Bondi: A biography

Why Bondi? Why, and how, did this particular strip of sand become Australia’s most famous summer playground?

Once a desolate bay, Bondi now juggles multiple roles as residential suburb, city beach, national icon and international tourist site. As much an idea as an area, Bondi is a site bounced between the respective visions of governments, developers, residents, tourists and mythmakers.

Famous for being famous, Bondi has regaled Australia with a continual stream of controversy, scandal and sensation. In a history littered with brawls, bikinis, crimes, characters, bombs and battles over development Bondi has lived up to its reputation as Australia’s most colourful suburb, a microcosm of Sydney writ large.

Bondi: A biography told the story of this famous Sydney suburb – the people, ideas and institutions that have shaped it – and how Australia and the world came to love it