VALE ALAN GEORGE GRIFFITHS

Alan Griffiths (Griffo to us all) a hugely respected member of Boomerang and Gabba clubs left this world on 7th July 2026.

The following is a rememberance speech given by Don Cotterill of the Tugun Surf Club at the Memorial Service.

My name is Don Cotterill and I had the pleasure of calling Alan George Griffiths a mate. I don’t recall exactly when I first met Griffo, but after joining the Tugun Surf Club he was just always there.

He was Tugun’s go to for anything requiring an MC, well respected and when Griffo spoke the room would hush. When it came to surfboats he was the voice of summer. Everyone knew Griffo and he seemed to know everyone too. Well known for his commentating expertise, Griffo was an entertainer on the microphone as his distinctive voice echoed across beaches all over Queensland and Australia. He was quick-witted, had a good grasp of the English language and possessed the best one-liners.

I have borrowed some of these one-liners over the years, but one of my favourites would have to be Griffo’s observations of a surfboat upside down in the break during a surfboat race, ‘Oh look at the crew in Alley 6, they're in more trouble than the early settlers’ This was just one of thousands.

There was no doubt Griffo had the gift of the gab, but this was confirmed to me when I first met his gorgeous wife Maxine. There is no way he had won her over with his physical appearance or good looks. I could only put it down to a meeting of intellects. Griffo was never more proud than when he spoke about Maxine and his girls Pascal and Xanthia. They were the joy of his life and he would take much pleasure letting us know their achievements and where life was taking them. Griffo and I grew closer over the years and he was one I could confide in without judgement. He was a good listener and always provided a considered and balanced response to any of life’s challenges that I may have experienced. I valued his opinions and a problem shared with Griffo was always heading towards a problem solved.

He had a big impact on my life and was a second father figure to me. I know I am not the only in this room that shared a similar relationship with Griffo.

Now Griffo’s not expecting me to stand up here and be all melancholy and sad, he knows there’s at least a little roasting coming.

It would be unkind of me to call Griffo tight, but I feel I wouldn’t get much push back if I said that when it comes to finances, Griffo was fiscally responsible, conservative, even in his approach.

When a tiler wanted to charge extra to carry tiles up 3 flights of stairs at his unit in Miami, Griffo thought it a great opportunity for the Tugun boat crew to get some extra training in, convincing the boat sweep of the benefits.

At a surfboat carnival in Stockton, his good mate and co-commentator Steve Gray suffered a heart attack and was taken to hospital. Griffo visited after the carnival had finished for the day. He found Steve in good spirits and recovering well. Steve explained that he would remain in hospital for a few days and his wife was travelling from Tasmania to take him home. With this news in hand, Griffo turned to Steve and said ‘Well you probably won’t be needing those free beer tickets’. Then there’s the infamous ‘sauce gate incident’. Heading home from an interstate surfboat carnival in the Tugun bus, they stopped at a servo in Grafton late at night. Buying a pie, Griffo took exception to paying 20 cents for sauce. He had spotted a bottle of sauce in the closed restaurant next to the take-away. Sneaking in, he grabbed the sauce bottle and gave it a good squeeze. Unfortunately for Griffo the whole lid came off the bottle and emptied its full contents, not only on the pie but all over Griffo. Returning to the bus looking like he’d been attached by an axe murderer, the boys complained for the next 3 hours of a tomato sauce smell that they couldn’t shake.

In 2002 Griffo called his most memorable race. There were 2 Tugun crews in the drama filled Open boat final At the Australian Titles, the winning crew was in the boat that had been named after Griffo. Part of winning the Aussie titles is being given the trophy and having a plaque engraved to go on the trophy. On that plaque, we engraved the crews name and coach, and on the back we engraved ‘Dedicated to Griffo’, such was the respect we had for the man.

I contacted Griffo one year to invite him along to our Tugun boat section end of season celebration. It was a bus trip involving visiting several surf clubs. Griffo said that this event probably wasn’t his thing, so we landed on including Griffo’s house as one of our stops. It was a successful day and at the end of the day I tried passing my wisdom onto the group. I explained that the best that you can hope for out of Surf Life Saving is having a bus full of boaties rock up to your house to have a beer with you. The gold medals are overrated, and its the life- long friendships that you make that are the most valuable. Griffo you are proof of that.