''Morning of the Earth'' is a 1971 classic surf film by

Alby Falzon Albert "Alby" Falzon (born 1945) is an Australian filmmaker, photographer and publisher in the surfing sub-culture. Early life Falzon grew up in the beachside suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra in Sydney, Australia. He did not begin ...

and

David Elfick David Elfick (born 20 December 1944) is an Australian film and television writer, director, producer and occasional actor. He is known for his association with writer-director Phillip Noyce, with whom he has collaborated on films including ''New ...

. The film's soundtrack was produced by G. Wayne Thomas and included music and songs by noted Australian music acts

Tamam Shud Tamam Shud is an Australian psychedelic, progressive and surf rock band, which formed in Newcastle in 1964. The initial line-up were known as The Four Strangers with Eric Connell on bass guitar, Dannie Davidson on drums, Gary Johns on rhythm g ...

, John J. Francis,

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and the ...

Mike Rudd Michael David Rudd (born 15 June 1945) is a New Zealand-born musician and composer who has been based in Australia since the late 1960s, and who was the leader of Australian progressive rock bands Spectrum and Ariel in the 1970s. Biography Mic ...

and G. Wayne Thomas. The record became the first Australian Gold soundtrack album. In October 2010, the soundtrack for ''Morning of the Earth'' (1971) was listed in the book, ''

100 Best Australian Albums 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

''. The film portrays surfers living in spiritual harmony with nature, making their own boards (and homes) as they travelled in search of the perfect wave across Australia's north-east coast,

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The movie is regarded as one of the finest of its genre and noted as recording the first surfers to ride the waves at Uluwatu on the very southern tip of Bali and so bringing Bali to the attention of surfers around the world and so the beginnings of Bali as a major tourist destination.

Background

were recording tracks for the surf film ''Morning of the Earth'' including their song "First Things First". Their main lead singer, Lindsay Bjerre was having voice problems so they recorded the song using lead guitarist Tim Gaze; music producer G. Wayne Thomas was unhappy with Gaze's vocals and asked

Broderick Smith Broderick Smith (born 17 February 1948) is an English-born Australian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and sometime actor. He was a member of 1970s bands Sundown, Carson and the Dingoes, 1980s Broderick Smith's Big Combo and he has rec ...

(Carson) to fill in. According to Bjerre, Tamam Shud were not informed and only found out about the switch at the film's premiere; according to Smith, he had Tamam Shud's knowledge and permission.

Locations featured

Australia: *

Kirra, Queensland Kirra is a beach-side neighbourhood within the suburb of Coolangatta in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Geography The small rocky headland Kirra Point separates Kirra Beach to the north and Coolangatta Beach to the south, and i ...

Lennox Head, New South Wales Lennox Head is a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area. It had a population of 7,741 in the 2016 Austra ...

Broken Head, New South Wales Broken Head is a coastal feature (promontory/headland) and suburb located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 9 km south of Cape Byron, the easternmost point of Australia, the closest town being Byron Bay. ...

Angourie, New South Wales Angourie is a coastal village in the Clarence Valley Council of New South Wales, Australia. Angourie is located 5 km south of Yamba, New South Wales, and is at the northern tip of Yuraygir National Park. Towns that surround Angourie are Ya ...

Whale Beach, New South Wales Whale Beach is a northern beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Whale Beach is located 40 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, ...

(Sydney) Bali: *

Uluwatu Uluwatu is a region on the south-western tip of the Bukit Peninsula of Bali, Indonesia. It is home to the Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple. The name Uluwatu comes from ''ulu'', meaning 'lands end', and ''watu'', meaning 'rock'. Geography Visible ...

Hawaii: * Rocky Point * North Shore, Oahu

Surfers featured

(In alphabetical order, incomplete.) * Chris Brock * Stephen Cooney * Terry Fitzgerald *

Barry Kanaiaupuni Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

Gerry Lopez Gerry Lopez (born November 7, 1948), aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor. Early life Lopez was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, grew up in East Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, and attended Punahou School. He frequented ...

Rusty Miller Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People * Rusty Anderson (born 195 ...

* Michael Peterson *

Baddy Treloar Baddie or baddy or ''variant'', may refer to: * "Baddie" (song), a 2023 song by Ive * An informal term for badminton * An informal term for a villain or antagonist * A bad or subpar video game player, or noob * Baddiewinkle, Helen Ruth Elam, (b ...

* Mark Warren *

Nat Young Robert Harold "Nat" Young (born 14 November 1947) is an Australian surfer and author. Surfing career Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Young grew up in the small coastal suburb of Collaroy. In 1964, he was runner-up in the Australian junior c ...

Soundtrack

# "Morning of the Earth" – G. Wayne Thomas # "I'll Be Alright" – Terry Hannagan # "First Things First" –

# "Sure Feels Good" –

# "Open Up Your Heart" – G. Wayne Thomas # "Simple Ben" – John J. Francis # "Bali Waters" – Tamam Shud # "Making It on Your Own" – Brian Cadd # "Day Comes" – G. Wayne Thomas # "Sea the Swells" – Tamam Shud # "I'm Alive" – Peter Howe # "Come with Me" – Brian Cadd

Certifications

References

Alby Falzon's ''Morning of the Earth'' web site
* * Sean Doherty, ''MP: The Life of Michael Peterson'', Harper Collins, 2004, .
G.Wayne Thomas website

External links

Morning of the Earth at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morning of the Earth 1971 films Documentary films about surfing Australian surfing films 1970s English-language films Australian sports documentary films