach, Bondi, numerous activities, including smoking, drinking, volleyball, football, playing with frisbees and collecting shells, are prohibited. "There are now so many things banned that it would be more appropriate to put up a list of things that are actually permitted," said Cameron Murphy, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.

Sheer inexperience in the waves can also be dangerous. Last Friday, a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured while surfing at Byron Bay, on the NSW north coast, when he was struck by the surfboard of a novice wave-rider.