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Iconic Tyre Man Could Return to Manly Streets After Years in Storage

Few landmarks on the Northern Beaches were as recognisable as the Tyre Man, a top-hatted, cigar-toting figure who stood sentinel over the western approaches to Manly for more than eight decades. Now, after years in storage, he could be heading back, thanks to a campaign by businessman Keith Tucker.

Read: $79M Plan To Replace Ageing Manly Flats With Nine-Storey Apartment Building

Mr Tucker, owner of Autotune Freshwater, has kicked off a community campaign to find the beloved figurine a permanent home in Manly, calling on businesses with a 2095 postcode to put their hand up and offer him a spot out front.

Mr Tucker rescued the Tyre Man from storage at the former Manly Council’s works depot on Roseberry Street, Balgowlah, back in 2013, after the figure had been deemed a safety risk and removed from his pole the previous year. Since then, the iconic landmark has been sitting in pieces in a shed on Mr Tucker’s property near Mt Panorama, outside Bathurst, with no permanent home yet secured.

A Northern Beaches Icon: The Story Behind the Tyre Man

The Man on the Tyres, with cigar and top hat, 1987 (Photo credit: Manly Library Local Studies) 

The Tyre Man’s story begins in 1933, when young William Edward Sinden, a Goodyear tyre dealer, was looking for an advertisement that would capture the public’s interest. His idea was deceptively simple: stack roughly 100 tyres on a pole at a prominent spot along Sydney Road, right where the road sweeps down toward Manly, and crown it with a life-size dressed figure.

By Mr Sinden’s own account, it worked. Motorists would pull over to debate whether the man up there was real or a dummy. Photos appeared in newspapers and magazines across Australia and around the world, and the landmark even featured in a Goodyear promotional film, “Goodyear on the March.”

The figurine’s aluminium face was said to have been modelled on George Surgeoner, a local pilot who went on to fly bombers in England during World War II. The Tyre Man received a new suit every year, working through ordinary clothing, leather, and eventually more weatherproof materials, to deal with the punishing combination of Sydney sun, rain, and southerlies. His hat was crafted from copper, his shoes were military boots.

Sinden’s, post-WWII (Photo credit: Manly Library Local Studies)

Mr Sinden himself once noted that wherever he travelled, whether in New Zealand, New Guinea, or elsewhere in Australia, the mere mention of his name would prompt someone to bring up the man on the pole. A new figure was installed on 18 April 1963, courtesy of Mackellar County Council.

After the original Sinden’s Tyre and Rubber Co. at 100 Sydney Road was demolished and replaced by apartments, the Tyre Man stayed on at the same site on a much lower pole, though he gradually disappeared behind overgrown trees. By 2012, his deteriorating condition had made him a liability, and he was taken down and put into council storage.

Photo credit: Facebook/Tyre Man Manly

Mr Tucker’s son Jake, then 15, and a group of mates tackled the restoration of the Tyre Man’s head at St Paul’s Catholic College in Manly with the help of visual arts co-ordinator Christopher Boylan. The project took three months to complete.

Read: Lost in a Storm, Found on Manly Beach: The Extraordinary Tale of the Vincennes

Mr Tucker had previously considered putting the Tyre Man on display outside the former Ultratune service centre in Manly, but when he sold that business, the Tyre Man was shipped to his property near Mt Panorama. Now Mr Tucker is ready to act. He plans to restore the figure, fit him with a new uniform, and get him ready for his new home.

All he needs is a business willing to take him in. Anyone interested in giving the Tyre Man a new home can contact Mr Tucker at info@autotune.com.au. 

Published 30-May-2026

Manly Emergency Drill Tests Response To Major Incident

Photo Credit: NSW Ambulance/Facebook

A major emergency exercise at North Head in Manly placed first responders inside a realistic mass casualty scenario, testing how crews would work together if a serious incident unfolded in a crowded public setting.

Read: Lost in a Storm, Found on Manly Beach: The Extraordinary Tale of the Vincennes

The large-scale training exercise, led by NSW Ambulance, was held at the former School of Artillery on Thursday, 21 May. Known as Exercise Paratus, the drill brought together ambulance crews, medical teams, control centre staff and emergency service partners for a full-day test of coordination, communication and clinical response under pressure.

The scenario centred on a simulated incident in which a vehicle had ploughed through a crowded outdoor market. Responders were confronted with multiple casualties, manikins representing deceased persons, a trapped passenger, smoke, crowd pressure and a simulated confrontation involving the driver.

