Ron Rathbone OAM (1931-2007) was a Rockdale Councillor and Mayor. He was first elected to Rockdale Municipal Council in 1959 as an independent, representing the people of Bexley and Carlton. In 1968 he became Mayor of Rockdale, a position he was elected to again in 1980, 1985 and 1992. He also held the position of Deputy Mayor from 1962–1968. He served as a councillor until 1999: 40 years of continuous service.

Ron was a champion for quality development, promoting villa housing and medium density single-storey homes. He also advocated strongly to rezone and acquire land to be turned into green open spaces for the benefit of the community. He was a vocal supporter of library services and a man with a passion for history, particularly for local history. In fact, Ron Rathbone wrote more than 15 books and numerous articles on the history and heritage of the Rockdale area.

As well as his council activities, Ron taught at Bexley Primary School for 24 years and was involved with many organisations, including the Rockdale Municipal Orchestra and Opera Company, the Heritage Council of NSW, the Benevolent Society of NSW and the St George Historical Society. In 1987 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for Service to Local Government.

Ron passed away in 2007 with his legacy living on through the annual Ron Rathbone Local History Prize that Rockdale City Council had established in his honour in 2006. The competition encouraged community members to research and write about the history of the Rockdale area. In 2016, when the former City of Botany Bay Council and former Rockdale City Council were amalgamated, the prize was extended to include the long rich and diverse history of the entire Bayside area.

Dr Peter Orlovich (1939-2024) was a pioneering archivist, historian, and educator whose life was dedicated to preserving the stories, records, and heritage that shape our communities. Through his teaching, research, and advocacy, he ensured that history remained accessible, meaningful and preserved for future generations.

Raised in Turrella, he studied at the University of Sydney and Sydney Teachers’ College, taught English and History at Jannali Boys’ High School, and later joined the Mitchell Library Manuscripts Department and the Archives Office of N.S.W.

In 1973, he established Australia’s first tertiary-level archives administration course at the University of New South Wales, shaping generations of archival professionals over the next 27 years.

Dr Orlovich believed that archival records should remain and be cared for in the places where they originated. This philosophy became a cornerstone of his work, propelling him to dedicate countless weeks to teaching and advocating for archival development across the South Pacific region. From 1981 until his final trip to Nauru in 2015, his teaching, guidance, and collaboration were pivotal in establishing and strengthening archival practices and infrastructure in countries throughout Oceania.

A respected researcher and advisor, Dr Orlovich contributed to a wide array of organisations, including the Geographical Names Board of N.S.W., the Royal Agricultural Society, La Perouse Museum, NIDA, the Botany Historical Trust, the Seaborne, Broughton and Walford Foundation, several local councils, and many community groups.

His legacy endures through the people he inspired, the institutions he enriched, and the stories he helped to preserve.

Applications for Bayside Council's inaugural Historian in Residence Program are now open and close on Friday 18 September 2026. The program invites qualified historians, or those with other relevant qualifications or experience, to apply to research a specific topic, chosen by the Local History Team, related to Bayside. 

The successful applicant will be paid $10,000 to produce a written work that will provide substantial new information on an under-researched or little-known aspect of Bayside’s history.

Ron Rathbone OAM Major Prize

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1.  How closely the work relates to the history of the Bayside Council Local Government area. 

   Research may be submitted on any topic that is related to any part of the Bayside Council area. Bayside covers all or parts of the suburbs of Arncliffe, Banksia, Banksmeadow, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Bexley, Bexley North, Botany, Brighton-Le-Sands, Carlton, Daceyville, Dolls Point, Eastgardens, Eastlakes, Hillsdale, Kingsgrove, Kogarah, Kyeemagh, Mascot, Monterey, Pagewood, Ramsgate, Rockdale, Rosebery, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Turrella and Wolli Creek. 

2. How much original historical research and consultation of primary and secondary sources
   the work involves.

   Entrants must submit an original piece of research. No papers previously published in journals or submitted to the competition by the entrant will be accepted unless they have been revised and formatted to comply with the Ron Rathbone Award Guidelines.  

   Note: If entrants have used AI software to assist with them, entrants should acknowledge this and state which software was used and for what purpose. 

