Brian Barry: NSW’s oldest living former NRL ref and Mosman resident turns 100.
One of NSW's most respected names in Rugby League has celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family at Balgowlah RSL.
Flashback: In 1954, a terrifying “sea monster” was caught at Balmoral Beach.
It's 9 June, 1954 when local fisherman Keith McRae drops a line in at Balmoral. Hoping to catch some flathead, he instead reels in something that would make headlines around the world.
Flashback 1955: Mosman teenager mauled to death in Balmoral Beach shark attack.
“It was a pitiful sight,” Audrey Cook would later tell reporters, “the water was full of blood and we could see the dorsal fin of the shark slashing through the water.”
From the Archives, 1963: Fatal shark attack in Sydney Harbour kills actress Marcia Hathaway.
Sydney actress Marcia Hathaway was well known on stage and screen, but it was her final role - as victim of an horrific Sydney Harbour shark attack - that she is remembered for.
Suitcase Baby: In 1923, a murdered infant washed up in a suitcase on a Mosman beach.
As they disembarked the ferry and excitedly charged up the beach, the group of young day-trippers were no doubt captivated by the magical beauty of Athol Bay.
Flashback 1983: Mosman local Marianne Lewis is crowned Miss Australia.
It’s been 40 years since Mosman resident Marianne Lewis captivated the nation after winning the title of Miss Australia 1984.
Flashback 1959: Big Bear Supermarket – a futuristic American phenomenon – opens in Neutral Bay.
Lower north shore housewives had never seen anything like it - and on Thursday, 27 August 1959, thousands rushed to experience an American phenomenon known as the "supermarket" for the first time.
Flashback: Mosman’s love affair with backyard swimming pools dates back the 1960’s. See the time warp photos!
“I have memories of eating ice blocks in the water, having hand stand competitions with my mates – and underwater races to see how many laps of the pool we could do on one breath.”
Flashback: In the 1890s, destitute Sydneysiders built a “tin town” in Mosman.
Tin Towns were synonymous with the Great Depression, which began in 1929. But many were built decades before – during a property market downturn in the 1890's.
Flashback 1952: Runaway Mosman tram crashes into Sydney Harbour at 100km/h.
A out of control runaway tram - travelling at almost 100km/h - veered off Bradleys Head Rd and into Sydney Harbour in 1952. See the incredible photos just uncovered!
Mosman home in original condition and owned by ONE FAMILY for 70 years is on the market – but you’d better be quick!
One of Mosman’s original Californian bungalows owned by the same family for more than 70 years has attracted hordes of potential young buyers looking for a freestanding home to renovate.
Bob and Dolly Dyer: Australian television pioneers, Pick-a-Box presenters and one-time Mosman locals.
Bob Dyer had much more than a face for radio. He was one of few contemporaries to make the smooth transition from radio to television.
Flashback 1988: Looking for late night love – in all the wrong places – at Bevy’s Wine Bar in Mosman!
If you were looking for late-night love in the 1980s, Bevy’s Wine Bar on Military Rd was the place to be.
Times Gone By: New Mosman history book set to thrill lower north shore readers.
The early days of Mosman’s European settlement have been richly detailed in a new book, Mosman: Times Gone By.
This Week in History: May 1 – May 8.
Our new weekly column from local journalist Kathryn Barton turns back time to meet the people and witness the events that shaped life on the lower north shore.
This Week in History: April 23 – April 29.
Our new weekly column from local journalist Kathryn Barton turns back the clock to meet the people and witness the events that shaped life on the lower north shore in years gone by.
Myra Taylor-Farrell: The “odd duck” Mosman mum who became Australia’s most prolific female inventor.
It was Australia's entry into WWI that saw a young widow, Myra Taylor, brace herself as she stood at North Head on a windy night in 1915. There she tested her rayless, light-throwing device to see if it might benefit the Allies.
The history behind Mosman’s Urunga – the iconic harbourside home that just sold for $20 million.
Interest rates may be rising, but the Reserve Bank's hikes have had little effect on Mosman's resilient property market.
