The late Darrell Eastlake’s connection to the Illawarra’s surfing community has been remembered.
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Sports broadcaster Eastlake died earlier this week, aged 75. He died on Thursday morning in a nursing home on the NSW Central Coast after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
The former Wide World of Sports commentator worked in television and radio for more than 40 years and worked for the Nine Network from 1982 until his retirement in 2005.
However, Eastlake had an early connection to the Illawarra.
According to the ‘Swellnet’ surf website, Eastlake learnt to surf at Bondi but at the end of his teenage years moved to Corrimal to open the area’s first surf shop, the ‘South Coast Surf Hut’.
In 1964, he formed Corrimal Area Boardriders, but by 1968 had moved to Cronulla.
“Before his media career Darrell Eastlake made surfboards, ran a surf shop and began giving surf reports on the local radio,” a post on the ‘Lost Wollongong’ Facebook page said.
“Surf shop was in Railway Street, Corrimal just near Corrimal High School.”
“Bought my first board there. A Jackson 6”6 twin fin,” one poster on the ‘Lost Wollongong’ page wrote.
“Wow I didn’t know he had a surf shop in Corrimal,” another said.
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