Paddling out to catch a wave in Australia in the 1960s was a nerve-wracking experience for many women, but not for Phyllis O’Donnell.

Women weren’t welcome in the surf, but Ms O’Donnell didn’t care.

It was 1964 and she had just won the first women’s world surfing championship at Manly in Sydney.

The win was a shock because many onlookers had expected a Hawaiian or Californian entrant to take the inaugural title.

“No one knew about Australia, but when Phylly and [male surfer] Midget Farrelly both won a world title that year, it just put Australia on the map,” Ms O’Donnell’s best friend, Josette Lagardere, said.

“It put women’s surfing on the map.”

Ms O’Donnell was honoured on Saturday with a paddle-out at the Gold Coast’s Kirra Beach.

The beloved surfing icon passed away last month, aged 87, but leaves behind a legacy that paved the way for future surfing legends.

‘Aggressive in the surf’

Ms Lagardere was representing California in the 1966 world surfing championships when she met Ms O’Donnell.

The Australian convinced the Californian to brave a 21-day boat journey across the globe, to move to the sleepy South East Queensland surf town of Coolangatta.

The pair settled into a tiny flat in the picturesque Rainbow Bay and spent their days riding turquoise waves.

“She was a good surfer and could handle anything,” Ms Lagardere said.

 “She became a very aggressive woman in the surf because she had to fend her way to enjoy a sport she thought everyone should enjoy.

Fighting for women in the waves 

Ms O’Donnell stepped back from professional surfing in 1972 and turned her focus towards fighting for the rights of female surfers.

In 1983, she led a group of women who broke away from Surfing Australia to create their own competition series, the Women’s Surfing Association.

The group eventually dissolved, but successfully pushed Surfing Australia to improve their conditions for female competitors.

“They got bigger allocations in international competitions, more competitions and better wave selection,” Surf World Gold Coast’s Rod Brooks said.

“Before that, they were made to compete when the onshore wind came up and the waves got all choppy.”

Competitive for life

Ms O’Donnell settled in Kingscliff, in northern New South Wales, and never let her competitive streak wain, taking up swimming and the gym.

“She was a gym junkie, always very active and enjoyed life to the max,” Ms Lagardere said.

“She was a character and stubborn in her own ways, but she loved attention and anyone in Kingscliff would know her because she loved opera singing.

“She’d drive around and turn it up in the car and you would hear her all the way up the block playing it. She was just remarkable.”