Flashback 1872: The Holtermann nugget and its fascinating connection to North Sydney.
This week marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Holtermann Nugget, the world’s largest gold specimen, but do you know of its connection to Sydney’s lower north shore?
Flashback: The fascinating history of a landmark Cremorne Point building called “The Ritz”.
When it opened to the public in 1913, “The Ritz” at Cremorne Point was described as Sydney’s finest private hotel. A haven for honeymooners and holiday makers, the six-storey white landmark had 140-rooms comprising private single and double suites, open-air sun lounges, a billiard room, tennis courts, electric lights and a lift.
Flashback 1970: North Sydney Travelodge thrills Aussie holiday makers looking for luxury accommodation.
Crescent shaped to take advantage of Sydney’s harbour views, the 14-storey Travelodge contained 224 self-contained suites in alternating shades of blue and olive, each with its own private bathroom and television set!
The day I met Queen Elizabeth: Mosman Collective readers relive their brushes with Royalty.
From chance encounters to more formal audiences in Australia and overseas, our readers are sharing their treasured, often fleeting, moments with Queen Elizabeth.
Flashback February 1954: Queen Elizabeth greets 48,000 school children at St Leonards Park in North Sydney.
On her last day of the Royal Australian Tour in 1954, Sydney turned out to catch a final glimpse of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, before the couple departed our shores for New Zealand.
True Crime: In 1940, a young Mosman woman was strangled to death with a pair of silk stockings.
The shocking death of a young Mosman woman remains a baffling cold case, more than 80 years after she was strangled with a pair of silk stockings at Clifton Gardens.
Flashback 1991: Mosman Cache heralds a new era in lower north shore shopping.
When it opened to the public in March 1991, Mosman Cache heralded a new era in shopping on the lower north shore.
Mosman Remembers: Locals share their memories on the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.
With her star-quality and willingness to get close to people while on tour, Princess Diana fascinated the world. Here people tell their stories of when they met the 'People's Princess', as ANNA USHER reports.
True Crime: In 1948, an outraged Mosman father loses control, murdering a forbidden lover caught in his daughter’s bedroom.
In 1948, 61-year-old Mosman man Frederick Audsley committed the most heinous of crimes, shooting his daughter's boyfriend dead after he was caught in the girls Bray St bedroom.
Flashback 1926: Milson’s Point homes and businesses demolished for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Mosman Collective has uncovered an incredible set of images documenting the last days of Alfred St in Milsons Point before many of its homes and businesses were demolished to make way for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
MLC building in North Sydney loses its heritage status – so is this the end for the iconic tower?
The future of the landmark MLC Building in North Sydney is in jeopardy, after the removal of its prized state heritage listing.
Flashback: In 1963, this grand Mosman mansion was bulldozed to make way for a bland block of flats.
Built in 1908 by William Wells Robinson and his wife Charlotte, “Trafalgar” was one of Australia’s finest homes.
From the Archives, 1966: Assassination attempt on ALP Leader Arthur Calwell in Mosman.
At the start of 1966, the Liberal-Country party coalition had governed Australia for sixteen years. Robert Menzies retired in January, paving the way for debonair treasurer Harold Holt.
In 1943, Neutral Bay actor George Blackshaw shocked a nation in the most brutal act of his career.
Before the arrival of television, Australian radio ruled the airwaves with programs like Dad and Dave, Blue Hills and ‘Calling the Stars’.
Mosman’s fascinating political history you’ll want to share at your 2022 Election party!
We've uncovered some incredible local trivia to wow your friends and family in the lead up to the Federal Election on May 21.
Flashback 2008: Bradleys Head claims six young lives in horror boat crash.
A carefree night out. A split-second decision. Young lives tragically changed forever.
In 1988, a floating Chinese Restaurant with room for 500 diners outraged lower north shore locals.
Today we’re taking you back to those golden years of the 1980s – when hair was big, clothes were loud, and power ballads were super-charged with emotion.
