Playlist 10: Baron Von Weirdo

Photo: Tracy Lundgren

Self-proclaimed Luddite Darryl Miller, better known as Baron Von Weirdo, has spent decades immersed in Australian surf culture, art and counterculture.

The son of renowned Australian black velvet artist Percy Miller, Darryl followed in his father’s footsteps, developing his own distinctive style as a black velvet artist. Alongside painting, he became a surfboard shaper, collector and historian, founding South of the Border Surfboards in the early 1970s, followed by Blitz Surfboards in the 1980s.

His former shop, Sugar Shack, was housed in the old Fingal Holiday Picture Theatre and was far more than a surf shop. It was his home, surfboard factory, art studio, gallery and a museum-like collection of vintage surfcraft and curiosities gathered from his travels. The Sugar Shack also became a gathering place for like-minded characters, with occasional weekenders featuring rockabilly and surf bands in the front yard and impromptu car shows in the carpark.

Now living in Tasmania, Darryl continues to paint, collect and create, and remains one of the great characters of Australian surf culture.

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Where are you from, and where did you grow up
I was born in Queensland, Australia and moved from Woody Point to Surfers Paradise when I was four years old. For the first couple of years we lived in an old ‘Roma’ caravan on the outskirts of town on Wharf Street. I walked to Surfers’ State School and back with no hassles.

Surfers Paradise, Australia, 1960s

What was it like growing up on the Gold Coast during its golden era
The old Gold Coast was actually a great place to grow up in the 50’s & 60’s. The tallest building when we first arrived was only three stories! There were a lot of motels and many had exotic names and some had Hawaiian tiki styling.

This suited my father just fine as he was into painting on black velvet. At one stage he supplied paintings for the office and many of the rooms in Tiki Village. He eventually built a Black Velvet Gallery on the highway straight opposite my primary school.

Darryl's parents, Daphne & Percy Miller, 1961

Have you always been interest in painting
My dad Percy got me into drawing and painting in oils at an early age. I was still in primary school in fact! I think I painted my first black velvet when I was about 12 years old and attending Miami High. My teacher told me in front of the class that I’d never make it as an artist, so I dropped art as a subject! I hated high school and left in Grade 11. By then I’d fallen in with the wrong crowd... they were all into surfing and skateboarding. To cut a long story short I left Surfers Paradise with a few surfing mates for the big smoke... we took off to Melbourne. We all found odd jobs in factories etc. but eventually hitched back up to the Gold Coast and the warm water.

When did you first open a shop
When I moved to Fingal Head over the border in N.S.W. I eventually opened my own surf shop and art gallery in an old disused picture theatre. It was 1973 and not long after the iconic surf film ‘Morning of the Earth’ by Albe Falzon. A few of my old buddies from school days were in the film, notably M.P. who later in the ‘70s and early ‘80s became a regular visitor to Fingal Head. He shaped a few boards for me around the back in what was originally the toilet block for the old picture show!

Sugar Shack, Fingal Head, Australia

Running a shop, you must have had a lot of interesting things come through the door. Did this play a big role in building your collection
I became a collector by default I guess. I hoarded most of the longboards etc. that came through the door as trade-ins. Mostly we’d just stash them away in one of the projection rooms and forget about them. Anyway by the time there was a resurgence of interest in riding longboards I found we had a nice little collection! In regards to vinyl, especially surf movie soundtracks, I bought every album I could possibly find.

What is your first memory of Surfa Sam
I bought my first skateboard while still at high school. It was a plywood Warwick ‘Bullet’ with hard black rubber wheels and hell to ride! I made the transition to a blue Surfa Sam after a couple of months and many cuts and bruises!

Who is your favourite surfer of all time
My hero was Victorian surfer Wayne Lynch. During conscription for the Vietnam War I was ready to take off south to join Lynchie at his hideout but my number didn’t come up.

What’s the first record you remember buying
The very first record I ever bought was actually a 4 track E.P. ‘Route 66’ by The Stones. I inherited all my father’s collection, which was mostly Exotica and South Seas but also included a few ‘Surf Jazz’ albums. This was from the days before the genre of ‘surf music’ existed. I’ve got a fairly eclectic broad collection of sounds that I like, especially when I’m into a painting. I only ever play vinyl so I prefer to play full albums to suit my mood at the time.

Are there any holy-grail records that you’re still hunting for
One surf movie soundtrack I’m still chasing is the 4 track E.P. From the 1968 film Children of the Sun by a N.Z. band called the Music Convention.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three records, what would you take
[If marooned on a desert island] I’d need to have my ‘Morning of the Earth’ album and ‘The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun’ soundtrack by Farm... and something to play them with of course!

Follow Darryl: @seagypsiesoftasmania

Playlist 10: Baron Von Weirdo

Self-proclaimed Luddite Darryl Miller, better known as Baron Von Weirdo, has spent decades immersed in Australian surf culture, art and counterculture.

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