NSW Ambulance
Photo Credit: NSW Ambulance/Facebook

Manly Training Scene Built Around Realistic Pressure

The North Head site was set up to reflect the confusion of a major emergency. Volunteer patients and paramedicine students acted as casualties, with realistic-looking injuries prepared through professional make-up. Some called for help, others appeared shocked or searched for loved ones, while responders worked to assess injuries and establish priorities.

Two vehicles were placed on the parade ground to make the scene more realistic. Smoke was used to simulate a fire, adding another challenge for crews already managing patient care, access issues and crowd control.

St John Ambulance NSW responders began triage as the first simulated patients were assessed. As more emergency vehicles arrived, access to the scene became a key concern, with fire crews needing to move closer to the damaged vehicles before working to reach a trapped patient.

The exercise tested treatment and triage for 25 simulated patients, including five represented as deceased. It also tested how different emergency teams managed limited space, changing priorities and the pressure of a fast-moving scene.

Manly emergency exercise
Photo Credit: NSW Ambulance/Facebook

Crews Repeat Exercise To Apply Immediate Lessons

The drill was run twice across the day, with morning and afternoon sessions allowing staff to rotate and apply lessons from the first round. After the initial exercise, participating teams held a debrief to review what worked well and where improvements could be made.

The scene was then reset before the exercise was repeated. The second session gave crews the chance to adjust their approach, including broader use of available personnel in first aid treatment and patient support.

A further element was added when a Toll NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter arrived overhead, bringing an aeromedical team into the scenario. Its arrival added complexity to an already crowded and active exercise area.

emergency training
Photo Credit: NSW Ambulance/Facebook

North Head Exercise Focuses On Readiness

NSW Ambulance led the exercise with support from police, fire, rural fire, SES and St John Ambulance teams. Medical observers and support organisations also assessed how a major incident could affect their own response roles.

The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen how responders work together when time, space and information are limited. Crews followed standard emergency procedures as they would during a real incident, while volunteer patients helped create a changing and realistic training environment.

NSW Ambulance regularly trains with emergency and health partners to prepare for complex incidents. Exercises such as the one at North Head allow responders to refine communication, practise clinical decision-making and build working relationships before those skills are needed in a real emergency.

Read: The Manly Designer Who Makes Fabric From Scratch Just Debuted at Australian Fashion Week

The exercise highlighted how preparation for a serious public safety incident depends on coordinated action across multiple teams. The scenario was simulated, but the training focused on the real pressures responders may face when large numbers of people need urgent help.

Published 29-May-2026

The Manly Designer Who Makes Fabric From Scratch Just Debuted at Australian Fashion Week

TAFE NSW/Facebook

Tate Boswarva graduated from TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio, launched her label ATTÈ, and showed a 12-look collection on the Australian Fashion Week runway, all within weeks of each other.

Read: Manly Swimmer And Coach Set For Junior Pan Pacific Championships

The 21-year-old Manly designer was one of four recent graduates selected for The Innovators showcase on 13 May, a runway that has launched some of the country’s most recognisable fashion names over its 27-year history. Zimmermann, Christopher Esber, Bianca Spender, Romance Was Born and Ginger & Smart all passed through the same program before building careers that reshaped Australian fashion.

Boswarva’s collection, titled Vestige, was constructed entirely from recycled materials, a fitting name for work that asks what remains when you strip fashion back to what it actually costs.

A technique you won’t find on any shelf

Boswarva’s approach to making clothes begins before a single stitch is sewn. Rather than sourcing fabric from a supplier, she builds her own textiles from the ground up using water-soluble bases, sewing densely onto the base until it dissolves and leaves behind a lacelike structure that cannot be replicated or bought wholesale.

Photo Credit: TAFE NSW/Facebook

She also beads fabric heavily by hand and experiments with sustainable techniques to upcycle materials into entirely new textile surfaces. The result is clothing that carries the marks of its making in a way that mass production simply cannot reproduce.

“My design work is defined by material experimentation and textile artistry,” Boswarva says. “I also heavily bead fabrics and explore a range of sustainable techniques that I learned during my studies at TAFE NSW FDS.”

Photo Credit: TAFE NSW/Facebook

Her thinking extends into the conceptual details too. One piece in her collection incorporates contraceptive blister packs, cut into small bead-like forms with gold foil interiors used as decorative elements. It is the kind of detail that rewards a second look and lingers well after a runway show ends.

A track record that started long before graduation

Boswarva’s interest in fashion and construction started young, beginning with sewing and an early understanding of how garments are actually built. By the time she enrolled at TAFE NSW’s Ultimo campus, she already had a foundation to build on.

