Phyllis O'Donnell (born 1937) is an Australian surfer who became the first Women's World Surfing Champion. O'Donnell won the championship in 1964 at the age of 27. At the time, surfing was dominated by men, and her championship was regarded as a step forward for women's recognition in the sport. O'Donnell also won the women's division of the Australian National Titles in 1963, 1964, and 1965. It has been widely reported that O'Donnell began longboard surfing in 1960 when she moved to

Tweed Heads, New South Wales Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...

with her parents. In fact, her older sister had a boyfriend who surfed and had left his board at their home in

Drummoyne, New South Wales Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative center for the local government area of the C ...

when O'Donnell was in her late teens. Already keen bodysurfers at

Manly Beach Manly Beach is a beach situated among the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, in Manly, New South Wales. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne. Etymology The beach was named by Capt. ...

, the two young women took the board to Harbord. O'Donnell concentrated on paddling before taking to her feet. Her teacher was Snowy McAlister, the first inductee in the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame, and remained her mentor and friend until his death in 1987. By the age of 23, she was a seasoned rider and fell in love with

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 ...

. O'Donnell finished 6th in the World titles in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

(1966), 3rd in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

(1968), 3rd in

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 ...

's Makaha International (1966); 3rd twice and 4th once in the Australian titles (1966, '70, and '71); and 2nd place at

Bells Beach, Victoria Bells Beach is a coastal locality of Victoria, Australia in Surf Coast Shire and a renowned surf beach, located 100 km south-west of Melbourne, on the Great Ocean Road near the towns of Torquay and Jan Juc. It is named after William ...

(1969), riding short boards from 1968 onwards. In the late 1960s, O'Donnell worked for Dewey Weber, a surfboard manufacturer in California. Returning home to compete, she won the last of her 8 Queensland surfing titles. She retired from competition in 1974, and two years later was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame. In 2014, she was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

References

Books

*''Surf's Up: The Girl's Guide to Surfing'' by Louise Southerden, Random House, 2005, . *''The Encyclopedia of Surfing'' by Matt Warshaw, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Phyllis 1937 births Living people Australian female surfers