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Again, this is a little further to the north compared to the previous shot. This shot takes in the Mahon Rock Pool. As per the council's website: "The Mahon rock pool is located to the north of Maroubra Beach at the base of Jack Vanny Reserve. The exposed rock outcrops and cliffs above it make it a spectacular venue. Steep steps lead down to the ocean pool from a car park on Marine Parade. There is a toilet block, showers and change rooms on the cliff overlooking the pool." So who was Mahon? Probably a friend of Jack Vanny. But like him, there is absolutely bupkis on who he was. In this case they haven't even bothered to use his first name. That's a hell of a memorial policy you have there, Randwick Council. A hell of a memorial policy.
Edit 06 Mar 2025: As I mentioned in the previous shot, around the time I posted these images on PBase, a page showed up which included the sources of some of the place names that had previously been lost in the mists of time.
And indeed one page of that list includes a reference to:
Mahon Pool, RANDWICK
Built in 1937 and named for Ald Patrick Mahon.
("Ald" being "alderman", the old title for what are today local councillors.)
And now, the information on the council web site has been expanded to give a broader picture of Alderman Mahon and what he did:
Mahon Pool was built in 1935-1936 after a petition was presented to Randwick Council by Alderman Patrick Mahon.
Using the foundation of a naturally formed seaside rock pool.
Alderman Mahon was an alderman representing the South Ward and he was often lobbying to improve the area. On the 5 March 1935 he moved a motion requesting that the NSW Minister for Labour and Industry be approached to provide labour and materials for the construction of a sea baths at the northern end of Maroubra. In this era, several seaside installations along Randwick City’s coastline were built to keep local people employed during the great depression. Mahon Pool and the concrete pontoon in Clovelly Cove are two examples of this depression era works. This work therefore provided food and shelter for many local families who had fallen on hard times, with unemployment at record high levels.
Alderman Mahon died in September 1935, unfortunately before he could see the realisation of this ocean pool project. On the 3 March 1936 Randwick Municipal Council received a letter from the Maroubra Bay Progress Association asking Council to consider naming the Bathing Pool at the foot of Torrington Rd, when completed, the Mahon Memorial Pool.
A website called "Coogee News" (which I'd put a link to but it's not a secure site) points out that the death was a tragic one given his age:
"Patrick Mahon collapsed at a Randwick Council meeting and died aged only 43 at Sydney Hospital on 3rd September 1935. It had only been short illness. The son of Thomas and Mary Mahon, he had married Ellen Flynn at Redfern in 1920. They had nine children."
Nine children in 15 years {raised eyebrow}? It wasn't necessarily uncommon in the 19th and early 20th century, but I think the Depression for one thing threw a wet blanket over that kind of fecundity.
Full EXIF Info | |
Date/Time | 10-Jul-2006 14:56:46 |
Make | Canon |
Model | Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL |
Flash Used | No |
Focal Length | 24 mm |
Exposure Time | 1/60 sec |
Aperture | f/18 |
ISO Equivalent | 400 |
Exposure Bias | 0.00 |
White Balance | 0 |
Metering Mode | matrix (5) |
JPEG Quality | (5) |
Exposure Program | manual (4) |
Focus Distance |
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