Southwest Rocks Country Club charged over surfer Chris Davidson’s one punch death

A club and its manager have been charged after a former surf star was killed in a one-hit attack outside the quiet beachside spot.

The South West Rocks Country Club, on the north coast of New South Wales, was charged on Tuesday with 16 offenses, including a licensee allowing indecency/violence on licensed premises, breaching the terms of the license and breaking the rules of a registered club.

Police found surfer Chris Davidson, 45, unconscious on the ground after being called to the club shortly after 11 p.m. on September 24, following reports that a man had been punched in the face, had fell and hit his head on the pavement.

Grant Coleman, 42, was charged with assault resulting in death and is facing court over the incident.

“Middle North Coast Police District Licensing Police issued court attendance notices to the club and club manager on Tuesday,” a police statement said.

Charges against the club will be heard in Kempsey Local Court on March 9.

Coleman was arrested about half an hour after the alleged assault on Mr Davidson, who was representing Australia in surfing, and has been in jail ever since.

Both men are well known in the area as great sportsmen.

Chris Davidson (left) is pictured with a friend. Mr Davidson died after a suspected one-hit attack outside a pub on Saturday night.

Coleman (pictured) was a local soccer star who grew up in a sporting family with his three brothers, including NSW Waratahs coach Darren Coleman.

The defendant, whose late father Greg ‘Whale’ Coleman was a former player for the Penrith Panthers, grew up in South West Rocks after his father took a position as player-coach with the then-Kempsey Cowboys around 1984.

Along with his three brothers, Darren, Scott, and Matt, Coleman was heavily involved in soccer and has been a long-standing member of the local sports community.

Darren Coleman is the current manager of the New South Wales rugby union team, the Waratahas.

Most recently, Grant was involved in coaching the junior rugby union team, the Smithtown Tigers, coaching the next wave of superstars from August 2021.

Meanwhile, tributes began pouring in online for Mr. Davidson, who defeated American surfing champion Kelly Slater in two straight heats at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in Victoria in 1996.

At the time, Mr. Davidson was just 19 years old and had been admitted to the competition as a wild card.

The alleged fight occurred outside the South West Rocks Country Club (pictured) on Saturday night.

Both men were locals who were well known within the community. Pictured: The interior of South West Rocks Country Club

“Lost another soldier yesterday,” Slater wrote in an Instagram tribute, along with a photo of Davidson.

I had a lot of good battles with this guy. One of the most naturally talented surfers I’ve ever met.

Another friend said that Mr. Davidson had been ‘kidnapped too soon’.

“Thinking of your many friends around the world and of course your family,” he said.

‘Such a wild and warm-hearted character who will be sorely missed. RIP Davo.

A family friend who had known Mr. Davidson since the surfer was 14 said he was “one of the most talented surfers” he had ever seen.

Coleman’s lawyer, James Janke, told Daily Mail Australia that his client did not want to comment and maintains his right to silence.

Grant (left) and Darren (right) appear together in 2013 during a trip abroad

Chris Davidson (in red top) walks down the beach during the Rip Curl Pro on April 24, 2011 in Bells Beach, Australia