Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine Front Cover Photo Competition Guidelines

• The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers.
• Photos must capture the spirit, beauty, lifestyle or community of Hornsby within the Hornsby Shire area.
• Images should be suitable for a magazine front cover and have sufficient space at the top of the image for the Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine masthead.
• Images must be original and taken by the entrant.
• Photos should be high resolution (minimum 300dpi at A4 size) and supplied as JPEG or TIFF files. Photos must be portrait orientation.
• No watermarks, borders, logos or text should appear on the image.
• Basic editing (cropping, exposure and colour correction) is permitted. AI-generated images or heavily manipulated images will not be accepted.
• Entrants may submit up to three photographs.
• Entries must be submitted via email to hello@hornsbymagazine.com
• The winner will be featured in the Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine and on Hornsby Magazine’s digital channels, with a full page editorial (valued at $1,500+gst). The photographer will be credited using their name, their own social media or online channels.

Terms & Conditions

1. Entry into the competition constitutes acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.
2. Entrants must own the copyright of all submitted images.
3. By entering, photographers confirm they have permission from any identifiable people featured in the image. For anyone under 18 years of age, parental or guardian consent is required.
4. By entering, photographers grant Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine and the Hornsby Chamber of Commerce an exclusive, royalty-free licence to:
   • publish the winning image in Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine;
   • use the images on social media, websites, digital publications and promotional material relating to the competition and Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine;
   • credit the photographer whenever practical;
   • appear on merchandise, promotional materials, and other materials regarding the promotion of Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine.
5. The winning image will appear on the front cover of an upcoming edition of Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine. Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine reserves the right to crop or adjust the image to suit the cover layout. The final layout will be approved by the winning photographer.
6. A panel appointed by Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine will judge the entries based on:
   • Creativity
   • Visual impact
   • Composition
   • Technical quality
   • Suitability as a magazine cover
   • Representation of the Balmain Rozelle community
7. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
8. Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine reserves the right to disqualify entries that:
   • infringe copyright;
   • contain offensive or inappropriate content;
   • have been created using generative AI;
   • do not meet the competition requirements.
9. Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine reserves the right not to award a winner if no entry is considered suitable for the publication.
10. Personal information collected will only be used for administering the competition unless entrants have opted into future communications.
11. Hornsby & Surrounds Magazine accepts no responsibility for lost, late or corrupted entries.

Fostering open minds with Aware Bear

Aware Bear makes special events more meaningful and fun for children.

For Simone, a mum of two little boys who were in daycare full time, the dress‐ups were always a highlight — Harmony Week costumes, Book Week characters, all the colour and excitement. Her boys loved every minute of it, but Simone found herself wondering: Did they actually understand why these days matter? She wanted to bring more awareness into those moments — and that’s how Aware Bear was born!

Simone is a leader in belonging, equity and learning and development, with a passion for helping educators create meaningful, inclusive experiences.

Aware Bear is a story‐rich resource that helps educators teach children about identity, culture, emotions, belonging and celebration in an age‐appropriate way.

The Aware Bear Celebration Pack includes a cuddly classroom bear, 15 beautifully illustrated storybooks, 16 celebration tummy patches, EYLF‐ and MTOP‐aligned teaching notes, discussion questions, shareable digital images and a durable keepsake box for easy storage and reuse.

Each story explores an important cultural or community moment, with books on Lunar New Year, World Mental Health Day, Anzac Day, Earth Day and National Recycling Week.

Three First Nations titles — National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week and National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day — were co‐authored with Trevor Fourmile, a proud Gimuy Walubara Yidinji man and award‐winning author whose book Gurril, Storm Bird won the 2024 Karajia Award for Children’s Literature. His involvement ensures cultural authenticity, integrity and depth across the series.

Want to see the full Aware Bear Celebration Pack in person? Simone is local to the Hornsby area and is always happy to pop in and show your team the bear, the books and the celebration day resources.

Enjoy free shipping with the code ABFREESHIP — a special offer for Hornsby and surrounding suburbs until 30 August 2026.

AWARE BEAR
awarebear.com | 0411 288 251
simone@awarebear.com
@awarebearofficial

Trusted service with a community heart 

Gurkhas Auto Repairs, your trusted local mechanic take great pride in offering their clients the very best in car servicing and automotive repairs. 

Conveniently located in Hornsby, Gurkhas Auto Repairs specialise in car servicing for all makes and models, including commercial fleet vehicles.

Their fully qualified logbook servicing ensures your car is in safe hands, and they provide quality car service and repairs on all models, including four wheel drive and diesel vehicles. They value their customers and offer a mobile ‘after hours’ service to assist when breakdowns occur. 

