What changed was the success of a fundraising campaign set up by two fans to raise the prize money she never received for winning the world title. The target was $25,000 but, after a story in this masthead, it raced past $60,000 – leaving Menczer moved to tears and “very, very proud” to be recognised.
Pauline Menczer surfs at Bells Beach in 1996.Credit:Jason Childs
“I was just blown away by people’s generosity,” she said.
The humble Menczer donated everything over $25,000 to people she felt were more deserving.
That included father of five in the Philippines with the same autoimmune disease – he bought a tuk-tuk that he named after her – a disabled surfing association and an autoimmune disease charity.
Menczer, 51, still lives “as meagrely as I can” but the donations eased the stress over her health.
The makers of Girls Can’t Surf, director Christopher Nelius and producer Michaela Perske, have launched the campaign to raise funds for a statue of her at Bondi. It would recognise that she is the only world surfing champion – male or female – from one of the country’s most famous surfing spots.
“We’ve been inspired to do something that makes people feel good and that honours a piece of Bondi history,” Nelius said.
The statue, which is estimated to cost $150,000 from tender to installation, would address the injustice that only 6 per cent of the more than 200 public statues in Sydney are of women.
Menczer, who had to stop driving a school bus because of the COVID-19 risk and became a carer for a man with multiple sclerosis, would be delighted to have a statue.
“The thing that most means to me is encouraging the new generation, especially young girls,” she said. “It’s being a positive role model.
Pauline Menczer drove a school bus north of Byron Bay until her autoimmune disease meant she had to leave the job during the pandemic and become a carer. Credit:Danielle Snith
“The statue is a positive story in every sense because I’m not only representing people with disabilities, I’m also representing the gay community and women.”
Menczer would like the statue to show her surfing as a kid and believes it should be just near the South Bondi shower.
“That’s where I spent my whole life growing up,” she said. “Just hanging on the grass hill there or on the sand.”
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Waverley mayor Paula Masselos said Menczer would feature in the council’s new Story Room in the renovated Bondi Pavilion but she looked forward to exploring options for the statue with the filmmakers.
While hoping the campaign did not distract from flood relief, Menczer said the north coast needed a Sydney hub to direct generators and other emergency equipment to the area and hoped the city’s residents could help house thousands of people who would be without homes in the coming weeks.
She was critical of the “pathetic” lack of support from the federal and state governments and the poor deployment of Australian Defence Force personnel so far.
The GoFundMe campaign is here.
Surf champ helps flood victims as campaign kicks off for her statue
Source: Philippines Alive