True Crime: In 1901, a desperate young mother committed an unthinkable crime on Balmoral Beach.
Sydney was no place for an unwed, pregnant young woman in the early 1900s, but 18-year-old Mary Hutchison had nowhere else to go.
Greenway Flats: “If I won the Lottery seven times over, I wouldn’t leave here. This will do me!”
When it officially opened on Sunday, 28 March 1954, "Greenway" was Australia's largest communal social housing complex.
One of the world’s great icons turns 90 this week. Share your Sydney Harbour Bridge story!
Sydney’s great iron maiden turns 90 this week – and we want to celebrate her milestone birthday with your stories, photos and memories.
After slaughtering his wife and child, a Mosman maniac turned the gun on himself.
Mosman teenager Alma Plaister was never absent from school. But on Monday 18 July 1932, the brilliant and popular 13-year-old was missing from morning roll call at North Sydney Girls High.
Flashback 1968: Bula! A three-storey Fijian mecca opens in Mosman.
On the busy corner of Ourimbah and Spit Rd, a commercial building known as Island Centre opened to fascinated locals in July 1968.
80 years ago, local woman Nancy Harris was marched into the ocean and murdered.
“When we were waist-deep in the surf, they opened up a murderous fire,” Sister Vivien Bullwinkle recalled after the Bangka Island Massacre of WWII, "mowing us down like a scene I saw in a film as a child.”
TRUE CRIME: In December 1907, five Mosman teenagers committed an unthinkable crime.
In our new series, Mosman Collective unlocks historic local crime case files, revealing new images and details of the lower north shore’s most shocking stories.
Flashback 1954: Mosman gripped by Royal fever, thousands line local streets, when Queen Elizabeth comes to town.
When Queen Elizabeth stepped onto Australian soil for the frist time on 3rd February 1954, the nation was gripped by Royal fever. Over the next 58 days, she would visit 57 cities and towns, with more than 75% of the population catching a glimpse of the young monarch, and on February 18th, it was Mosman’s turn.
History: We uncover incredible time warp photos of a Coles store in Mosman!
On 21 November 1934, Coles came to Mosman, opening the doors of 22 Spit Rd at 9:30am. Goods on sale included seven-piece fruit sets, toys, cotton reels, ladies’ aprons, hats dresses and nickel torches.
Real Estate Rewind 1986: Historic cottage with sweeping harbour views for $700,000.
Described as “an old colonial home”, Victoria Cottage on Clanalpine St was marketed with stunning views, a formal garden, extensive library, and a swimming pool by local agent James S. Lindsay in August 1986.
Real Estate Rewind: Mosman home prices crash during crippling 1980s recession.
Not even Mosman was spared during Australia’s deepest post-war recession in the early 1980s.
Flashback 1936: The battle of Balmoral’s ‘Freak Floaters’.
Australian competitions aren’t limited to just sport and spelling bees. From yabby races to bed making, prawn peeling to whip cracking, we love nothing more than a good-humoured match-up.
Local Flashback: Remembering the halcyon days of Sizzler in Mosman.
Kids of the 80s and ’90s will remember family dinners at Sizzler, the iconic chain famous for its all-you-can-eat salad bar, unlimited ice cream and complimentary cheese toast.
May Gibbs’ character Little Obelia celebrates 100 years with new Nutcote exhibition.
It has been 100 years since children’s author May Gibbs brought the ocean to life in a book featuring an underwater creature called Little Obelia.
Nutcote Cottage in Neutral Bay claims first heritage blue plaque.
Lower north shore locations and identities with stories to celebrate have a chance to become recognised with the universally known heritage symbol – a blue plaque.
Real Estate Rewind: In 1999, you could buy a Golden Triangle house for $2 million!
“Welcome to Paradise” was the line agent Rob Simeon used when marketing the Golden Triangle property known as “Heachem”, in 1999.
In 1916, hundreds of animals were moved across Sydney Harbour to their new home at Taronga Zoo.
Over the course of six months, an entire zoo population of native and exotic animals was moved from cramped quarters in Moore Park to an idyllic paradise known as Taronga Park.
