The annual Ron Rathbone local history competition winners were announced at the official ceremony at the historic Lydham Hall on Saturday 26 October 2024.
The winner of the open category, local historian Olga Sedneva, received a $5,000 prize for her work Tempe-Change of Landscape, Change of Purpose. The piece looked at a new perspective of Tempe House, taking readers through the history of its owner, builder and the artworks associated with the historic house. She followed the change in the House through time by looking at sketches, watercolours and paintings, along with written accounts and influences of the time.
Riya Yeshwant-Suvarna from St George Girls High School was named the winner of the high school category of the awards for her piece. Kodie Mason was awarded Recognition of Effort for the open category and Joshua Osei-Agyei was awarded Recognition of Effort for the high school category.
The Ron Rathbone Local History Competition is a long-standing annual event in Bayside. Established in 2006 and named after Ron Rathbone, past Mayor of Rockdale and avid historian, it aims at encouraging the researching, writing and sharing of works of local history. It has resulted in many new and valuable works of local history being added to Council's collection.
The ceremony celebrated the legacy of Ron Rathbone and the 2024 entries and winners, with Mayor Edward McDougall, Deputy Mayor Heidi Lee Douglas, Councillors and members of the St George Historical Society and the Botany Historical Trust in attendance, along with the competition judges.
The 2024 judging panel consisted of Anne Slattery OAM and lifetime member of Botany Historical Trust; Dr Paula Hamilton Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Applied History at Macquarie University and the Australian Centre for Public History at UTS; Julie Fitzsimons a long time local; and Rockdale Librarian Mellissa Zimmerman.
Entries will be on available on our website and on display at the Rockdale Library.
Mayor McDougall said:
"Council is proud to honour the historic legacy of Ron Rathbone through this annual competition and support local historians through this competition," Mayor McDougall said
"The Bayside area has an incredibly rich history and we're able to continue developing local historical works by supporting competitions like this.
