Robert Bagnall was born in Mosman and has had a long association with Balmoral Beach Club, from spending summer weekends there as a child to remaining an active member today. Rob talks about the history of the Club, its origins and continued existence owing much to community spirit, and his passion for maintaining the Club’s accessibility and affordability for all.
Paul Delprat is an Australian artist and principal of the Julian Ashton Art School. The school was established by his great grandfather Julian Ashton in 1890 after frequenting the artists’ camps at Balmoral in the 1880s. In this interview Paul talks about growing up surrounded by art, working on the films Age of Consent and Sirens and more recently his participation in Mosman’s art world and the establishment of his Principality of Wy.
Judy Gibson has been an active member of the Taronga Zoo Friends Association since 1988, a zoo volunteer and guide from 1989 to 2001 and then a staff member, taking over the role of Manager of volunteers in 2005. Armed with a vast knowledge of the zoo, Judy’s stories take us from her earliest childhood memories of visits to Taronga Zoo to behind the scenes with staff, visitors and of course the animals.
Colleen Godsell talks about the restoration project involved in saving The Barn, the last remaining maritime building in Sydney and the birthplace of scouting in Australia. Colleen takes us through the highs and lows of her five year personal commitment to fundraising and the overwhelming support from the scout movement and the Mosman community.
John Hiscox moved to Mosman at the age of four, played baseball and cricket for Mosman from an early age and spent many years on the Committee of the Mosman Cricket Club. Having just completed writing the history of Mosman Cricket Club John is well versed to tell us about the Club, including the members that went on to fame and fortune outside Mosman.
Dominic Lopez OAM served the people of Mosman as Councillor from December 1968 to January 2012. This commitment to Mosman started in 1935 for the Lopez family when Antonio Lopez opened a fruit shop in Mosman Junction. Against this backdrop Dom reminisces about the family business, the goodwill of the customers and the changes in Mosman and Spit Junction.
Gaynor Mitchell has lived in Mosman since the 1960s although her connection with Mosman started much earlier with her performance in the Mosman Musical Society’s 1949 production of The Geisha. In this interview Gaynor recalls many special moments in her 26 years of performing with the Society.
Barry O’Keefe AM was elected to Mosman Council in 1968 with bushland conservation and control of development his key principal policy areas. He served the people of Mosman for 23 years including a record ten terms as Mayor of Mosman. In this interview he speaks with enthusiasm about living in Mosman and his involvement in public life.
Marlene Reid and her husband Jim, along with their young family, moved their business and home into a boatshed at The Spit in 1967 and spent the next 41 years at this picturesque entrance to Mosman. Marlene looks back on this time with delight and, despite the hard work, it was still a beautiful part of Mosman to live.
Gavin Souter AO is a journalist, historian, author and patron of the Mosman Historical Society. He wrote Mosman: a history for Mosman Council in 1994 and regards the suburb rich with historical material. He reveals some of this wealth when talking about the early defences at Middle Head and the Amphitheatre built at the northern end of Balmoral.
Kenneth Dryland was the director of the inaugural Festival of Mosman in 1981 and continued to direct this major event until 1997.
Diane Wachman was also an active and integral member of the Festival of Mosman committee during this period.
Together they relive the early years of the Festival, festivals that brought the Mosman community together and put Mosman on the map for arts, entertainment and shopping!
Mavis Sykes (1909-1997), remembered as ‘Miss Sykes’, started teaching ballet in Mosman from the 1920s and went on to choreograph Mosman Musical Society productions and establish her own ballet school in Mosman where she taught till her retirement in 1993.
To celebrate and honour Mavis Sykes, her friends, former students and son Ian Campbell reminisce about the life of this remarkable woman. Their memories, illustrated with over 200 photographs bring to life the Mavis Sykes story.
Patrick and Ellen Leahy started their real estate business in Mosman in 1890 and it still exists today, in the same family, as P.Leahy Pty Ltd.
The story of the oldest business in Mosman comes alive with reminiscences from friends and family and over 200 images of early Mosman. Celebrate with P.Leahy Pty Ltd over 125 years of the bust and boom of Mosman real estate.
From the late 19th century Irish immigrant Richard Hayes Harnett Snr and his son opened up Mosman as a desirable place to live. Migrants flocked to Mosman and the boom times began.
Share the stories of a Belgian wool buyer, post Second World War immigrants and refugees, an Italian model and among the more recent migrants, Balmoral Bathers Pavilion owner and chef, Serge Dansereau.
Olympic Families of Mosman traces three Mosman families that have achieved Olympic success in sailing and swimming.
Mosman, with its many bays and beaches, continues to see much of its Olympic success in water sports, what is not so well known is Mosman’s family success at the Olympics.
This success comes alive with Olympic stories from the Herford, Bethwaite and Wilmot families, complemented by photographs and a voiceover by Matt Carroll AM, the CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee.
A visual story of Mosman through filmed interviews complemented by scanned images of materials from Mosman’s Local Studies Collection.