Photo Credit: TAFE NSW/Facebook

Her work was selected for the HSC Design and Technology Showcase at the Powerhouse Museum in 2022. In 2024, her wearable art piece Occyan Morphosis, made from 17 upcycled denim jeans and five years’ worth of collected plastic waste including coffee cup lids and drink bottles, was named a finalist in the Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize‘s Wearable Art category.

Photo Credit: TAFE NSW/Facebook

The piece, which envisions sea creatures undergoing a metamorphosis to survive a polluted ocean, went on to win the People’s Choice award in the Design category at Curl Curl Creative Space.

It was not a side project. It was a direct line to what she is doing now.

Manly to the runway, with Zimmermann in between

Boswarva now works from her home studio in Manly, building out the ATTÈ label while taking on casual design assistant work at Zimmermann, one of the very labels The Innovators helped launch. The symmetry is not lost on her.

“It’s a huge milestone and something I have been working towards throughout my studies,” she says of the AFW debut. “Fashion has always been a part of my life. From a young age I was sewing, including working with semi-industrial machines and understanding how garments are constructed.”

Photo Credit: TAFE NSW/Facebook

The four Innovators graduates, including Boswarva alongside Luke Rutherford-Durney, Oliver Parry and Zoe Markopoulos, will now undertake a 10-month program through The Next Garde Fashion Incubator.

The program provides dedicated studio space, mentoring and access to CLO, a 3D fashion design software that allows designers to develop and refine collections digitally before cutting a single piece of physical fabric.

For Boswarva, it extends a runway debut into a genuine launchpad.

ATTÈ can be followed at Instagram. For more on The Innovators program and TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio, click here.

Read: Lost in a Storm, Found on Manly Beach: The Extraordinary Tale of the Vincennes

Published 29-May-2026

Lost in a Storm, Found on Manly Beach: The Extraordinary Tale of the Vincennes

Did you know that 120 years ago in May 1906, a 2,311-tonne French sailing ship came grinding onto Manly Beach in the middle of a stormy night, and by the weekend had turned the suburb into the most talked-about destination in Sydney?

Read: 80 Kilometres Later, It All Ends at Manly: The Coastal Ultra Is Back

It sounds like something from a Patrick O’Brian novel, but the grounding of the French barque Vincennes on 24 May 1906 was very real, very dramatic, and in typical Manly fashion, it quickly became a party.

How the Vincennes Ended Up on the Wrong Beach

The ‘Vincennes’ under sail entering the Golden Gate (Photo credit: State Library of South Australia)

The Vincennes was no small vessel. Built at Nantes in 1900 and registered to the Societe Anonyme des Longs Courriers Français, the three-masted steel barque stretched nearly 85 metres in length and measured 2,311 tonnes gross. She was 66 days out of Yokohama, carrying only ballast, when her captain, a man named Leviellent, made a catastrophic navigational error off the NSW coast.

Photo credit: Star Photo Co/ Northern Beaches Council Library Local Studies

It was actually his second close call in two days. The night before the grounding, Leviellent had mistaken The Skillion at Terrigal for Sydney Heads. Only a timely warning from local fishermen saved the ship that time. But on the night of Thursday, 24 May, with heavy rain and driving seas reducing visibility to almost nothing, history repeated itself. According to one crewman, thinking he was off the Heads, Leviellent burned blue lights to signal the pilot boat, waiting for guidance that never came. Another crewman told the press that a red light on the port bow had been mistaken for the harbour entrance. Locals denied any such light existed.

By the time the anchor was dropped and distress flares were fired, it was too late. The Vincennes came ashore stern-first at around 9.30pm, between Pine and Carlton streets, then swung broadside. The pounding surf worked her deeper into the sand with every wave. A few wet and bedraggled sailors made it to shore and, despite the language barrier, managed to convey that all 23 crewmen were safe. The pilot boat had already decided the seas were too rough to attempt a rescue and stayed well clear.

Brass Bands, Postcards, and 23,000 Ferry Passengers

Photo credit:  Northern Beaches Council Library Local Studies

Once it was clear no lives were at risk, Manly did what Manly does best: it put on a show. Members of the local town band had been drinking in a nearby hotel and, rain be damned, they made their way to the beach to serenade the stranded Frenchmen with a damp but enthusiastic rendition of the Marseillaise. They followed it with Home, Sweet Home and Auld Lang Syne, thoughtfully directed at the few Englishmen among the crew.

By morning, word had spread across Sydney and the crowds descended. On both the Saturday and Sunday that followed, the Port Jackson Co-operative Company threw its entire fleet of five ferries plus a hired steamer at the problem, and still could not keep up. More than 23,000 people crossed by ferry on each of those two days. At Circular Quay, police were called to manage crowds who could not get on board. Those who tried the overland route to The Spit found the punt equally overwhelmed, and thousands went home disappointed.

