His Surfboard Was Stolen 40 Years Ago, Now Returned As Valuable Vintage

A surfboard was returned to its Australian surfer after it was stolen from him 40 years ago, local media reported on Sunday.

Peter Gilson said his mother saved some A$1,800 Australian dollars ($1,315) and bought him the surfboard in Newcastle, New South Wales state in the late 1970s but it was soon stolen from the garage, reports Xinhua news agency.

"To be honest, at the time, being a young kid, I didn''t really give it too much thought but as the years went by it occurred to me how much of a sacrifice my mum had made to get me that board," Gilson said.

Four decades later, Gilson began repairing vintage surfboards and spotted his stolen one with its unique horse image online -- someone had taken a photo of it at a surfing memorabilia gallery in Western Australia on the other side of the country.

Gilson contacted the gallery owners and told them about his connection to the surfboard, which had "probably passed through many sets of hands over the years", by providing an old photo of it.

The surfboard''s latest owner decided to send the surfboard to Gilson and "hand it back free of charge".

The widely lauded gesture is "always a bonus" as vintage surfboards can fetch premium prices.