Cracking Awaba

Cracking Awaba - Stories of Mosman and the Northern Beaches during the Depression
This new book draws on seventy-two oral histories about life in Manly, Mosman, Pittwater and Warringah during the Depression of the 1930s.

By combining extracts of these interviews with an evocative selection of photographs of the period, author Paula Hamilton has provided a wonderful glimpse of the landscape, culture and community spirit that existed in these suburbs during a particularly difficult time in Australia’s history.

The curious title comes from an interview with Mosman boy Harley O’Regan who as a lad attempted to ride a billycart down Mosman’s very steep Awaba Street. Harley and his mates called this ride an attempt to “crack Awaba”.

This innovative project was made possible by a Library Development Grant from the Library Council of New South Wales to the Manly, Mosman, Pittwater and Warringah Libraries.
Cracking Awaba is available for $12.00 from Manly Library.