On the beach itself, it was pure carnival. Deck chairs were hired out to sightseers, children had pony rides, and food and drink vendors did a roaring trade. Photographers were among the sharpest operators: they shot the wreck, sprinted back to their darkrooms, printed the images onto postcard backs and were reselling them on the sand within hours. A fete was held in aid of Manly Hospital, with nurses serving afternoon tea among the spectators. Even Henry Lawson came to look. His poem The Stranded Ship was published in the Bulletin on 17 June 1906, his 39th birthday.

Read: Manly Moves Closer to Becoming an Official Entertainment Precinct With Night-Time Trading Trial

Salvage took nine days. Two tugs made repeated attempts to pull the Vincennes free; on one occasion an 89mm steel hawser snapped clean under the strain. Salvors eventually jettisoned most of the 700 tonnes of ballast, dismantled the masts, and laid a seabed anchor off Manly connected to the ship by hawser to stop her being driven further up the beach. At 3am on Saturday, 2 June, three tugs combined with the ship’s own winch finally hauled her clear. By 8am she was anchored in Neutral Bay.

A survey at Mort’s Dock found fractured frames but no serious structural damage. Repairs were completed by early July, and on 30 July 1906 the Vincennes sailed away from Sydney and was never seen off Manly again.

Published 29-May-2026

Shelly Beach Residents Take on The Boathouse Over Licence Shake-Up

A community debate is under way over a proposed liquor licence change for The Boathouse, a waterfront restaurant at Shelly Beach in Sydney. 

Read: Calls for Action as Brush Turkeys Invade The Boathouse at Shelly Beach

The venue has applied to NSW Liquor and Gaming for a Primary Service Authorisation, which would allow it to serve alcohol to patrons without requiring them to order a meal. The Boathouse currently holds a licence to serve drinks alongside food until midnight Monday to Saturday, and until 10pm on Sundays. The proposed change would keep those same trading hours but remove the meal requirement altogether.

Photo credit: Google Maps/Cherrie K

The Boathouse Group CEO Antony Jones wrote to residents explaining the intent behind the application, saying the venue would continue to prioritise food and coastal dining. The purpose, according to the letter, is to give guests greater flexibility, whether they are stopping in for a quick drink, catching up with someone before sitting down to eat, or simply enjoying the view over the water. The business maintained in its application that the overall social impact of the change is unlikely to cause harm to the local or broader community.

Residents Fear a Slippery Slope

Photo credit: Google Maps/Fiona O’Farrell

The Marine Parade Action Alliance (MPAA), a local resident group, has been vocal in its opposition and says it has heard from hundreds of concerned community members since raising awareness of the application. Co-founders Julie Meldrum and Merrilee Linegar, both of whom live in the area, have outlined three core concerns: the potential for increased alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour in the absence of mandatory food service, the risk of harm to a sensitive natural environment, and the fact that Shelly Beach is a residential area and not the Manly Entertainment Precinct.

The MPAA has also raised concerns about how the application was publicised. Under NSW Liquor and Gaming rules, applicants must notify neighbours within 50 metres of the premises. The group says only two neighbours reported receiving a notice, and that the on-site signage at the venue was not prominent enough to inform the broader community. 

Wildlife and the Local Environment at Risk

Beyond the social concerns, the MPAA has flagged serious potential consequences for local wildlife. The Boathouse sits adjacent to Cabbage Tree Bay Marine Reserve and national parkland, both of which are home to protected species including Brown Antechinus, Long-nosed Bandicoots, Eastern Pygmy Possums, echidnas and a resident bat community. The group argues these animals are highly sensitive to noise and artificial light in the evening hours, and that extending alcohol service without a food requirement could disrupt their behaviour and breeding cycles.

There are also concerns about litter. Shelly Beach is a popular family swimming spot, and locals worry that increased late-night patronage could mean rubbish and broken glass turning up on the sand by morning, with some of it potentially making its way into the marine reserve.

The Boathouse already trades until midnight on weeknights with few reported issues under its existing licence. Locals say the neighbourhood typically winds down from around 5pm or 6pm, and are concerned about sustained noise and light spilling from the venue well into the night if the new authorisation is granted.

Read: End of an Era as Manly Waterworks Demolished After 45 Years

Northern Beaches Council, while aware of the application, has no formal role in the approval process as the decision rests with NSW Liquor and Gaming. Council is able to submit a response if it chooses to do so.

