Last month Western Australia surfer and collector Richard Hadley put part of his surfboard collection up for sale. Interested parties perused the online catalogue then looked forlornly at their own pathetic collections and paltry bank accounts. It was a mighty collection of boards, representing most eras of surfing and many regions around the world.

The sale topped up Richard's bank account to the figure of $330,000, less auction house fees. A healthy sum however you cut it.

And so with dollar signs in our eyes comes the October instalment of the Board Bazaar. Surfboards that sold during the past month for a good sum or those with the potential to do so.

First off is this beautiful Jeff Hakman 7 foot flyer pin from the early 70s. More known for being Mr Sunset and founding Quiksilver International, Hakman only dabbled with shaping and this board's worth extends from the relative rarity of Hakman's shapes, especially down here in the Antipodes. It sold at Von Weirdos for $1,800. A valuable board, no doubt about it, though not as valuable as some of those boards Hakman brought through Australian customs in the mid-70s. 

This Hot Buttered sports the names Brewer, Hawk, Fitzgerald, and Chapman on the deck making it an incredible - and incredibly rare - Australian/Hawaiian collaboration. It's had some restoration work done by Levi Jones and in the process a mural by Martyn Worthington was added thereby extending the eminence. There were 21 bids on eBay with the winning punter bagging it for $1,575. Read Swellnet's recent interview with Levi Jones about the art of board restoring.

Immediately following Richard Hadley's auction a few observers mused that some owners might roll the dice on their collections and see what prices they fetch. And it was true that a few classic boards went to market. This being one of them; a Keyo vee bottom whose size - 8'4" - belies it's Transition Era age. It's in great condition and utterly original throughout. Even the decal, so often faded or with rice paper visible, is in excellent condition. Sold for $1,100.

When Allan Byrne died he was selling hand-shaped boards out of his Currumbin factory for just $700. The morbid dynamics of the Death Effect shifted the price of AB channel bottoms northward, in some instances way north - last month a 7'0" six channel sold for $1,225. This board is 7'2", it's in excellent condition, with a nice burnt orange spray to boot. It's an absolute classic AB shape. But despite that only one person was keen and they picked it up for $900. It'll only keep appreciating.

Here's a suprise package: a late 60s Tracker by Pat Morgan, lemon yellow with a beautifully raked high aspect ratio fin in the classic Greenough style. I know little about Pat Morgan 'cept he made boards in the late 60s/early 70s, some under the Rip Curl label. He never had a breakthrough design, and had few name surfers on his shapes, yet this board fetched a mighty $2,400 at Von Weirdos. I'm gonna defer to the judgement of others, but the thought lingers: the quality of purchase relates to the colour of the board.

Last month's Board Bazaar featured a Hayden thruster that was looking a little out of place in fluoro 80s spray. Here's one that sits a bit more comfortably in its skin: a Greenough-inspired spoon from Hayden's late 60s heyday. Old George even shaped some of his Velo spoons out of the Hayden factory. If you can't get your hands on a Velo this is the next best thing, it's thick with history and in OK nick too. 6 bids took it to $1,075 which is a bit less than I thought it would've grabbed. Is it cos it's a kneelo?

Earlier I mentioned Pat Morgan shaped for Rip Curl, well, here's a Rip Curl board from that era, around 1970. Not sure who shaped it as there's no visible markings although a clump of fibreglass on the bottom behind the fin may mask initials. The address is the famous Boston Road, Torquay, address and the shapers then were, among others, Brian Singer, Claw, even Wayne Lynch. Bit of mystery with this one. 24 bids took it to $305 which makes it a good buy, name shaper or not. Plenty of potential in this board.

No unrealised potential in this board: it's value sits front and centre, right where the Lightning Bolt logo rests. Still in doubt? Then check Gerry Lopez' signature just to the side. It's a 7'2" Pipeline gun from the master, shaped around 1973 with all manner of trappings: timber fin, resin bolt, resin pin lines. Bit of colour would've been nice but it's the flashiest beige board I've seen. Wouldn't have appeared out of place at Hadley's auction. 16 bids took it up to $1,475.

One more that wouldn't have appeared out of place is this combined effort from Glynn Ritchie and Scott Dillon. Ritchie won the first Bells Beach comp, Dillon was one of Australia's biggest board makers in the 60s, and also a leading big wave surfer. This board was reportedly shaped in '65/'66 and must've been one of the earliest boards to shirk the D-fin. Owner says the fin is original (it's routed into the foam). A similar board was sold at Noosa Festival auction in 2010 for nearly $1,500. This went for $750.

...and now for the bargain of the month. It ain't a vintage board, the kind you'd see at an auction, but it is a classic. This Brewer Chapman has Owl's signature on the stringer that supports 7 feet of clean Hawaiian lines. Although Dick Brewer is no longer involved it still boasts the plumeria lei logo and that's gotta count for something. It sold to a lone bidder for just $400, perhaps due to the vague listing on eBay. Just called a 'surfboard' amongst the many thousands of beaters, with no mention of Brewer or Chapman. It pays to hunt.

Board Bazaar - September   Board Bazaar - August   Board Bazaar - July   Board Bazaar - June
Board Bazaar - May   Board Bazaar - April   Board Bazaar - February