They also offer courtesy loan vehicles whilst your car is being fixed.

Their comprehensive service checks critical systems like brakes and steering, diagnostics checks, brakes and suspension.

Gurkhas Auto Repairs recently teamed up with Inala, supporting people with disabilities and started their campaign ‘Pink Slip with  a Purpose’ — by mentioning this campaign when booking a $49 pink slip, the full amount is donated to Inala.

They have raised $8,500 so far, which is a huge achievement towards their $10,000 goal.

Gurkhas Auto Repairs are proud locals and love supporting the local community — through  local sports clubs, Hornsby North Football  Group-HNFC, local multicultural events,  Wellson’s Volleyball Club and the Dish of St John’s — providing meals to those in need.  

They are also running competitions where locals can win GPS units. Follow them on  Facebook for all of their competitions and how to apply.  

GURKHAS AUTO REPAIRS
Hornsby and Warners Bay
Suman Poudel
0426 405 605 / 02 8528 7150
gurkhasautorepairs.com.au

In the Autumn edition, we introduced the Hornsby Chamber of Commerce, over a century of connecting local businesses. This Winter we ask what does membership mean for you?

Running a small business can feel like a juggling act done entirely alone. You are the owner, the admin, the marketer, the receptionist, and often the cleaner too. It is relentless. And when it comes to growing your network, finding the time and energy to get out there can feel like just one more thing on an already impossible list.

“As a silo you are one person and one business. As a collaborator you are stronger, better connected, and much harder to ignore.”

That is exactly what the Hornsby Chamber of Commerce was built for. 

The Chamber is a working network, not a directory that gathers dust. When someone in the community is looking for a service and a Chamber member offers it, that member gets the call. Referrals circulate within the network constantly, and if your business is not in it, those opportunities simply pass you by.

What makes it genuinely different is accessibility. Every member sits in a shared WhatsApp group, no chasing numbers, no awkward cold messages. You already have direct access to hundreds of local business owners, right in your pocket. Need a sparky? A bookkeeper? A photographer? They are already there.

Monthly coffee catch-ups and Business After Hours events keep you visible and present in the community, because out of sight really does mean out of mind. And every collaboration the Chamber fosters is another door opening for your business that you didn’t have to knock on yourself.

The best part? There is no hard sell, no lock-in, and no intimidating sign-up process. The Chamber actively invites you to try before you commit, so come along, meet the members, and get a feel for the room. The people running it are volunteers, local business owners just like you, who understand exactly what it takes to keep the lights on and the doors open.

HORNSBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

hornsbychamber.com.au

info@hornsbychamber.com.au

0412 982 235

Hornsby & District Branch of The Country Women’s Association of NSW has proudly supported the local community for more than 70 years.

The branch continues to play an important role in bringing people together while supporting a wide range of local causes and initiatives. This long-established community group is made up of vibrant, welcoming and community-minded women who enjoy giving back, learning new skills and having fun together. Members share a strong sense of friendship and purpose, creating an inclusive environment where everyone is encouraged to get involved.

CWA has a lot to offer, they come together twice a month on the second and fourth Friday of the  month at St Peter’s Anglican Church Hall, Peats Ferry Road, Hornsby, from 10am to 12 noon.

Of course, there isn’t a meet-up without a delicious morning tea, but there is so much more to CWA. They have several portfolios within their branch, where they learn, discuss and grow together. They study a different country each year (Fiji for 2026!), where they explore culture, cooking, handicraft, agriculture and environment.

Their fundraising enables them to contribute to many local causes, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter, The Dish, CWA Disaster Relief Fund, Sporting Chance Cancer Fund, The Royal Flying Doctors and many more.

Their fundraising efforts include regular stalls in Hornsby Mall, their Christmas market in Berowra and cafes in July and November each year for North Shore Craft Group and a bi-annual Cafe in May for Fairholme Quilters, both of which are held at the community centre in Thornleigh.

The group has also proudly partnered with Hornsby Shire Council’s monthly Citizenship Ceremonies, providing welcome refreshment packs for new citizens. These packs include their famous scones and ANZAC biscuits, information about the history of both ANZAC biscuits and the CWA — helping to share a little piece of Australian heritage with the newest members of the community.

Whether you are looking to make new friends, learn new skills, give back to the community or simply enjoy being part of a welcoming group, the Hornsby & District CWA warmly invites new members and visitors to come along and experience everything the organisation has to offer. For more information, drop by a meeting or get in touch via email.