Published 27-May-2026

$79M Plan To Replace Ageing Manly Flats With Nine-Storey Apartment Building

A Double Bay developer is pushing ahead with a $79-million residential project at Manly that would replace two ageing 1960s apartment blocks with a nine-storey building featuring affordable housing just steps from the beach and ferry wharf.

Read: Manly Moves Closer to Becoming an Official Entertainment Precinct With Night-Time Trading Trial

The application for 10-12 Victoria Parade, Manly covers the demolition of two existing brick apartment blocks and the construction of 23 new apartments, five of which would be designated affordable housing for a minimum of 15 years.

Luxcon Group has received Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for its proposed development, marking the start of the environmental assessment process under the NSW major-projects system. 

The proposed building would rise to 28.6 metres, nearly three times the 11-metre height limit that applies to the site under Manly’s local planning controls.

How the Numbers Stack Up

Photo credit: NSW Planning – PBD Architects, 2026

The jump from 11 metres to 28.6 metres is made possible by two state housing policies applied on top of local controls.

Because the site sits within 400 metres of Manly Town Centre, NSW Low and Mid-Rise (LMR) Housing rules apply, lifting the permissible height ceiling to 22 metres. From there, the inclusion of five affordable apartments triggers a further 30 per cent infill affordable housing bonus, taking the allowable height to Luxcon’s proposed 28.6 metres. The same mechanism applies to floor space, with the scheme allowing almost four times the gross floor area permitted under Manly’s local controls.

The estimated development cost of $79 million pushes the project above the $75-million State Significant Development (SSD) threshold for the Eastern Harbour City, which is why the proposal has landed in the NSW major-projects system rather than at Northern Beaches Council, and before a formal development application has even been lodged.

What Is Planned for the Site

Photo credit: Google Street View

Plans prepared by PBD Architects show a nine-storey building across 3,637 square metres of gross floor area, sitting on a 1,272 square metre site with a 27-metre frontage to Victoria Parade. The apartment mix includes four two-bedroom apartments and 19 three-bedroom apartments, with two basement levels providing approximately 46 car spaces. The scheme also includes communal open space, a swimming pool, landscaping and deep soil planting.

The two lots being consolidated have a combined recent sales history that illustrates the scale of the change. The 12 Victoria Parade site, a three-storey freehold block of 17 apartments, was sold in February 2026 after more than 60 years in the same hands. 

Ferry Wharf at the Centre of the Planning Case

Manly Wharf is central to Luxcon’s planning case. The SEARs request argues that the Manly to Circular Quay ferry corridor, with more than 200 one-way weekday services, carries the same planning logic for housing intensification as rail and metro nodes do elsewhere in Sydney.

The wharf precinct itself is undergoing significant change. Artemus Group, the team behind Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves, acquired the long-term leasehold of Manly Wharf and the wharf hotel for $110 million in 2023. The most recent step in that transformation is a council application worth $4.5 million to reconfigure the central retail arcade into a hospitality-focused ferry gateway, including food and drink tenancies, a new skylight and additional passenger seating. That application was publicly exhibited between 14 January and 11 February this year.

Heritage and Environmental Hurdles Ahead

The site is within the Manly Town Centre Heritage Conservation Area, though the existing apartment blocks are not individually heritage listed. Two Norfolk Island Pines standing directly in front of the site along Victoria Parade will require careful treatment, with Luxcon’s plans indicating the driveway design will be shaped around protecting both trees.

Below ground, the site sits within a flood planning area and is mapped with Class 4 acid sulfate soils, with the two proposed basement levels expected to trigger detailed soil and water assessments.

Read: Manly Landmark Damaged After Vandals Break 170-Year-Old Kangaroo Statue

Luxcon must now prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement covering design, traffic, flooding, heritage, groundwater, contamination, trees, social impact and affordable housing management. The SEARs remain valid for two years.

Published 26-May-2026

Manly Swimmer And Coach Set For Junior Pan Pacific Championships

Photo Credit: NBC/Facebook

A Manly swimmer and her coach are preparing for the international stage after standout national results earned them selection for Australia’s Junior Dolphins team bound for Vancouver.

Read: 80 Kilometres Later, It All Ends at Manly: The Coastal Ultra Is Back

Manly Swimmer Turns National Success Into Australian Selection

Lillie McPherson’s years of training at Manly Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Aquatic Centre have led to a major representative milestone, with the 17-year-old selected for Australia’s 2026 Junior Dolphins Pan Pacific Team.

McPherson earned her place after a strong campaign at the Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast, where she won three gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze. Her gold medals came in the 50m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly.

The result places McPherson on the Australian team heading to the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Vancouver, Canada, in August. Her selection marks a clear link between local training and international junior competition.

