Roland Tang, below, with a 1940s redwood board and a 1937 Ford woodie, has gathered surfing artifacts for the Hawaii International Surfing Museum. Some of the treasures he has collected, such as the collection of boards above, were displayed at an Ala Moana Center exhibit. The museum is seeking a permanent home.
Photos byCraig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin

"There is nothing like (the museums) in Hawaii," Tang says. "They were more Hawaiian than Hawaii."

The frustrating West Coast visits have galvanized Tang into action. He has poked, prodded, searched and finally secured Hawaii's treasure troves of Hawaiian surfing artifacts, and has formed a hui called the Hawaii International Surfing Museum to try and give the special objects a home.

Judging from a coming-out exhibition at Ala Moana Center, Tang has done a good job of ferreting out the goodies, with major help from fellow collectors Bob Reynolds, Andy Tam, Mark Fragale, Fred Hemmings and Greg Lui Kwan.

"We're putting the bait out here and seeing who goes for it," Reynolds said of the exhibition.

The bait was irresistible. Ancient olo, alaia and kiko'o boards were attractively displayed beside flashier modern replicas of the traditional boards. Throughout the exhibit were modern classic surfboards from the '60s through the '90s, beautiful balsa boards and gaily pigmented foam boards.

For the unwashed masses, the exhibition featured a beautiful tricked out, souped up 1937 Ford woody, splendid historical and action photos, lively posters promoting surf movies from decades past, and displays of surf decals and patches.

Cultural perspective was provided by a section honoring Duke Kahanamoku and a long-overdue tribute to the contributions made to surfing by local shaper/coach/competitor Ben Aipa.

The public went for the bait eagerly, as thousands of curious surfers and others visited the exhibit, their faces lighting up with recognition as they caught a glimpse of their personal past or spotted something strange and wonderful from surfing's bygone eras.

It was a tantalizing glimpse of what a permanent museum might achieve, and more treasures remain undiscovered. "John Kelly, George Downing and Wally Froiseth have incredible collections," said Reynolds. "We're afraid their boards will end up like our incredible termite-chambered balsa board."

There are collections of surfboards and memorabilia in dozens of homes, and many wives and girlfriends who would be delighted to see the collections taken to a central location.

All that's needed is a permanent home, preferably in Waikiki. Such a site would honor the important part the area has played in surfing's renaissance at the turn of the century, and would be a perfect location to attract tourists and residents alike.

While the hui searches for such a location, they have been offered free quarters at Ward Centre for a year. They would only have to pay utilities, employees and a curator, a not-unsurmountable task for a nonprofit organization.

"I talked to people in California who ran museums there, and they asked why we were going nonprofit," said Tang. "They said it was too hard. I told them that in Hawaii if you're not nonprofit, local people think you're only in it for the money."

That is certainly not Tang's motive, nor that of his fellow collectors. Although only a surfer for the past five years, he was so obsessed with creating a surf museum in Hawaii that he neglected his shop, Makai Surf. Tang finally closed the surf shop to concentrate on making the Hawaii International Surf Museum a reality.

In a fine display of gentle tolerance, his family business in Kahaluu has freed Tang to pursue his surf museum dream.

He has studied the museums on the mainland for the last three years to see the problems they are having, and recently returned from another tour where he talked to museum directors to find out what they are doing right. He also visited collectors to bring Hawaii memorabilia back where it belongs.

"A lot of our history has been going over there," Tang said. "They have scouts that have been sending Hawaii stuff to California. I want to stop that.

"We also want to educate people about how Hawaii has pioneered so much in surfing."

Now all he needs is a home for his hui's museum.

To donate or loan material to the Hawaii International Surfing Museum, telephone Roland Tang at 239-9770, or fax 239-8455.