Gracetown surfers continue tradition 25 years after cliff collapse killed nine people

Skye Thompson was 12 when her father was killed in the Gracetown cliff collapse. (ABC South West: Anthony Pancia)

The last memory Skye Thompson has of her father, Lindsay, was waving goodbye to him on a beach moments before a cliff collapsed killing him and eight other people. 

Ms Thompson was just 12 and competing at a surfing competition in Gracetown, on Western Australia's south-western coast, when her world changed forever.

"I had just finished surfing and was about to leave the beach and that's when the cliff actually fell," she said. 

"That's a difficult memory.

"One I can't visibly remember — I can remember the moments after." 

The collapse occurred on September 27, 1996, when local primary school children were participating in a surfing carnival at Huzza's Beach.

Rescuers sift through the rubble at the site of the Gracetown cliff collapse in 1996.   (Supplied: EMA/Geoscience Australia)

Lindsay Thompson, a teacher and surfing coach, had decided to shelter from rain under a large limestone overhang with other students and teachers. 

Without warning, a portion of the cliff face collapsed killing five of the adults and four of the children.

Surf tradition lives on

It was a tragic day for many, but from the tragedy came a great legacy and tribute to the people who lost their lives that day.

This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the Gracetown Grommets junior surfing competition, which is  held to honour the nine lives lost.

Ms Thompson now co-ordinates the competition, following in her father's footsteps.

Nine crosses mark the hilltop where the cliff collapsed and killed five adults and four children on the beach below. (ABC Open: Ruslan Kulski)

Ms Thompson said the community's response in the wake of the tragedy was extraordinary.

"We were given a lot of counselling through the schools, so we were able to talk and acknowledge the lives that were lost and our own grief.

"[There are still] people in the street who smile and know." 

Next generation surfs on

Lindsay Thompson's grandsons have inherited his love of surfing. (ABC News)

This weekend, 75 competitors under 16 competed in the 25th Gracetown Grommets surfing competition, including Lindsay Thompson's grandchildren.

Ms Thompson said the competition was a chance to remember the people who lost their lives 25 years ago.

"My two oldest boys, Finn and Reef, are competing — watching them surf and compete in the waves that my Dad taught me to surf in, and many other local children, feels like it has come full circle."