1930s

Bondi’s reputation was first crafted in a tourism campaign of the 1930s called ‘Bondi the Beautiful’.

Bondi’s beachfront has taken well over 100 years to evolve into today’s landscape of national heritage significance. The first commercial buildings appeared in the 1880s; the sand dunes were stabilised and removed between 1900-1920; and in 1923 Waverley Council began its Bondi Beach and Park Improvement Scheme which included construction of the Bondi Pavilion in 1927.

By 1930, the Great Depression was being felt in Australia and Unemployment Relief Schemes were used to further improving Bondi’s beach and park area. The landscaping helped set the stage for a tourism campaign in 1931 called ‘Bondi the Beautiful’. The timing was perfect, with Sydney preparing for a major tourist event: the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932.

Waverley Council saw an opportunity to promote Bondi Beach to tourists arriving in Sydney to celebrate the event. The new Government Tourist Bureau asked Waverley to celebrate the 1932-1933 swimming season by placing photographs of Bondi in the bureau’s city office windows. The department store Gowings was one of the first to dedicate window space to promoting Bondi as a local tourist destination. The Harbour Bridge celebrations featured a poster of a lifesaver in front of the city’s new landmark.

In 1934, the Australian National Travel Association revealed its ambitious plans to make Bondi an international tourist destination, revealing that the beach would be ‘mentioned’ in lectures and radio broadcasts given by ‘well-informed Australians’ in world cities including Wellington, London and San Francisco. That year, tourist information about Bondi was distributed to more than 2000 travel agents worldwide. The campaign produced some of the most iconic travel advertising posters from the golden age of travel, including one depicting two women overlooking Bondi Beach from the Bondi Pavilion, designed by Percy Trompf, one of Australia's most prolific and most celebrated poster designers.

Bondi has remained an international drawcord ever since.