Bondi Story Room, in Conversation

Join us for a series of enlightening and informal chats with Bondi personalities. Listen to true-life stories about Bondi connections where the city meets the sea.

Listen to true-life stories about Bondi connections where the city meets the sea. In celebration of the new immersive experience that is Bondi Story Room, join local personalities and hear their stories of Bondi first-hand. This series of short, informal conversations recounts memories of old Bondi, major milestones, and shares the inside history of Bondi in a way that only locals can.

Event speakers include;

Pauline Menzcer
Wednesday 21 September 7:15pm – High Tide Room

As the only World Champion Surfer to be produced by Bondi, Pauline Menczer is an inspirational name in the local community. Despite a battle since childhood with rheumatoid arthritis, and the gender inequity of a male dominated sport, she won the 1988 women’s amateur world title and was the 1993 Women’s World Champion. Pauline boasts a myriad of other places and prizes as a long-standing competitor on the championship tour. But her world title in 1993 came with little more than a broken trophy as the Association of Surfing Professionals did not award prize money for the women’s world champion that year. In 2021 a GoFundMe campaign corrected the injustice in conjunction with the release of the documentary ‘Girls Can’t Surf’.

Harry Nightingale
Wednesday 21 September 8:30pm - High Tide Room

Harry Nightingale, Jr lived in Sri Lanka as a child, while his dad Harry Nightingale, Sr was establishing surf lifesaving for the country. The Nightingale family moved to Bondi in 1955, and Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club became a big part of the life of both father and son. Harry travelled the globe as a surfer, winning many awards. To Bondi locals, he is known as an eco-warrior; at 47 Harry became Bondi’s oldest surf-lifeguard recruit and went on to patrol the beach for 18 years.

Aunty Barbara Simms- Keeley
Sunday 25 September 10:30 - Yalagang Room

Aunty Barbara Simms-Keeley is a Bidjigal and Gweagal Elder belonging to the La Perouse Aboriginal community. Aunty Barb and her family have unbroken ties to Coastal Sydney which pre-date the arrival of Europeans to this continent. Her strong connection to her community is demonstrated by her career at Guriwal Aboriginal Corporation where she provided transport and other valuable support services to Elders in the La Perouse area.

Terry Jenkings
Sunday 25 September 11:00 - Yalagang Room

Terry Jenkings, the producer of recent documentary 'Bondi Gaurdians', is a life-long Bondi local and the son of famous leading journalist William ‘Bondi Bill’ Jenkings.

Brenda Miley
Sunday 25 September 11:30 - Yalagang Room

Local surfer and ex-surf champion Brenda Miley founded Let’s Go Surfing in 1995 to encourage more women into the surf and surf competitions. While the business started out of a Kombi on Bondi Beach and a couple of surf boards, it has since grown to employ over 100 instructors across the east coast while teaching thousands of people surf skills and safety.

Jan Carmody
Sunday 25 September 11:30 - Yalagang Room

Jan Carmody grew up in Bondi and was the winner of the 1959 Miss Australia Surf competition. The award included an overseas trip to promote Australia with top modelling agent June Dally-Watkins as her chaperone. Jan and Lynette Whillier – the runner-up in the Miss Australia Surf competition and a champion swimmer – were muses for local artist Lyall Randolph Williams when he created Bondi’s famous mermaid sculptures.