THE COUNTRY WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF NSW — HORNSBY & DISTRICT BRANCH

secretarycwahornsbyanddistrict@gmail.com

CWAHornsby

cwaofnsw.org.au

Award winning Turramurra author Elizabeth Lancaster is returning to bookshelves with a deeply personal and timely new memoir, Bounty: a memoir of friendship, MS and the dog that changed everything. Blending humour, heartbreak and hope, the book explores the transformative power of friendship, community and one very determined rescue dog.

At the heart of the memoir is Lancaster’s experience living with multiple sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune disease that gradually altered not only her physical abilities, but her sense of identity and connection with others. In a world where many people are navigating chronic illness, caregiving, loneliness or change, her story offers a deeply human reflection on resilience, belonging and the unexpected places where support can be found.

The story begins when Libby’s lifelong friend Emma encourages her to adopt a strong willed rescue dog named Bounty. The intention is simple enough, to improve Libby’s declining fitness. But Bounty quickly becomes much more than a companion animal. Through his chaotic energy and stubborn personality, he leads Libby into a hidden dog park community where assumptions about disability, friendship and belonging are quietly challenged.

As the memoir unfolds, the balance of friendship between Libby and Emma begins to shift when  mma reveals devastating personal news of her own. What follows is a moving exploration of loyalty, vulnerability and the way friendships evolve through life’s most difficult moments. Lancaster handles these themes with honesty and warmth, creating a memoir that feels intimate without losing its broader emotional reach.

Lancaster’s own path to becoming an author is just as compelling. Originally trained as an occupational therapist, she discovered writing while living in New York with her young family. After her MS diagnosis, writing became both a creative outlet and a lifeline, allowing her to process what she was going through at a time when she had chosen to keep much of it private. What began as snippets, paragraphs and scenes gradually grew into a book, and then into a writing life she could not have predicted.

Her first memoir, Marzipan and Magnolias, won the inaugural Finch Memoir Prize, establishing Lancaster as a distinctive voice in Australian memoir writing. With Bounty, she returns to familiar emotional territory but with a fresh perspective, one shaped by experience, friendship and the small daily acts of care that can change a life.

Early praise for Bounty has already been significant. Astrid Edwards, Chair of Judges for the 2025 Stella Prize, has described the memoir as “a testament to friendship, illness and the love of a good dog,” while cardiologist and broadcaster Dr Ross Walker praised its poignant exploration of chronic illness and the emotional benefits of companion animals. That combination of literary merit, lived experience and emotional honesty gives the book wide appeal, especially for readers drawn to memoirs that are both thoughtful and uplifting.

For Lancaster, writing has become more than a profession. It has become part of how she understands herself. That may be the quiet power at the heart of Bounty: the idea that connection can arrive in unexpected forms, through a friend, a diagnosis, a dog with a stubborn streak, or a park bench conversation with someone you have never met before.

Bounty: a memoir of friendship, MS and the dog that changed everything is available at Bookface St Ives and other selected bookstores. For more, visit elizabethlancaster.com.au

Tucked along Castle Hill Road in West Pennant Hills, the Koala Park Sanctuary feels like a gentle pause in time, a leafy, family-run haven where the spirit of old Sydney still lingers beneath the gum trees.

Opened in 1927, the sanctuary began with a simple but powerful purpose: to protect koalas at a time when their future was under serious threat.

Founded by Noel Burnet, the Koala Park was built on conservation, compassion and conviction. At a time when koalas were being hunted for the fur trade, Burnet’s vision was strikingly ahead of its time, and the sanctuary he created has remained proudly family-owned and operated ever since, with the McNamara family continuing the work he began.

There is something irresistibly charming about the Koala Park. It is not just a place to see native animals, though there are plenty of those. It is a place to slow down, wander, listen and reconnect with a quieter version of the Australian bush. Alongside its beloved koalas, the sanctuary is home to kangaroos, birds, reptiles, marsupials, farm animals, ponies and even a Squirrel glider with the delightful name of Curly Wirly. 

What makes the sanctuary especially memorable is its deeply personal feel. This is not a corporate attraction, but a place shaped by family, hard work and a steady commitment to care. Garry McNamara, who has been running the park for the past 11 years, grew up on the grounds himself, part of a story that stretches back nearly a century. 

And that story is still unfolding. In 2027, the Koala Park will mark 100 years since its founding, an extraordinary milestone for a local institution that has quietly done so much to preserve Australian wildlife and its place in our shared story. It is the kind of milestone that reminds us how rare it is for a family legacy, a conservation mission and a community landmark to endure side by side for so long.

The Koala Park has also found a place in the wider world of screen production. The sanctuary was used as a filming location for NCIS: Sydney Season 1, and more recently an ABC production team spent a week on site filming an episode of Return to Paradise, adding a contemporary layer to its already rich, local character.

