A quick conversation with Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew is all it takes to realise Bustin’ Down the Door isn’t just a nostalgic look back in time, it’s a story he still feels closely connected to, decades on.
Ahead of the film’s special screening at the Sydney Opera House on 29 April, the former World Champ is generous in his reflections, but also quick to cut through the mythology. He describes the film as a ‘pretty accurate version of events,’ while admitting he was blown away by the finished product – the music, the archival footage, the colour of the interviews. For someone who lived it, the polish didn’t dilute the truth.
What stands out most in Rabbit’s recollections isn’t just the tension the film leans into, but the nuance behind it. The so-called Aussie invasion of Hawaii’s North Shore wasn’t, in his eyes, a calculated takeover. When he first arrived in 1972, he was just a wide-eyed grom soaking it all in – ‘a magical experience,’ not a mission. The rivalries and reputations came later, and, as he tells it now, not always fairly.
That push and pull – between perception and reality – sits at the heart of both the film and Rabbit’s story. While Bustin’ Down the Door captures the flashpoints between visiting surfers and Hawaiian locals, Rabbit points to something deeper: a small group of surfers, including Shaun Tomson and Ian Cairns, who were simply pushing each other to new heights. Changing surfing wasn’t the goal at the time, but looking back, he concedes that’s exactly what happened.
From breakthrough moments at Pipeline to the quieter, scrappier realities of life on the North Shore, Rabbit’s version of events adds texture to the film’s narrative and hints at stories that never made the final cut.
After the screening, Tracks editor Luke Kennedy will host a live Q&A with Rabbit, offering a rare chance to hear those stories first-hand.
Presented by the Sydney Opera House and Tracks, it’s a one-night-only deep dive into a pivotal era — and, as Rabbit sees it, proof that a small group of believers could will professional surfing into existence. Purchase tickets here.
Ahead of the screening we caught up with Rabbit for a bit more of an insight into the film. Check out that brief conversation below.
How accurately does the film capture that time in surfing history?
Jeremy Gosch and Shaun Tomson depicted a pretty accurate version of events over three North Shore Winters.
What was your gut reaction the first time you watched it?
I was so impressed with the quality of the production, the music, classic footage and colourful interviews.
Take us back – what did the North Shore feel like when you first landed there as an Aussie grom with something to prove?
I first went to Hawaii in October 1972. It was a magical experience, surfing the A frames at Rocky Point, not out to prove anything, just drinking in the whole mind blowing experience.
The film leans into the Aussies vs Hawaiians tension- how real was it, and how did those relationships develop over time?
There was a lot of suspicion but the first winters were just amazing. There are no quotes in existence from me saying anything derogatory but I got 100% blamed for what others said and wrote.
You’re often credited as the voice of that crew. Did you always feel that way?
No I did not. I lived with Ian Cairns for two winters and pretty much got blamed for everything he said in his interviews. Decades later a group of retired lifeguards told me I actually did nothing but it was all about slowing me down.
What’s one moment from that era that still sticks with you, film or not?
The first time I surfed huge third reef Pipeline. I snagged an incredible stand up barrel and kind of got a reputation overnight. I wanted more of that big Pipe experience.
Did it feel like you were changing surfing back then or just fighting to survive?
In 1975 Shaun, Michael Tomson, Michael Ho and myself changed backhand surfing at Pipeline. We were just pushing each other, not intentionally trying to revolutionise the backhand assault but it kind of set a new benchmark.
Do you see any of that same hunger in today’s surfing?
Oh I think the backhand surfing at Pipeline today is next level. It’s so amazing what John John and Nathan Florence, Mason Ho, Jamie O, Barron, Seth Moniz and others are doing out there. Nothing’s changed as far as putting it all on the line when you commit to taking off deep at Pipeline, you have to want it.
Got a favourite story from the film that didn’t make the cut?
Spending my last $10 at the Turtle Bay smorgasbord, going home with lots of roast beef and being seen eating slabs of it at dawn the next morning before surfing the Smirnoff Pro Fonal at 20’ Waimea Bay. One of the locals said “those Aussies are animals, they were eating raw meat before surging Waimea”
What do you hope people take away from seeing it at the Sydney Opera House?
The takeaway is that a small group of dreamers were willing pro surfing and a future World Tour into existence. There were so many sceptics but we had an unfaltering belief in this destiny.
