Friday April 15, 2016
Take 1, take 2, take 3 and it's a wrap!
Mosman faces filming for Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy’s story, our latest addition to Mosman Faces , was put to film last Wednesday 6 April.
Patrick Leahy started his real estate business in Mosman way back in 1890 and it still exists today as P.Leahy Pty Ltd, the longest running business in Mosman and still in the same family. Now that’s a Mosman story worth celebrating.
Tuesday October 13, 2015
Mosman Faces is back…
Oldest real estate business in Mosman run by the same family P.Leahy Pty Ltd
Mosman Faces is a site that tells stories through filmed interviews complemented by images from Mosman Library’s Local Studies Collection. These stories create a visual history of Mosman and continue to shape the Mosman community today.
Monday March 31, 2014
Remembering Miss Sykes – A day of celebration
At Mosman Library one of our websites is Mosman Faces, a site that tells stories that have shaped the Mosman Community. And on Saturday 29 March we started to tell the story of Mosman ballet teacher Mavis Sykes (1909-1997) through your memories and your memorabilia.
From 10am the celebration of Mavis Sykes life began!
Former students, parents of students, colleagues and friends poured into the Library and shared their memories, on film and through their costumes, tutus, toe shoes, pointe shoes, medals, certificates, concert programmes and photographs.
Clifton Haynes describes performing with Mavis Sykes in the 1948 production of Desert King, Hilarie Lindsay remembers living next door to the Sykes family in the 1930’s, student Shane Carroll talks about Mavis Sykes’ influence as she forged a dance career at home and on the international stage, and Judy and David Plomley reminisce about a lifelong friend that taught their three daughters ballet from a very early age.
These stories are just a taste and just the beginning.
Stay tuned as we merge together your memories, your photos and your memorabilia with a recording by Ian Campbell (Mavis Sykes’ son) in an effort to honour and celebrate the remarkable life of Mavis Sykes on Mosman Faces.
Tuesday March 11, 2014
Mavis Sykes Remembered
Mavis Sykes (centre back) performing with Mosman Musical Society at R.A.A.F. base Parkes, 1941
At Mosman Library one of our websites is Mosman Faces, a site that tells stories that have shaped the Mosman Community. The stories create a visual history of Mosman through filmed interviews and images from Mosman Library’s Local Studies collection. This year we are changing the format a little and celebrating a Mosman identity who is no longer with us. We are relying on you to tell us a story about ‘Miss Sykes’
Mavis Sykes (1909-1997), remembered by many Mosman children as ‘Miss Sykes’, started teaching ballet in Mosman from the 1920’s. From 1931 she was Ballet Mistress to the Mosman Musical Society and by the mid 1930’s Mavis Sykes had established her own ballet school. This school was the first in Australia to produce full length, three act story ballets for the students. She not only taught ballet but was also a life member of the Royal Academy of Dance and a registered teacher and children’s examiner.
Ian Campbell, Mavis Sykes son, is narrating her story for Mosman Faces and we need your memories and photos to complement his story.
Mavis Sykes passed away in 1997 having taught ballet for 70 of her 88 years. 70 years is a long time which means a lot of students out there with a lot of memories and perhaps a lot of memorabilia too!
We want to celebrate and honour this remarkable woman whose passion and determination gave so many children the opportunity to learn and enjoy all styles of dance, achieve high standards in the Royal Academy examinations and very often go on to pursue a professional career in dance.
The celebrations are starting with you on Saturday March 29 in Mosman Library from 10-3:30pm; we want you to be part of Remembering Miss Sykes
Former students, friends and colleagues are invited to bring their photos in and share their stories of this extraordinary woman. We are filming on this day so let me know (m.byrne@mosman.nsw.gov.au or 99784097) if you want to share a Miss Sykes memory on film – don’t miss out on your chance to shine once more on stage and on Mosman Faces with Miss Sykes.
Thursday October 31, 2013
Family history online at Mosman Library for free.
Mosman Library can give you a jump start on who you are! Making over one billion family history records available. Making it so much easier to search your family history.
Thursday September 5, 2013
Mosman Faces: The Festival of Mosman
Mosman Faces is about community engagement and Kenneth Dryland as director of the Festival wrote the book on community engagement.
Relive Kenneth and Diane’s stories of grand parades, opera concerts and twilight Venetian festivals and the efforts behind the scenes that involved shops, businesses, social committees, fund raising committees, artists, musicians and schools.
Wednesday July 17, 2013
Mosman Drill Hall
Mosman Drill Hall has been extensively refurbished to become Mosman’s new recreation and community venue, part of a spectacular site that is home to the Marie Bashir Sports Centre, all-weather netball courts and new walking and bike paths in Rawson Park.
Friday June 14, 2013
Cayley & Sons: a 360 degree view
The ‘Cayley & Son’ exhibition at Mosman Library in April was a big hit. Now you can tour the exhibition virtually, with these remarkable 360 degree panoramas by Peter Murphy.
Wednesday April 10, 2013
It is a laughing matter
The long-awaited publication of a book on two of Australia’s most renowned bird artists Neville Henry Cayley and his son, Neville William Cayley was launched at Mosman Library on Monday 8 April 2013 to an enthusiastic crowd of art and bird lovers.
Presented in a fun way as an interview with the author, Penny Olsen and Cayley collector, David Crane we were given an evocative peak into the lives of these two men.
We also opened the exhibition of Cayley paintings which fascinated and intrigued the audience. And as I wandered around the exhibition I heard stories of people growing up with much loved Cayley birds on the wall, of Cayley art rolled up in the bottom of wardrobes, of Cayley prints purchased that turned out to be originals and originals that turned out to be prints!
To celebrate the book the library gathered many works by Cayley & Son borrowed from private collections. There are even works by Cayley Snr’s copyist Tom Flower and we invite you to pick the differences!
Also on view is an amazing collection of ephemeral material including postcards, playing cards, Christmas cards and booklets such as those commissioned by the petroleum company Shell in the 1930s.
These art works have not been on public exhibition before and will never be exhibited together again. So it is a rare opportunity not to be missed.
- Photos: book launch & exhibition opening
- Video: Penny Olsen, author of Cayley & Son, and David Crane, Australiana collector and Cayley enthusiast, in conversation
- 360 degree panorama: virtual tour of the exhibition
These paintings are on view until 20 April 2013.
Thursday March 28, 2013
Cayley & Son: a celebration
Cockatoo and koala (left) by Neville Henry Cayley. Neville William Cayley (centre) with example (right) of his work. Courtesy National Library of Australia.
We are very fortunate to have such a variety of unique vibrant flora, ingenious fauna and colourful birdlife. A stroll through the harbourside parks in Mosman still reveals these wonderful specimens which have survived the onslaught of urbanisation.
Undoubtedly this could not be the case without the dedication of conservationists, over the decades, who realizing the significance of our native gems have lectured on, written about and painted these rare plants and animals.
Mosman Library has the privilege of hosting the Sydney launch of a long awaited book on two significant artists and conservationists: Cayley & Son: the life and art of Neville Henry Cayley and Neville William Cayley by Penny Olsen and published by the National Library of Australia.
