1941

One of the Bondi Mermaid sculptures, which sat on the big rock at the northern end of the beach, was modelled on swimmer Lynette Whillier.

The mermaids graced Bondi from 1960-74, when a huge wave washed ‘Lynette’ out to sea. The remaining mermaid, modelled on Bondi beauty queen Jan Carmody, was so badly damaged she was removed and placed in storage until recent conservation works allowed her to be put on display at Waverley Library.     

Lynette was raised in the eastern suburbs and began making a name for herself as a swimmer in 1954 when, aged 13, she won four titles (three in record time) at a schools championship day.

Swimming prowess was in her blood as the daughter of Australian Olympic swimmer Evelyn Whillier (nee de Lacy) who competed in the 1936 Berlin Games and won a Gold medal at the 1938 Empire Games.

Lynette represented Australia in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In 1959 she entered the Miss Australia Surf Competition, coming second to Jan Carmody, after which the pair were approached by artist Lyall Randall. He asked them to model for mermaid sculptures he planned to place off Bondi.

Waverley Council declined to commission the artist because of cost, so he sponsored his own work and gained permission from the Department of Lands to put them on the rock. He used bronze-coloured fibreglass filled with concrete to make the statues, which were launched on 9 April 1960. Mermaid Rock, as it was known, soon became a tourist attraction.

Not long after, a university prank saw ‘Jan’ removed from the rock before being returned intact. In 1974, a huge wave badly damaging ‘Jan’ and swept ‘Lynette’ out to sea, never to be found.

In 1974 Lynette and sister Eve competed in a Master Swimmers event, which led to formation of the Australian Masters Swimming Association.  

Courtesy the Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.