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In the early 1960s, Joe Sweeney famously paid a local farmer to bulldoze the first access to Torquay, Australia’s Bells Beach.

On Monday, Sweeney died from a rare auto-immune disease. He was 82.

Along with literally paving the way for surfers to ride the wild waves of Bells, Sweeney was also responsible for building the coveted trophies for the Rip Curl Pro, which was held at his homespot since the seventies.

Prior to Sweeney paying off a local farmer for beach access, surfers had to scramble their way through the bushy cliffs. So Sweeney paid 30 pounds for the first road. And upon entry, he charged surfers one pound each, until he made the money back.

“They needed to get in there a little easier than getting bogged in the paddocks and the dense paddocks and so they just created an easier route in,” Jeff Sweeney, Joe’s son, told ABC.

Although a diehard surfer, Sweeney was more than just a salty Bells Beach local. He also was an Olympic wrestler, representing Australia in the 1956 Melbourne games. And he was a teacher for a period of time as well at Corio Tech in Geelong.

But surfing was, for him, a lifelong passion. He even surfed on Christmas Day last December, calling it the highlight of his year.

In 2011, he told ABC:

“If you can get a nice, sunny day and sitting out the back with the sun of your back, talking to your mates, it’s the closest I ever get to going to church.”

 
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