The Chronicles of G-Land
Storytelling and Book Signing with author Dian Hadiani and special guest Doug Warbrick
Come hear Dian talk story on the environment and the relationships between the local Javanese people and the surfer. She will tell the story of John Michael Boyum’s right hand man Sunar and their touching story.
“As interesting as G-Land surf lore, legend, and history are, the story of an unscrupulous Western conman becoming a father figure to an orphaned Asian jungle boy is gold!”
— Dick Lewis, editor, The Chronicles of G-Land
The Chronicles of G-Land relates what really happened to the headland and the bay at the tip of South East Java, commencing in the 15th century to the present time. The history of the region, however, predates the ‘Age of Discovery’ and European Imperialism and reaches beyond the Austronesian Majapahit Kingdom which spanned maritime South East Asia from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east. The unique landscape where the chronicles are centered has evolved gradually since the dawn of time and is a home for wild animals and biodiverse vegetation with certain types of flora considered endangered species.
In April 2022 Dian published The Chronicles of G-Land. G-Land is the most fabled surf break in the world, located in East Java. Well known is the surf camp that is considered the first in the world, established in 1977 by a notorious American surfer, John Michael Boyum.
Doug Warbrick came to G-Land in 1976 before it monetized, and no camp had yet been built. Mike Boyum was working on “The Permit” to build the surf camp. He fooled the authority of the Alas Purwo National Park, but the Indonesian power were all aware about the business venture Mike was planning to build. They gave a “magic letter” that overpowered the National Park.
Dian has never shied away from controversy or the truth in her detailed investigation of particular issues which fire her passions. For The Chronicles of G-Land, she conducted extensive research and painstakingly validated all information which she skillfully weaves through the narrative. Some threads in her rich tapestry of stories have led to the rediscovery of long-lost facts about Alas Purwo National Park.
Dian Hadiani was born in Bandung, West Java, December 3, 1967. She received university degrees in Culinary Art as well as Marketing Management. She has been writing creatively for the past two decades as part of her work in the diverse fields of marketing and communications.
Dian was introduced to surfing in 2000 when she visited Cimaja, West Java. She went to Bali to investigate further about surfing, soon afterwards she moved to Bali. From 2008 to 2010 she conducted research on surfing tourism in Australia, and aimed to assist the Indonesian government to develop a well-planned surfing tourism with cultural and environmental sustainability.
Dian Hadiani was one of keynote speakers at Surf/Skate Conferences at San Diego State University. She presented “The Ancient Jungle in Java & Surfing,” about the correlation between the surfers, the surf industries, the local communities, and the sustainability of Alas Purwo National Park, where the surf camps are located.
Doug Warbrick is an Australian businessman, founder of the Rip Curl brand and notable figure in the sport of surfing. He is credited for bringing the longest running surf event in history, the Bells Beach Surf Classic to the professional surfing circuit. He is a founding member of the ASP World Tour surf aficionado and athlete mentor. Warbrick was an original member of the ASA (now Surfing Australia) in 1963 and was a committee member and V.P. of Surfing Victoria in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also a founding member of the Surfrider Foundation Australia. He has mentored notable athletes such as Tom Curren, Michael Peterson and Mick Fanning. In 2010, Warbrick was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame. Photo: ROWLAND © 2008
Hard cover 9.5″ x 8.25″
350 pages
$75
The Chronicles of G-Land will be available for purchase at the book talk.
