Nossa National Surfing Reserve extends from the Nossa River mouth along Main Beach then out along the headland to Nossa Heads and south for 2.5 km to North Sunshine Beach. In between are some of the best point breaks in Australia. Prior to the coming of Europeans the Nossa area was occupied by the Dalla and Kabi-Kabi tribal groups. White timber getters started arriving in the 1850’s and in 1860 the first settlers arrived. Guest houses commenced during the 1900’s and owing to the growing popularity of surf bathing the Nossa Surf Life Saving Club was established in 1924. Body surfing and surf skis began to grow from the 1950’s, with the first malibu surfed at Nossa in 1957 by Hayden Kenny, the first few years usually alone. However, by the early 1960’s the ‘secret’ was out and southern surfers began frequenting Nossa, camping out in what is now the national park.
The Nossa Heads Surfriders Club was founded and held its first Surfriding Contest in 1968. The Nossa Malibu Club following in the early 1980’s. The 1990’s saw the establishment of the Nossa Beachboy Surfing Club (for standup paddle boards) and the Nossa Turtles, an early morning swimming group. The headland was originally gazetted for development, but battles fought by the locals finally ensured it all became a national park by 1990. Since 1998, Nossa hosts the annual Festival of Surfing every March, the world’s largest surfing event. Finally, in 2013 a group of locals lead by Phil Jarret formed the Nossa National Surfing Reserve Committee and following a nomination in 2014, dedicated the reserve on 6 March 2015.
The Breaks
- Starting at the River Mouth are long peeling lefts and rights breaking over the river mouth sandbar
- Nossa West located between the two rock groynes is variable but can produced A- fame lefts and rights
- The famous point breaks start at First Point a slower easier right favoured by longboarders and novices.
- Little Cove (or Johnsons) can produce fast, hollow waves, which on bigger days link up with Nationals through to First Point.
- Nationals has a popular inside section, with a faster section breaking during bigger swell across shallow rocks called Boiling Pot.
- Tea Tree, reached by a 20 minute walk, offers a fast takeoff, followed by a longwalled middle section.
- The outermost point break is Granite Bay picks up more swell and can produce overhead waves, but is more fickle.
- Around the Heads lies Alexandria Bay, a well know unofficial nude beach, which also offers a variety of beach breaks.
- Finally North Sunshine likewise offers beach breaks which can hold up to overhead.
All up nine breaks offering a wide variety of options, including the worldclass point breaks, which when combined with a balmy sub-tropical climate all the make for a great National Surfing Reserve, which went on to become a World Surfing Reserves on 21 February 2021.
