According to the present ‘Parkes Development’ in Clarence Street, Sydney this subdivision by them had to be post-1958 after they ‘commenced in a small way’.

This quality Murray View postcard portrayed the idyllic setting at Paradise Beach in the 1950s. We’re sure the current residents would agree it is still an idyllic setting. It appears to be a king tide as the piers supporting the netted swimming enclosure are barely visible.

The hand-written caption by Nan Henry says it all – ‘Paradise Beach where we spent many happy holidays 1915’. Difficult to recognise if it weren’t for the caption, the site has changed dramatically since these days. The ‘guest house’ was a popular holiday home for employees of Fostars Shoes in the 1920s and 1930s.

This photo from 1968 shows members of the newly-formed Avalon Preservation Trust and some locals, putting the finishing touches to the gateway at the Palmgrove Road entrance to Angophora Reserve. Familiar faces (L-R) are Margaret Sanders and standing on the beam are Bert Payne (from Payne’s Timber yard at Newport), local builder Roly Jeffrey, Dr […]

This is a copy of the invitation from Mr and Mrs A.J.Small to attend the official opening of the Avalon Beach Miniature Golf Links in 1930. Unfortunately it was built during the Depression and it only lasted a few years since transport and fuel was extremely difficult and expensive to obtain.

This amazing photograph is actually a ‘frame grab’ from footage shot by Mr Small in the very early 1930s. It shows the fascinating hole called ‘Mount Vesuvius’ and it was the job of an early resident, Bill McDonald, as a teenager, to gather dried cow-pats and combine them with a few pages of the Sydney […]

No worries about getting close to the action in the car at Avalon Beach in 1935. Rather than carry a marquee-style tent to the beach just for the day, some families chose a ‘lean-to’ and one side of the family car to create a sun shelter.

This photo is a detail from a much longer panorama taken from the high ground above the path (to the right) which led down to the pool. The two furtherest planter boxes stand on the site which 10 years later would be occupied by the first surf club building. Note the covered bassinette by the […]

This view in 1920 shows the recently constructed dressing sheds and the freshly white-painted tree guards waiting for the planting of the Norfolk Island Pine trees. The shed directly behind the group of 3 people and a dog was the Gentlemen’s Dressing Shed in which was stored the reel, line and belt for surf rescue […]