Council votes to keep Neutral Bay’s Ben Boyd Road.
North Sydney Council has voted to retain the legacy of Benjamin Boyd, a colonial entrepreneur who lived in Neutral Bay in the 1840s.
Flashback: ‘Big 20’ Burger Bar – 566 Military Rd, Mosman.
The "Big 20" remains one of Mosman's fondly remembered cafés. And, just like 'Arnold's diner in Happy Days, it boasted a regular cast of colourful characters.
Fifty years ago, Lower North Shore Nuns went to court over the right to stage ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.
Local History: An unholy row between Theatrical Agent Harry M Miller and a Loreto Kirribilli Nun played out on Sydney's front pages in September 1971, after a legal battle over a school performance of rock-opera Jesus Christ Superstar.
Special Report: The cult movies and TV shows filmed on Sydney’s lower north shore.
Some of the lower north shore’s best backdrops have appeared in scores of blockbuster movies and TV shows.
Remember when Mosman had a KFC? Step back in time with our EXCLUSIVE pics!
If you’ve been around long enough, you’ll remember when Mosman boasted a range of fast-food options including Sizzler, the Black Stump and even a Subway.
The legend of Mosman’s most famous mongrel dog lives on – more than 40 years after his death.
In a suburb known for its high concentration of Groodles, Cavoodles, Labradoodles and Schnoodles, there once lived an old, ugly, battle-scarred mongrel dog with arthritis in all four legs who was almost totally deaf.
Local History: 100 years ago, Clifton Gardens was the site of Sydney’s most popular hotel.
Mosman Collective writer MICK ROBERTS has travelled back more than a century, to reveal the fascinating history behind former Sydney landmark, the Clifton Gardens Hotel.
Local History: On this day 29 June 1958, Mosman takes its last tram ride.
It was 1.17am on Saturday 29 June 1958, when passengers crammed onto the last tram from Mosman, to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Is Ben Boyd Rd about to become Barangaroo Rd? Residents asked to have their say.
Local residents are invited to have their say on the proposed renaming of Ben Boyd Rd in Neutral Bay.
Portal to the Past: We uncover incredible images of 1940s Mosman “Milko”!
There was a time, long before UberEats and Menulog, when most Australian households used home delivery as an essential service.
Amazing photos of Hotel Mosman revealed for the first time. See inside the landmark building!
FOR more than a century, dominating the corner of Military Road and Vista Street, the Hotel Mosman was one of Sydney's favourite pubs.
Attack on Sydney Harbour: In 1942, Japanese submarines brought WWII to Mosman’s doorstep.
Nobody ever expected Mosman to become the front line of World War Two. But on a crisp Autumn evening in 1942, as the sun dipped west behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the final stage of an audacious plan to invade Australia's largest city was almost complete.
One million Australians wanted to win this Mosman “Dream Home” raffle prize in 1942.
With war on our doorstep and mainland Australia preparing for a Japanese attack, Mosman was a suburb of fear and unease in 1942.
High Tea Party is Over: Boronia House closes abruptly, so what’s planned for the historic Mosman landmark?
Landmark heritage venue Boronia House has closed after long term tenant Mosman Catering pulled out of its 10-year contract. The historic home, built in 1885, is owned by Mosman Council which agreed to terminate the lease five years early, after agreeing the hospitality business was “no longer viable”.
We say farewell to one of Mosman Collective’s most avid local history contributors.
Irene Ferguson, a member of the popular “Mosman Memories” Facebook group, regularly contributed personal stories and photographs right up until last Monday, April 26, when she slipped away quietly on the Sunshine Coast.
Last Chance: Grab your togs people! North Sydney Olympic Pool to close this weekend until 2023.
The lower north shore’s obsession with North Sydney Olympic Pool runs deep. A national icon and local landmark, the aquatic playground has played a pivotal part in our lives for generations.
Police Rescue chopper crashes in front of horrified swimmers on Balmoral Beach after engine explodes.
