A Sunshine Coast surf sports legend has gifted a special board to be auctioned for a rescue service.
Hayden Kenny has commissioned the making of a one-off 1962 Malibu replica surfboard to be sold at the annual Sunshine Coast LifeFlight Gala on March 29, when funds will be raised for the aeromedical service.
Australia’s first ironman champion, now a great-grandfather at 89, Mr Kenny shaped his first board in a cow shed on his grandfather’s farm near Maryborough in 1959.
Now, he’s helping design the one-off Hayden surfboard using “refined and modern” materials from original templates.
“It’s a vintage classic that’s made right here on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
“It’s made to surf but it could also be kept nice and shiny and displayed on a wall like my 1975 Gorden Woods Malibu replica.
“This board for the LifeFlight gala is a unique collector’s item and I think it will impress anyone who is in the mood to collect something truly special.
“It’s for someone who wants to grab a bit of surfing history that’s not available in the surf shops.
“There won’t ever be another one like it. And to be in the chance to win it, you just need to buy yourself a ticket to the LifeFlight gala.”
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Mr Kenny opened Hayden Surfboards at Alexandra Headland, creating one of the iconic surfboard brands of the early era, which he ran until 1979.
He was key in setting up the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service and helped launch it in 1979. It merged with LifeFlight in 2013.
Mr Kenny was one of the first full-time helicopter crew members and worked on the choppers for 25 years.
“To be involved with that from pretty much day one is one of the things that I’ve been most proud of,” he said.
“The work these rescue crews do for the Sunshine Coast community is incredible.”
The gala, with a Palm Springs theme, will include special auction items, patient stories and wining and dining at the Novotel Sunshine Coast Convention Centre.
