An Australian has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death 35 years ago of an American who fell from a Sydney clifftop that was known as a gay meeting place.

An Australian man was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison for the 1988 murder of an American who fell off a Sydney cliff that was known as a gay meeting place.

A man told police he killed American mathematician Scott Johnson in 1988 by pushing the 27-year-old off a Sydney cliff in what prosecutors describe as a gay hate crime.

Hours from the California coast, surfers are hoping one of the next spots where they can catch a wave is in the hot, dry desert.