A bronze statue honoring Pauline Menczer, Bondi Beach's only world surfing champion, was unveiled on Friday afternoon at the southern end of the iconic Australian beach. The 55-year-old former professional surfer, who won her world title in 1993, had been largely forgotten until the 2021 documentary "Girls Can't Surf" brought her remarkable story back into the spotlight.
The statue depicts Menczer in a characteristic pose from her youth, scanning the waves with her surfboard at her side while holding the skateboard she used to ride down the hill from her family home. "It just feels amazing," Menczer said of the honor before the rain-affected ceremony. "It's like I'm permanently checking the surf now."
The tribute came about through a community campaign launched by "Girls Can't Surf" director Chris Nelius, who raised $150,000 for the statue after Waverley Council approved its installation. "As I was cutting the film together and going for a surf at Bondi in the morning before work, I thought: No one realizes that this woman is the only person from Bondi, male or female, to ever win a world title," Nelius explained.
When the documentary was released, Menczer was driving a school bus north of Byron Bay for a living while battling a rare autoimmune disease that caused painful blisters and burns on her skin. Although she loved driving the bus for the time she spent with the schoolchildren, it represented a modest life after two decades as a dynamic competitor on the early women's professional surfing tour.
Menczer's path to championship glory was marked by extraordinary challenges. Growing up with a single mother of four after her taxi driver father was murdered, she faced abuse from male surfers in the Bondi waves as a teenager. During her professional career, she struggled with crippling rheumatoid arthritis, a lack of sponsors since she didn't fit the blonde surfer girl ideal of the time, the sport's boys' club mentality, and fears about revealing her sexual orientation.
On the day of the tour's climactic contest in 1993, Menczer's arthritis was so severe that she doubted she could even surf. However, when the competition horn sounded, her determination to win and the adrenaline rush made her forget about the pain until she was announced as world champion. Remarkably, Menczer received no prize money for her victory, only a trophy she later discovered was broken.
The surfing community's recognition of Menczer's achievement led to additional support beyond the statue. When supporters ran a GoFundMe campaign to raise the $25,000 she should have received for her world title win, Menczer demonstrated her characteristic generosity by giving away everything over that total—$35,000—to people she considered more deserving, including a father of five in the Philippines with the same autoimmune disease and a disabled surfers association.
Now living at Brunswick Heads, Menczer works as a part-time caregiver for a man with multiple sclerosis and advocates for making beaches more accessible. "I'm always fighting ill health, but I'm soldiering on," she said. Initially, when Nelius asked if she wanted a statue, Menczer was reluctant. "I just thought, I don't need a statue. I don't have a big head. But after hundreds of beautiful messages I got after the movie, I realized how important it is to share your story."
The impact of her story became clear through the responses she received, including one from someone who was suicidal from the pain of their arthritis. "After getting messages like that, I realized this statue is really important if it inspires just one person," Menczer said. "When you're unwell, you really feel like you're on your own. But when you hear about other people [with a similar disease], you can reach out."
The ceremony occurred during a remarkable week for Australian surfing, following seven-time world champion Layne Beachley's Dawn Award win at a Sport Australia Hall of Fame dinner and eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore's announcement that she would return to the world championship tour next year to pursue a ninth title.
Sculptor Cathy Weiszmann, who has previously created sculptures of sports stars including Adam Goodes, Belinda Clark, Johnny Warren, and Betty Cuthbert, worked closely with Menczer to determine the statue's pose. They went through photos from Menczer's early life to capture the perfect moment. "We wanted to capture youth and determination and just the happiness of being able to surf," Weiszmann explained. "She had learned from getting to know Menczer that surfing is a special thing that you do with your soul."
The statue's location holds special significance for Menczer, positioned just meters away from where she used to stand as a young surfer checking the waves. When Menczer last surfed at Bondi earlier this year, she was struck by how much the beach culture had changed. "I actually couldn't believe that I got called on to waves," she said. "Before I had to hassle and be hard-core. So it feels like I've earned respect there now."
The bronze tribute ensures that Bondi Beach will forever honor its pioneering female champion, serving as both recognition of past achievements and inspiration for future generations of surfers facing their own challenges.