McPherson has trained at Manly Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Aquatic Centre since she was 12, building towards a national campaign that delivered medals across multiple events and secured her place in the Australian junior team.

Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Photo Credit: Lillie McPherson/Instagram

Manly Coach Joins Her On The Junior Dolphins team

The Manly presence in Vancouver will extend beyond the pool, with Justin Rothwell also selected as one of six coaches for the Junior Dolphins Pan Pacific Team.

Rothwell is Head Coach at Manly Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Aquatic Centre and coaches McPherson. His selection gives Manly representation in both the athlete and coaching ranks at the championships.

Together, McPherson and Rothwell give the Manly program a direct role in Australia’s junior swimming team for the event. Their selection follows the Australian Age Championships, where Manly and Warringah swimmers produced several strong results across individual events.

Manly swimming
Photo Credit: Justin Rothwell/Instagram

More Manly Swimmers Post National Results

Manly Swimming Club had 28 swimmers competing at the Australian Open and Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast in April, giving the club a broad presence across the national meet.

Among the additional Manly results, Lexi Harrison placed sixth in Australia in the 200m individual medley and fourth in the 400m individual medley. Sarah Locke also placed seventh in Australia in the 200m freestyle final.

Those results added further depth to Manly’s showing, with several local swimmers reaching high national placings while McPherson and Rothwell secured selection for the international team.

Warringah Results Add Wider Local Context

The Manly achievement came alongside strong results from Warringah Aquatic Centre swimmers.

Luke Higgs, who has trained at Warringah Aquatic Centre since he was 11, was also selected for the Australian team after winning two gold medals and two silver medals. His gold medals came in the 1500m freestyle and 400m individual medley.

Warringah’s Zavier Tay will represent Singapore at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, while Callyn Fenwick-Kearns placed fifth in the men’s 50m backstroke final.

The combined results from Manly and Warringah show a strong national meet for local swimmers, with multiple athletes earning medals, high placings and international selection.

Manly Bound for Vancouver

The feature moment is the pairing of McPherson and Rothwell on the Australian Junior Dolphins team. Their selection reflects a progression from regular training at Manly Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Aquatic Centre to national results and a place at an international junior championship.

Read: New Market Marks the Next Step in Manly Wharf’s Transformation

The Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships will be held in Vancouver in August, with McPherson representing Australia in the pool and Rothwell joining the coaching team.

Published 5-May-2026

New Market Marks the Next Step in Manly Wharf’s Transformation

The Great Artist Market/Facebook

Brisbane-based hospitality group Artemus has marked another milestone in its transformation of the heritage-listed Manly Wharf, launching the first Great Artist Market at the Felons Barrel Room while a proposed $4.5 million food hall conversion of the wharf’s central retail arcade awaits planning approval.

Read: Artemus Group Takes Over Hugo’s Manly, Pledges Brand Expansion

The market brought more than 40 stalls of original work by Sydney artists and makers to the Barrel Room, the former Aldi supermarket Artemus converted into a microbrewery and entertainment venue at the wharf’s southern end.

Free and open from 8am to 3pm, it was the first community-oriented event of its kind at the precinct since Artemus took over the $110 million leasehold in May 2023, and for founders Adam Flaskas and Paul Henry, it signalled exactly the direction they have been working toward.

Felons brand director Dean Romeo, who developed the market concept with his artist wife Claire Ritchie in Geelong before taking it to Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane, described the Manly edition as carefully curated but open to emerging voices.

“It’s really important for us to give people who may have never shown their works before a space to go,” Romeo said. “The Manly event will showcase a wide cross-section of different mediums, whether it’s ceramics through to paintings, through to photography, through to jewellery.”

Fifteen northern beaches artists featured in the debut market, including Alissa Jay Thomas, WS. Ceramics, Ionae’s Studio, pod & pod, Little Artworks, Northern Beaches Gallery, The Blossom and The Tide, Pirate Princess, Vix and Kin, The Drawing Arm and others.

A Precinct Transformed, Piece by Piece

The Manly Wharf that Artemus took possession of in 2023 was a place of mixed fortunes: a heritage-listed pier structure originally built in 1855 and rebuilt in its current form in 1941, carrying a pub and a mix of retail outlets that had not fundamentally changed in decades.

Manly Wharf in the 1940s
Photo Credit:  Northern Beaches Library

Artemus had already shown what it could do with a tired waterfront at Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves, a nine-acre heritage precinct under the Story Bridge that the group spent ten years developing into one of Queensland’s leading hospitality and entertainment destinations. Manly Wharf, they said from the start, was the same opportunity at a different scale.

