How Newcastle's Ridge Street skate ramp turbocharged Australian skating culture

Since Newcastle's Poppy Starr-Olsen made history by becoming the first Australian to compete in Olympic skateboarding, the Hunter region has become a hub for up-and-coming skateboarders.

But you might not know that one of the key influences on Australian skateboarding came from a 3-metre-tall wooden ramp built by 20 year olds in a suburban Merewether backyard.

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A DIY approach to a world-class ramp

In the early 1980s, Sean Mussett, also known as Gravel Burns, was itching to skate "vert" — to ride down a skate ramp or some sort of vertical incline to perform skateboarding tricks.

"Guys like Tony Hawk were all skating vert and we just didn't have anything like that," he said.

Skaters like Sean 'Gravel Burns' Mussett helped put Newcastle on the skateboarding map in the 1980s. ( ABC Newcastle: Laurise Dickson )

The trouble was that there was nothing like that around Newcastle — just an old, blue, fibreglass ramp down by Bar Beach.

But that wasn't going to stop a ragtag group of skating diehards.

"My mate's dad had a concreting business and we had access to tools, so we started building this monstrous ramp on Ridge Street in late '85, early '86," Sean said.

It took Sean Mussett and his mates three months to build the Ridge Street skate ramp. ( Supplied: Sean Mussett )

Driven by sheer devotion to skating and with some borrowed plywood and timber, Sean and his mates spent three months constructing a skate ramp that was 3m tall and 6m wide — nearly the size of a singles tennis court, but much taller.

Newcastle skateboarding historian, Jim Turvey, reckons the Ridge Street ramp was a unique DIY approach.

Jim Turvey curated an exhibition at Newcastle Museum in 2022 about the local skateboarding history. ( Supplied: Paul Dear )

"It was a world-class vert ramp to skate when there wasn't anything like that around here and it was something that wasn't a facility that was provided by any kind of government body," he said.

"It was just literally people saying, hey, we want one of these so we're just going to make it no matter what."

Putting Newcastle on the map

The ramp ended up on Ridge Street in Merewether because one of Sean's friend's parents had bravely said they could build it in their backyard.

They might not have realised how big the finished ramp would be.

"Every single person who walked into that backyard just looked at it and their mouth dropped," Sean said.

The Ridge Street skate ramp attracted skateboarders from across Australia and New Zealand. ( Supplied: Sean Mussett )

"It would've been the most serious vertical terrain on the east coast of Australia at that time."

Skateboard Australia magazine was first published in 1987 and featured the Ridge Street skate ramp. ( Supplied: Jim Turvey )

From the top, skaters could see out over the treetops and above neighbouring houses.

People would come from across Australia and as far away as New Zealand to try it out.

"It was so good that the Sydney crew would drive up the highway back then, you know, two-and-a-half, three hours and skate for the whole weekend ... week in, week out," Sean said.

The Ridge Street ramp only lasted 10 months before being dismantled due to planning issues, but it had a lasting impact on skate culture around Newcastle.

Sean, along with Al Tindall, would go on to develop one of Australia's first skateboarding magazines, Skateboard Australia, which featured skate competitions at the Ridge Street ramp.

Best skateboarding is happening now

Local governments in the Hunter region are more skate-friendly than they were in the 1980s.

Lake Macquarie City Council has invested more than $3 million since 2021 into constructing three new skate facilities at Windale, Morisset and Croudace Bay, with plans to contribute to the new Watagans skate park development.

Bar Beach skate bowl in Merewether is one of the biggest bowls on the east coast of New South Wales. ( ABC Newcastle: Laurise Dickson )

Local skateboarders like 21-year-old Marley Rae are taking notice.

"The councils are being super generous with us skaters, whether they're building brand new skate parks or they're making skate-friendly areas for street skaters," he said.

"They love what we do and it's really awesome to see."

Marley Rae, 21, is one of Newcastle's best up-and-coming skateboarders. ( ABC Newcastle: Laurise Dickson )

But the memory remains of a bootleg backyard skate ramp towering over the palm trees.

"It's always been super intriguing to me," Marley said.

"Some of those dudes have such a huge influence on my skating to this day."

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