In December 1914, Duke Kahanamoku, the world sprint swimming champion, was touring Australia. He selected timber from a Sydney firm to fashion a board modelled on those used in his native Hawaii, and during a demonstration to the press, introduced surf board riding to Australia at Freshwater Beach on Thursday 24 December. It was the first recorded time that anyone had surfed the clean waves beyond the break in Australian waters using this Hawaiian-style surfing technique. It was so popular that a second spur of the moment demonstration was given on a Sunday in January 1915. Duke topped the performance by taking a local young girl, Isabel Letham on the board with him to surf the waves. Isabel went on to become a pioneer of Australian surfing. The board has been kept on display in the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club since 1952. There is now a statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku on the headland at Freshwater. The statue was sculpted by artist Barry Donohoo, one of the last works by the artist before his death. In 2012, Warringah Council in partnership with Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club signed a Goodwill Beach City Agreement with the coastal community of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. The ceremony came as part of an annual celebration of Duke Kahanamoku, who introduced surfing to Australia at Freshwater beach in 1915. The signing by Warringah Mayor, Michael Regan and Honolulu Mayor, Peter Carlisle was a celebration and strengthening of historic ties between the two regions. At the 2016 census, there were 8,866 residents in Freshwater. 66.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 8.9%, New Zealand 2.7%, Brazil 1.3%, United States of America 1.2% and South Africa 1.2%. 82.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Portuguese 1.5% and Italian 1.3%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.5%, Catholic 25.2% and Anglican 15.5%. The median weekly household income of $2,268 was higher than the national median of $1,438. 51.0% of occupied private dwellings were flats or apartments, 44.3% were separate houses and 4.3% were semi-detached. The median monthly mortgage payment was $2,600. Freshwater is home to 2 primary education schools. Harbord Public School caters for students from years K-6 was established in 1912 and St John the Baptist Catholic School.