Mike Gardiner sent me this photo of the Piha competition team in 1938. I had a copy in my Mum’s photo album – in fact, I wonder if she took it. But Mike’s copy had them all named, so I’m sharing it here. They were all pretty young here, mostly in their 20s.

Here’s who they are:

Back: Ron Gregory, Chook Sidford (died of sickness during WW2), Jack Anderson (died captaining a Lancaster over Europe in ww2), Cliff Holt (one of the club’s original members), Wally Jarvis (a great swimmer)

Front: Noel Gardiner (wrote books about his wartime experiences), Lindsey Schubert, Tom Pearce (king of the surf boats), Max Cleary (another great swimmer), Johnnie Oxspring (founded beachfront store)

Of these, only Max Cleary is still alive, but descendants of the Holt, Gardiner, Schubert and Pearce families, still have roots in Piha.