Surfest  Surfest is an annual surfing competition held in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Surfest began in 1985 as an initiative of Newcastle City Council, and at the time, was the world's richest surfing competition. The event runs for thirteen days, and from the 2007 event, has been held at Merewether Beach, having been held between Newcastle Beach and South Newcastle Beach in the past. Surfest adopted a festival-style approach in 2015, with smaller, more official events held on surrounding beaches in the lead up to the main event.