1922 - 2020

Born with whooping cough and an expectation of 3 days to live, Phil O'Sullivan went on to have a life in Bondi at the iconic family business O'Sullivan's Garage in Bondi Junction. He worked there from 1938 until 2020. Phil O'Sullivan was a very popular man, centre of his community, was in the army but served locally in WW2 (he expected to see Japanese come walking up Curlewis St on the night the eastern suburbs were shelled). He regularly gave talks to schools and groups, sharing photos and WW2 memorabilia. Phil was a great cricket coach, with cricket being his enduring passion and he played a key role in Waverley Cricket Club. 

During WWII the garage came under the government Manpower Act and Phil worked on the Lathe, making parts for the Spitfire, Owen & Bren Guns as well as shackles for the anti-submarine boom net, across the harbour and the Queen Mary's anti mine skirt. Phil was unable to enlist for the army for overseas duty, due to his skills on the lathe, but in addition to working on mechanical components for the war, he spent his weekends training for defence of the local beaches against Japanese invasion. Against the backdrop of the Japanese mini submarine attack in Sydney Harbour, there was a strong fear amongst locals that Bondi Beach would be the first point of invasion. Bondi Beach was fortified with barbed wire however many locals knew there was a hole under it in South Bondi, meaning they were still able to access the waves for a swim. Either end of the beach had a Vickers' gun. Phil's weekends were spent training with his army costal patrol unit located in the grounds of Rose Bay Golf Club.

Phil O’Sullivan, was also known as “Mr Cricket”. He was President of the Waverley District Cricket Club, founded Junior Cricket in Waverley and devised the “Australia-China Friendship Cricket Tour” in 1988 to promote cricket in China. One of Phil’s greatest legacies was the creation of his Saturday Morning Junior Coaching classes at Waverley Oval. Running for over 40 years under Phil, today they are still the backbone of our Waverley’s junior cricket programs. The club has now over 750 Junior Cricketers (boys and girls). Phil was also instrumental in bringing out Tony Greig to play with Waverley which in part led to "World Series Cricket" In 2012 and in recognition of Phil's service to local  cricket, the new grandstand at Waverley Oval was named "The Phil O'Sullivan OAM and Bob Horsell OAM" Grandstand. Phil received the Service Medal, Australian Sports Medal and Centenary Medal, and has raised thousands of dollars through service to Rotary, Red Cross and the Little Sisters of the Poor, who he was a benefactor of since 1966. Phil was educated at Waverley College, provided support to the college over many decades and served several terms as Old Boys Union Vice President.

Phil was the recipient of a Waverley Council Local Hero Award 2008 and is acknowledged on the Bronte promenade walk of fame. Phil also received an OAM in 2013 for service to the Waverley community through a range of sporting and community organisations. In 2020, he received the End of the Second World War Medal.

Courtesy the O'Sullivan family.