The transformation is methodical. The group first delivered the $13.5 million Felons Barrel Room conversion, a project distinct from the pending $4.5 million food hall proposal currently before council. The Barrel Room project gained Northern Beaches Planning Panel approval in early 2025 and now features two bars and 144 ageing barrels.

Photo Credit: Howard Smith Wharves/Facebook

On the western side of the wharf, Felons Seafood opened as a waterfront restaurant and bar occupying the former Bavarian site, with an adjoining fish and chip takeaway. Hugos, the long-running pizza restaurant at the wharf, was acquired and continues to operate.

A wedding and events venue has opened on the first floor of the complex. Glass balustrade fencing, fixed outdoor seating and improved lighting have progressively changed the feel of the waterfront deck.

Last year, five long-term tenants, El Camino Cantina, Sake Restaurant and Bar, Betty’s Burgers and Concrete Co, Queen Chow and Chat Thai, concluded or handed back their leases, clearing the way for the next chapter.

A Food Hall Waiting for the Green Light

The most significant proposed change to the precinct is now before planning authorities. Artemus has lodged a development application for a $4.5 million transformation of the wharf’s central pedestrian concourse into an artisanal food hall and fresh produce hub, with all existing retail tenancies along the arcade converted to food and drink premises.

Photo Credit: Artemus Group

If approved, the food hall would trade from 6am to 1am, seven days a week. The proposal also includes automatic glass sliding doors at the wharf’s main entrance, a new skylight to bring more natural light into the arcade, additional fixed seating, upgraded ferry waiting areas and improved external lighting designed to create a soft glow on the wharf’s heritage facade and clock tower.

It would be the first major change to the retail arcade since the wharf was rebuilt in 1941.

“We’re proud of the progress so far, including new hospitality offerings that have added to its vibrancy,” Adam Flaskas said.

“The next stage involves considered upgrades to retail and public areas to improve comfort, functionality and the overall visitor experience. This forms part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring Manly Wharf remains a welcoming and well-presented destination for residents and visitors.”

Building A New Chapter for Manly Wharf

Artemus is investing $120 million into the Manly precinct, applying the same community-focused, hospitality-led approach it used at Howard Smith Wharves to build a long-term legacy in Sydney.

On 2 May, the group will launch its first Great Artist Market at the wharf, with plans for it to become a regular fixture, as it is in Brisbane where it runs three times a year. Broader community programming will continue to grow alongside the hospitality offering.

Locals can track the proposed food hall application here, while bookings for Felons, Hugos and the events venue are available online.

Read: What’s Proposed for Manly Wharf? $4.5M Arcade Upgrade Revealed

Published 30-April-2026

80 Kilometres Later, It All Ends at Manly: The Coastal Ultra Is Back

Bondi to Manly Ultra/Facebook

The Bondi to Manly Ultra Marathon returns this year, and for Manly residents and runners across the northern beaches, the significance is personal: the finish line lands at Manly Beach, the northern anchor of one of the world’s great urban running routes.

Read: Marine Parade Upgrade Plans Move Forward for Manly to Shelly Beach Coastal Walk

The 80-kilometre course starts at Bondi Pavilion and runs the full length of the Bondi to Manly Walk north to the finish at Manly Beach, passing 49 beaches, clifftop trails over the eastern suburbs, harbour foreshore paths, national parks, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge along the way. It is the world’s original urban ultra marathon, and it finishes at one of the most celebrated beach strips in the country.

For 2026, the event enters a new chapter under the management of MARI, the global events company behind the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival and the Great Ocean Road Running Festival. Founding CEO Elle Pacholski and the Bondi to Manly Walk Supporters Group remain as owner and advisory partner, ensuring the race retains its community roots as it grows.

Marcus Gale, managing director of MARI Australia, described the race as something rare in the global events calendar.

“The Bondi to Manly Ultra is a defining expression of Sydney’s identity and the enduring human spirit of athletic endeavour,” Gale said.

Photo Credit: Bondi to Manly Ultra/Facebook

Not Just for Ultra Runners

The solo 80-kilometre category is the race’s centrepiece, open to participants aged 18 and over and drawing elite athletes alongside determined recreational runners from across Australia and internationally. But the 2026 edition makes the course accessible in new ways through its relay options.

A two-person relay splits the course into roughly 40 kilometres each. A four-person relay splits the journey into four stages, with legs ranging from 17km to 23km, perfect for runners who usually focus on the half-marathon distance. While the four-person relay is open to runners aged 16 and over, the solo and two-person categories remain an 18-plus challenge due to the longer distances involved. 