It’s just before 7:20 am when NSW Police pilot Peter Leslie climbs into the cockpit of PolAir 4 with crewmates Alan Keane and Steve Southey, to rescue a couple of ocean swimmers in trouble off Curl Curl beach.
The Cremorne streets named after Aussie test cricketers who gave birth to the Ashes legend.
Australia and England first met in test match cricket in 1877, but the legend of the Ashes, the symbolic trophy the two teams play for, began on August 29, 1882, after the on-field antics of English captain W.G. Grace so incensed Australian spinner Fred Spofforth, it produced a bowling spell that scorched the oval.
What a difference a century makes! Historic subdivision plans for Mosman and the lower north shore now online.
The State Library has released 40,000 subdivision maps, providing a valuable insight into the lives of New South Wales residents from 1860 to the 1930s, illustrating the spread of suburbs across Sydney and regional areas.
Mosman History: The Murder of Heart Surgeon Dr. Victor Chang, the man named as “Australian of the Century”.
It’s Thursday, 4 July 1991, when Dr. Victor Chang climbs into his new Mercedes 500SL and pulls out of his Clontarf driveway, bound for St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst. The pioneer heart surgeon is running late, after sharing breakfast with his wife, Ann.
Cashed Up Car Lover? This iconic Holden is predicted to sell for more than $1 million this weekend.
The very first factory-built race car to bear a Holden badge is predicted to double the previous record for a Holden vehicle sold at auction.
Calls to rename National Park honouring controversial colonialist Benjamin Boyd. So, what does this mean for Neutral Bay?
lls for the NSW State Government to erase the name of Ben Boyd from a national park have raised a question mark over the Neutral Bay road named after the Scottish entrepreneur and adventurer.
Local History: The unsolved mystery of the deadly Ghost Train inferno at Luna Park still haunts Sydney – more than 40 years later.
It was winter 1979 when a young family from far west NSW travelled to Sydney for the holiday of a lifetime. Dad John, mum Jenny and their two young children Damien and Craig enjoyed a week in the ‘big smoke’, before spending their final day sight-seeing on the lower north shore.
Anzac Day 2019: Acclaimed author Patrick Lindsay on 100 years since the end of World War One.
Over the last four years, year by year and battle by battle, we’ve commemorated the centenary of World War One. 2019 marks the Centenary of the Great Homecoming - the start of the aftermath of that war - the realisation of the cataclysmic damage that it caused.
Walkley Award winning journalist and acclaimed historian Gavin Souter shares his memories of seven decades in Mosman.
Not everyone wins Australian journalism’s highest honour, a Walkley Award. And not everyone can say they’ve been commissioned by the Federal Government, to write the narrative history of our nations Parliament. But Gavin Souter can.
Mosman’s famous Federation “Merchant Mansions” – and the men who built them.
Our local history series continues, with Robert Simeon taking a look back at the life and times of local builders Smith & Cabban, who rose to fame in the early 1900’s with their landmark Mosman “Merchant Mansions”.
Exclusive: We uncover never before seen images of Chalwin Castle – and reveal the famous faces who partied there.
Chalwin Castle in Cremorne was a lifelong project that took Vivian Chalwin 30 years to complete and from the 1960’s, it hosted thousands of guests at private gatherings.
A lifetime of memories: This Cremorne home is on the market for the first time in 70 years.
This classic Cremorne home has been owned by one family for more than half a century – and since 1949, the much loved residence has seen it all… from first steps, to first birthdays, to first days of school.
Local Insider: Mosman’s century of cinematic history and its golden era of the silver screen.
Rat Milland, Florence Desmond, Greta Garbo and Humphrey Bogart. These were just some of the stars that graced the screens of Mosman during its cinematic heyday.
Mosman Insider: Our reporter takes a step back in time and unlocks secrets from the past.
At the turn of the 20th century, picture postcards of Mosman were fashionable way for local residents to share news with family and friends. Mosman collective delves into these windows of our past, to uncover long forgotten moments in our suburb’s history.
