Morning of the Earth: Classic surf movie

Surfing is a huge part of Bali’s attraction. Instead surfing’s success in intertwined with the rise of tourism in Bali. Many of the early warungs and guests houses in the Kuta area were there to serve the surfers who ventured over from Australia, to discover the mysteries of Bali.
Bali and Indonesia are the ultimate adventure for surfers, who can explore the archipelago cheaply and discover new breaks. Back in 1970 many of Bali’s famous breaks were still undiscovered, or at least, unpublicized. People talk about the ‘Secret Place‘ (Uluwatu) and how word got around of the great waves out there. From Kuta it took hours to get to due to the lack of roads and obstacles in the way.

In 1971 Australian Albert Falzon filmed Morning of the Earth, a classic surf movie, that took in footage of surfers in Australia, Hawaii and Bali. Uluwatu was ‘discovered’ in Morning of the Earth, as far as the surfing world was concerned.

Morning of the Earth was filmed on location at Angourie, New South Wales, Australia, Broken Head, New South Wales, Australia, Kirra, Queensland, Australia, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, Lennox Head, New South Wales, Australia, Maui, Hawaii, USA, O`ahu, Hawaii, USA, Whale Beach Wedge, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Surfers featured in the film are:
Stephen Cooney, Terry Fitzgerald, Barry Kanaiaupuni, Gerry Lopez, Michael Peterson, David Treloar, Nat Young.

Arthur O’Bryan gives a great account of Morning of the Earth, describing its style and impact. The film combined great photography, seamlessly combined with a musical soundtrack and profiled the growing surf sub-culture. Here is a section of the official website mentioning the filming at Kuta and Uluwatu.

Morning of the Earth can be found on DVD in many large DVD shops in the Kuta area, along with other classics such as Endless Summer.