Bondi to Manly Ultra marathon
Photo Credit: Bondi to Manly Ultra/Facebook

All finishers receive a t-shirt, race number with timing device and finisher’s medal. Entries are strictly limited and the event sells out.

Running for More Than a Medal

The Bondi to Manly Ultra is a not-for-profit event. Every dollar raised goes directly to the Bondi to Manly Walk Supporters Group and is reinvested into the maintenance and enhancement of the coastal track that the course runs along. Entering the race is a contribution to the landscape that makes Manly’s foreshore and the northern beaches walking network what they are.

The 2026 Bondi to Manly Ultra will commence on Saturday 24 October 2026. To register for the event, click here. Follow the event on Facebook for course and logistics updates in the lead-up to October.

Read: Salty Rooster Closure Brings End To Long-Running Manly Burger Takeaway

Published 30-April-2026

Inside the Illegal Fatbike Problem Hitting Manly and Sydney’s Other Beach Suburbs

Manly is among the Sydney suburbs where illegal e-bikes have drawn significant attention. Teenagers on modified fatbikes are a regular presence along the suburb’s footpaths and roads, riding without helmets, carrying multiple passengers and, in some cases, travelling well above the legal speed limit.

Read: Manly Beach Leads with Australia’s First Safety Code for Electric ‘Fat Bikes’

The bikes are known as fatbikes for their wide, sand-ready tyres. Many are modified or sold with unlock codes that allow them to exceed the 25km/h legal limit for e-bikes in NSW, sometimes by a significant margin. Residents across Sydney’s coastal suburbs, from the Northern Beaches through Bondi to Cronulla, have reported similar issues, with Manly among the areas receiving a high volume of complaints.

Earlier in 2026, dozens of riders were spotted crossing a golf course near Manly. Another captured a large group, including teens in school uniform, riding across the Harbour Bridge during a mass rideout organised by a US-based YouTuber. Councils across the area have received a rise in complaints from pedestrians and motorists.

How the Market Got Here

Photo credit: Pexels/F x

Observers have linked the volume of illegal fatbikes on NSW roads to a series of regulatory decisions at both federal and state level.

In 2021, federal authorities relaxed import restrictions on e-bikes, removing the requirement for importers to demonstrate compliance with minimum safety standards. Two years later, in 2023, NSW doubled the maximum permitted power output for e-bikes from 250 watts to 500 watts.

Under NSW law, e-bikes must require pedalling above 6km/h and the motor must cut out at 25km/h. However, some retailers sold high-powered bikes with PIN codes allowing buyers to unlock higher speeds, with the stated justification that the higher speeds were for private property use only.

The Pedestrian Council of Australia has linked the spike in illegal fatbike numbers directly to the loosening of import rules in 2021. Of the 750,000 e-bikes currently on NSW roads, NSW Transport estimates tens of thousands are illegal. There is currently no minimum age to ride an e-bike in NSW, and children under 16 are permitted to ride on footpaths.

Injury Numbers Rising

Photo credit: Google Maps/Hermione Le

Hospital data reflects the rise in illegal and unsafe e-bike activity. St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney reported that serious e-bike injuries at its emergency department had doubled in 2025 compared to 2024, and had increased by 350 per cent since 2023.

Medical staff at Royal North Shore Hospital have described e-bike injuries as becoming routine in major trauma settings. Clinicians note that riders are sustaining injury profiles more typically associated with motorised vehicle accidents, including brain injuries and friction burns, while not wearing the protective equipment required of motorbike riders. Fatbikes can weigh up to 40 kilograms.

Proposed Reforms

NSW Transport Minister John Graham has announced a package of proposed measures in response to the issue. These include introducing a minimum age for e-bike riders, adopting European safety standards that would cap motor output at 250 watts and require anti-tampering protections, and giving police the power to crush illegal bikes.

Minister Graham has said the aim is for Sydney to develop as a cycling city while maintaining control over how e-bikes are rolled out.

Read: Northern Beaches Highway Patrol Targets E-Bike Riders in Manly Corso Crackdown

The proposals have drawn criticism from both sides. At least one e-bike retailer has described the response as disproportionate, arguing that education should precede enforcement. The Pedestrian Council of Australia has argued the measures do not go far enough, pointing out that 16-year-olds would still be permitted to ride on footpaths under the proposed changes. The council has also raised concerns that the absence of a compulsory insurance framework leaves pedestrians injured by e-bike riders with no clear avenue for compensation.

NSW Police have noted publicly that pursuing riders on fatbikes carries its own safety risk, complicating enforcement of existing laws.

Published 28-April-2026