3. How much new information, or how many new historical connections, historical insights or
   interpretations that the work provides. 

   It is expected that an entry will be a significant piece of work that makes a genuine contribution to our knowledge of the history of the Bayside Council area by providing new information or by offering a new interpretation of existing historical knowledge. 

4. How well the sources used are documented.
   
   All written works submitted must be accurately referenced with either footnotes or endnotes, with a consistent style of referencing such as the Chicago or the APA Style. A bibliography should also be included. Audiovisual works should include reference details at the end or be submitted with a separate written source list and/or bibliography. 
    
5. The overall professional quality and style of the work

Dr Peter Orlovich Young Historian Award

Entries will be assessed according to the school year category. To view the judging criteria for each category, please refer to the judging criteria available here.

Your submission can be about any location within the Bayside Council area, which includes all or part of:

• Arncliffe
• Banksia
• Banksmeadow
• Bardwell Park
• Bardwell Valley
• Bexley
• Bexley North
• Botany
• Brighton-Le-Sands
• Carlton
• Daceyville
• Dolls Point
• Eastgardens
• Eastlakes
• Hillsdale
• Kingsgrove
• Kogarah
• Kyeemagh
• Mascot
• Monterey
• Pagewood
• Ramsgate
• Rockdale
• Rosebery
• Sandringham
• Sans Souci
• Turrella
• Wolli Creek

2026 Bayside Local History Awards - The Ron Rathbone OAM Major Prize

2026 Bayside Local History Awards - Dr Peter Orlovich Young Historian Award (Yrs 5-6)

2026 Bayside Local History Awards - Dr Peter Orlovich Young Historian Award (Yrs 7-9)

2026 Bayside Local History Awards - Dr Peter Orlovich Young Historian Award (Yrs 10-12)

Our library catalogue is a good place to start your research, we also provide access to several online databases and research resources, including the popular family history database Ancestry.com:

Library databases

Electronic resources

The National Library Trove site also has useful resources, including photographs, available online.

All entrants in the Awards are expected to comply with the Australian Copyright Act. Further information is available from the Australian Copyright Council.

Copyright of any work submitted to the Bayside Local History Awards & Program remains with the author at all times.

A copy of any work submitted in the Dr Peter Orlovich Young Historian Award or the Ron Rathbone OAM Major Prize may be added to the Bayside Library Collection for public access and reading.

Works created by the Historian in Residence may be reproduced, published or used by Bayside Council in print or digital formats. The Historian will be acknowledged as the author wherever the work is exhibited, published or made available.

Open Category - Joint Winners:
Janette Pelosi and Nicole Blay for Rockdale’s Convalescent Homes and Nurses, post WW1
John Tregoning for Growing up in Lennox Street

High School - Joint Winners:
Minh Hoang for Albert Horace Hake - Bayside Resident, Sydney Tech Old Boy and Hero of the Great Escape
Joshua Osei-Agyei for The Loss of Public Housing in Bayside

Recognition of Achievement – Open Category: John MacRitchie for Kingsgrove Honor Roll
Encouragement Award – Open Category:  Alan Russell for Arncliffe Shops in the 1940s

Open Category
Olga Sedneva - Tempe House. Change of Purpose, Change of Landscape

High School
Riya Yeshwant-Suvarna, St George Girls High School - History: Made to Be Remembered

Recognition of Effort - Open Category
Kodie Mason - What does the life of Biyarung reveal about the participation of Indigenous people in Indigenous and colonial society and economy in the 19th century?

Recognition of Effort - High School
Joshua Osei-Agyei, Sydney Technical High School - A Crook Cooks River

2023

Open category - Joint Winners
Peter Hobbins, Miracle at Mascot? Surviving Sydney’s 1971 airliner collision
Ian Hoskins, Looking Backward: Daceyville and a time of idealism in public housing

2022

Winner – Open Category
Leonie Bell, Stannumville

2021

Winner – Open Category
Leonie Bell, Dappeto

2019

Highly Commended Award – Open Category 
Leonie Bell, The Grand Parade Brighton: Real Estate and Recreation

2018

Winner – Open Category
Leonie Bell, Botany Wool

2014

Winner – Open Category
Karen Pentland, They rallied to the flag