{"id":420419,"date":"2026-01-18T03:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420419\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T03:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:39:21","slug":"the-central-queensland-town-of-agnes-water-and-its-surfing-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420419\/","title":{"rendered":"The central Queensland town of Agnes Water and its surfing culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the picturesque kind of place travellers visit once and decide to stay.<\/p>\n

Angus Darling was tripping around the country in a caravan with his wife and children when he made a stop at Agnes Water, a coastal town in central Queensland.<\/p>\n

“It does suck people in,” Mr Darling said.<\/p>\n

“But it’s not until you live here and you start connecting with people and it really does draw you into that Agnes bubble,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Angus Darling decided to settle in Agnes Water with his family after travelling around Australia. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir)<\/p>\n

Part of the town’s “bubble” are ex-professional surfer Zane Harrison, who runs a local surf school, and board maker Bruce Palmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Agnes Water is known to have some of the most northerly point breaks on Australia’s east coast, with “secret” secluded beaches part of its allure.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Despite having smaller or inconsistent waves at times, the coastal town is loved by surfers. (Supplied: Surfs Up Eastern Suburbs)<\/p>\n

Mr Darling has lived in the town since 2021, working remotely for his employer in Sydney.<\/p>\n

It didn’t take him long to be elected president of the Tide n Turn Boardriders Club\u2014a position he has held for two years now.<\/p>\n

It is one of the oldest boardriding clubs in the country, having turned 60 last year.<\/p>\n

“[The club] really started as a group of mates coming down to hang out and camp, and they used to get waves \u2026 but it was more just about that connection,” Mr Darling said.<\/p>\n

\"Rack<\/p>\n

The surf community in Agnes Water has grown, particularly with the influx of young families in the area. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir)<\/p>\n

An avid surfer himself, Mr Darling said the club had seen a surge in memberships from young families who moved to the region around the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Paul White has lived in the town for the past 25 years and has helped foster the community’s love of surfing.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul White says the surf in Agnes Water is not “consistent”. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir)<\/p>\n

“There’s surf right along the coastline to where the Great Barrier Reef chops [the swell] off \u2026 so there’s all these little magical beaches,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr White is the director of the local longboard classic surf competition, an event he said has grown as more families chose Agnes and the nearby town of Seventeen Seventy as their homes.<\/p>\n

\"Men<\/p>\n

The Agnes Water Longboard Classic competition kicks off in March. (Supplied: Surfs Up Eastern Suburbs)<\/p>\n

He said while the waves were not always consistent, surfers here have a better chance out on the water.<\/p>\n

“You go out surfing for the day, and you get 30 to 40 waves in your session here at Agnes Water, and you feel really great because you’ve done what surfing’s about,” Mr White said.<\/p>\n

“[But] down south, they’re populated, it’s hard to get waves.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A competitor at the Agnes Water Longboard Classic. (Supplied: Surfs Up Eastern Suburbs)<\/p>\n

Small town, small surf<\/p>\n

With a population of less than 3,000 people, Agnes Water has become a laid-back tourism destination.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Amber Rodgers says the gentle waves at Agnes Water and 1770 make the beaches appealing to beginner surfers. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

President of Discovery Coast Tourism and Commerce, Amber Rodgers, said the town’s population roughly tripled during peak holiday periods.<\/p>\n

“Essentially for us, domestic visitors are really our number one bread and butter, all year-round, and from all parts of the country,” Ms Rodgers said.<\/p>\n

“We see caravaners from Adelaide and Victoria, we see a lot of local people from just within our 400 [kilometre] radius close to here, and they often love to visit more than once a year.”<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The Agnes Water main beach is loved by locals, tourists and pooches. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

Ms Rodgers said the region had an average of 300 days of sunshine, and the main beach offered beginners excellent conditions for learning to surf.<\/p>\n

According to the most recent census data, from 2016 to 2021, the Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy area grew in population by about 25 per cent.<\/p>\n

Secret spots and camaraderie<\/p>\n

Despite its popularity, locals said visitors don’t generally come for the waves, which can be irregular or small.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Amber Walker got involved with the local surf club before becoming an instructor herself. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir)<\/p>\n

Surf instructor Amber Walker moved with her family to Agnes Water and has been a member of the boardriders club for about a decade.<\/p>\n

“The waves definitely don’t attract people because they’re not consistent, but it’s more so the small town and the community that you only get in small country towns,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s the friendship, it’s the camaraderie, all those things.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

The town is known for its sense of community and love of the outdoors. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

She joined the club for social reasons and later became an instructor at a local surf school.<\/p>\n

Ayla Klicker, 17, moved to the town with her family a decade ago.<\/p>\n

She had surf lessons with Ms Walker for about a year.<\/p>\n

\"Girl<\/p>\n

Ayla Klicker says the secret surf spots at Agnes Water will “have to stay secret”. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir)<\/p>\n

Ms Klicker said she used to be apprehensive about getting into the water but felt welcomed by other surfers.<\/p>\n

“I used to be super scared going out because there weren’t that many girls that surf \u2026 but recently there’s been a lot more girls getting into it,” Ms Klicker said.<\/p>\n

She said she had built her confidence and had discovered several secret spots.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got some secret spots, and you’ll never see anyone at them, so they’ll have to stay secret \u2026 but it’s super fun if you look for them,” Ms Klicker said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s the picturesque kind of place travellers visit once and decide to stay. Angus Darling was tripping around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[221409,221411,221406,221407,43,221408,44,24490,221410,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-420419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-agnes-water-surfing","tag-agnes-water-tourism","tag-boardriding","tag-bruce-palmer","tag-headlines","tag-local-tourism","tag-news","tag-surfing","tag-surfing-culture","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}