The Ron Rathbone Local History Competition encourages people to explore Bayside’s rich, diverse and vibrant history.
The competition is named for Ron Rathbone who was first elected Mayor of Rockdale in 1968 and held the position for a record four terms. He was a passionate historian who loved the local area so much that he wrote more than 15 books and numerous articles on the history and heritage of our area.
2025 Competition Winners
Bayside Council would like to thank and congratulate all the entrants in this year’s Ron Rathbone Local History Competition.
This year’s winners were:
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
For questions or more information, email our Local History Librarians on local_history@bayside.nsw.gov.au
The Open Category is for anyone to enter and encourages original research into the history of Bayside written in a long form essay. Entrants may submit an entry on the optional theme on the role of women during WWI and/or WWII, or on Bayside's history, regarding any aspect of its past, suburbs or people.
Final submissions will be judged based on how closely the work relates to the history of Bayside, and how professionally they are researched and written. You can see the full list of criteria under Judging criteria.
High School Category
The High School Category is open to all high school students and encourages them to develop their own research and writing skills while learning about the history of Bayside.
Essay Topics
Students are invited to submit an essay based on one of two options:
Option One
An essay answering the question: "Explore some of the different ways women contributed to Australia's war efforts during World War I and/or World War II, in the military and/or in volunteer organisations."
Please relate the question to the Bayside LGA. Personal connections and stories are welcome to build on the essay.
or
Option Two
An essay on a subject or topic chosen by the student that explores an aspect of Bayside’s local history. Suitable topics include Bayside residents, places, organisations, or events of historical significance in the Bayside Council area.