Michael Peterson (surfer)
| Michael Peterson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 September 1952 |
| Died | 29 March 2012 (aged 59) Tweed Heads South, New South Wales, Australia |
| Cause of death | Heart Attack |
| Residence | Tweed Heads South, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | MP |
| Occupation | Surfer |
| Years active | 1973–2012 |
| Home town | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
Michael "MP" Peterson (24 September 1952 – 29 March 2012) was a professional Australian surfer. He was considered one of the best surfers in Australia during the early to mid-1970s and was recognised for his deep tube riding skill, especially at Kirra on the Gold Coast, Australia. Peterson was the Australian champion in the years 1972 and 1974, and won many other major surfing competitions. Peterson was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and became publicly known for using illicit drugs.
Peterson was born in a working-class family and lived in several places; the family eventually settled in Coolangatta, when Peterson was 15 years of age, on Queensland, Australia's Gold Coast. Peterson lived in Coolangatta with his mother, Joan, younger brother, Tommy, and younger sisters, Dorothy (Dot) and Denice.
As a young boy, Peterson was involved in surf lifesaving and became a member of the Tweed Heads and Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club; he won many junior titles for swimming. Being a surf lifesaver, also known as a "clubbie", was unpopular during Peterson's youth; but he received access to a locker and warm shower at the beach and therefore maintained his involvement over subsequent years. The price for Peterson's lifesaving was a half-day commitment on surf patrol every month, with a requirement that he wear "sluggos" and monitor the safety of swimmers. However, Peterson became impatient with the conditions of the role and would arrange for his brother to join him on patrol for company.
Peterson commenced surfing on "surf-o-planes" (an inflated rubber mat device invented in 1932) and then graduated to a board called a "Coolite" (constructed from a form of polystyrene beaded foam and first introduced at the beginning of the 1970s). During Peterson's upbringing, his family experienced difficulty with income security and his mother worked extremely long hours in a variety of jobs (such as peeling prawns) to support the children. The Peterson boys couldn't afford to own boards of any kind, and were only able to hire or borrow them; either from Billy Rak at Greenmount or Johnny Charlton at Kirra, both of whom ran tourist hire businesses. The two boys were eventually employed by Rak for two summers, setting up and transporting surfboards for tourists.
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