Merrett Memorial Gates

Ossie Merrett was a remarkable sporting administrator, best remembered as the Honorary Secretary of the Australasian Olympic Council and Manager of the Australian Olympic Team in Paris, 1924. His team management was widely praised, and team representatives from Manly won three gold medals. However, the following year, much weakened from cancer, he died aged only 41. Manly Council convened the OGH Merrett Memorial Fund, and on 3 July 1927, some two years after his death, the stoneworks and gates of Manly Oval were commemorated in his name. The newly discovered photo shows dignitaries assembled for the dedication of the gates.
In 1969 the gates were relocated from the Sydney Road position to one facing onto the corner with Belgrave Street, approximately on the site of the old Croquet Clubhouse. The relocation was due to a proposed widening of Sydney Road which did not happen.

Camels on Manly Beach

Sir Roden Cutler, in his introduction to the book Manly 1877-1977, recalled “Ma Maloney, an old Manly identity, opened the new Spit Bridge, I think in the 20s, by riding a camel across it to the tune, so the wags said, of ‘The Cam(pb)els are Coming’.” Not quite - in fact, there were no camels involved in the opening of the Spit Bridge in 1924, but Sir Roden was right in recalling that Ma Maloney rode across the Spit Bridge by camel, a few years later, in 1930.
A Syrian, Mr Forgotta (newspapers of the day spell his name in various ways) brought three camels named Diamond, Lucy and Star, from Broken Hill to Manly Beach in October 1930. ‘Ma’ Maloney got wind of this, and met the camels when they arrived by train at Parramatta, where the local children gathered in large numbers. Accompanied by former Manly Alderman Dick Pearce, Ma triumphantly rode Diamond from Parramatta all the way to Manly. The camels did riding exercise on the sands at Manly throughout the summer, and their owner paid Manly Council £3 per week for the privilege of charging for camel rides, estimated as 15% of takings. The photo shows four girls on one of the camels at Manly Beach in 1930.

Manly hockey club

Recently received in our collection is this fine photograph of the Manly Hockey Club. Do you recognise any of the names?

(Click on the image for the full size photo)