We Did It - Sea Nymphs Saved!

Thanks to the hard work of a community committee comprising local residents and artists, the iconic Oceanides sculpture at Fairy Bower, known by locals as the 'sea nymphs, will be reinstated in long lasting bronze.

The sale of miniature sculptures of the Sea Nymphs proved a popular way to raise funds. Photo by Johannes Egberts

The committee, made up of Hugh Burns, Heather Potts, Wendy McCready, Julie Bakalor, Candy Bingham, Sherree Hooper, Sharon Curby and Janne Seletto, has successfully matched the $40,000 pledged by the Northern Beaches Council.

"We have been blown away by the passion felt by  people in relation to this sculpture.  The crowd-funding raised almost half the additional $40,000 needed, and the sale of limited edition miniature sculptures has ensured the funds needed have now been raised," explained Candy Bingham, Head of Fundraising for the project.

Feature stories in the Manly Daily and Sun-Herald spread the word, and more than 10,000 promotional flyers were distributed in local letterboxes promoting the crowd-funding website.

In addition, the Northern Beach Council supported the campaign by erecting a large "Save Our Sea Nymphs" donation sign at the entrance to the Fairy Bower pool.

The project was accepted by the Federal Government's Australian Cultural Fund, which enabled donations to be tax-deductible.

Artist Helen Leete worked tirelessly with the Committee, donating her time and talents to produce  two miniature sculptures of the Sea Nymphs, which  were available in  23cm and 50cm. Only twelve of each will be produced.

The launch of the fundraising event, took place at the Bronze Sculpture Gallery at North Head on Friday night (31/3/17) with students of Helen Leete providing the catering and the Manly Art Gallery providing its full support with the loan of glasses, a lecturn and donation box.  By the end of the evening the final funds needed were quickly secured with the sale of the 50cm miniature sculptures selling out. 

"The project has been a wonderful example of how the Council and its community can work together to get the outcomes they want, and really highlighted for me just how much art is appreciated in this area", Candy Bingham added.

Clive Calder of the Bronze Sculpture Gallery and Foundry at North Head will cast the replacement sculpture, which is hoped to be back in its proud position overlooking Fairy Bower Pool in time for next summer.

Well done Manly!