For visitors, the Koala Park offers more than a day out. It offers a reminder that conservation can be personal, local and enduring. It is the kind of place grandparents bring grandchildren, where family memories are made, and where the simple joy of seeing a koala up close still carries the same magic it always has. 

Open seven days a week, including public holidays, the sanctuary remains one of those rare attractions that feels both nostalgic and alive.

KOALA PARK SANCTUARY

84 Castle Hill Rd, West Pennant Hills

koalapark-sanctuary.com.au

02 9484 3141

Sunshine Nursery once stood in George Street on a site now occupied by Hornsby Library, it was a thriving local business founded by Charles Harold Davis. More than just a nurseryman, Harold played an important role in the Hornsby community, supporting war widows, local schools, the RSL and public spaces while building a successful seed and nursery business.

Charles Harold Davis, known as Harold, purchased two narrow house blocks 33ft (10.06m) wide that ran from George Street, to the lane behind. These blocks are where the front of the library is now, at 28 George Street. Here he established the Sunshine Nursery. Newspaper searches on the name showed there were many nurseries of the same name. At this stage it is not known if they were somehow related or if it was just a popular name.

In 1911, he had a four room brick house plus facilities built on lot 6 and in the mid-1920s a small two storey shop was built on lot 7. The shop covered about three quarters of the width of the block and was about half the width deep, with office space upstairs that had a separate entrance.

In February 1912, he advertised that he had many thousands of Stock plants of 15 named varieties ready for planting out. Stock were a heavily perfumed very popular pastel coloured flower that is rarely seen now. He was selling them for 9d a dozen or 4/6 per 100 post free.

In September 1915, aged 31 and married, he enlisted as reinforcement for the 3rd Infantry Battalion. Whilst away his wife Annie Kate ran the business. He returned in early 1919 and would have been met at Hornsby Station by Mr McMahon, Hornsby Public School principal, and his pupils’ fife band. They met all the school day trains with returning soldiers on them.

Their only child Stuart Harold Davis was born in 1922. He later followed his father’s example and served in World War II.

Davis, along with a number of other nurseries, advertised regularly in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. An analysis of his advertisements show he was developing a good mail order business with two types of customers — housewives and domestic gardeners for flowers seedlings that he sold by the dozen — and market gardeners for vegetables seedlings that he sold by the 100 and later 1000 post free and later rail free instead of post free.

After he returned from World War I he called himself a seed man in the Sands directory indicating much of his business was from flower seeds.

By 1940, he must have had an established clientele as he appears to have ceased advertising but continued in business until he retired shortly before his death in 1951, aged about 67-68.

The Hornsby Shire Historical Society were recently donated a homemade hand cart, a fruit case wide with bicycle wheels that was used by a market gardener in Normanhurst to take his produce to his local customers and possibly Normanhurst station. It is quite possible that he was a customer of Harold.

Both Harold and his wife Annie Kate were community-minded people. When part of Hornsby Park was ploughed up for the older boys at Hornsby Superior Public School to grow vegetables for war widows and soldiers wives, Annie Kate helped the boys with seeds. When Hornsby Shire Council was looking to develop Hornsby Park as a park from the open space it then was, Harold was one of the people consulted and offered to supply trees. In the 1930s it was Harold who germinated and grew, for the State Executive of the RSL, the many years-old seeds from the Lone Pine ‘Pinus Atlantica’ at Gallipoli. The resulting seedlings were planted at Hornsby, Orange and Leeton. It was reported that in the 1940s-50s the various Hornsby Lodges met in his upstairs room.

In 1952, Albert French the then owner and editor of the Advocate recalled that the “The late Mr C. Harold Davis of Sunshine Nurseries “ (was) — “a man whose heart was bigger than his body and whose enthusiasm for the many objects he supported knew no bounds.”

This article is courtesy of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society.

HORNSBY SHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

hornsbyshirehistoricalsociety.org

Founded in 2001 and now home to 183 members (including 22 women) — the Hornsby Woodworking Men’s Shed has grown into a vibrant community hub.

Six days a week, from its open yellow doors comes the sound of saws, shared laughter, and the steady rhythm of people finding purpose in making, repairing and helping others.

For Shed President David Boyd, who joined in 2016, the attraction was simple, “I’d always liked woodwork and I needed something meaningful to step into after retiring.” What he found was far more than a hobby. Over the years, he has learnt new technical skills, taken on committee roles, and now leads the Shed with humility. “Becoming president showed me how much there is to learn about executive skills,” he says with a smile. “But what I love most is repairing furniture for people who can’t do it themselves. It feels good to help someone who has no other way of getting something fixed.”

David says the real heart of the Shed is the sense of belonging it creates. “It’s a community built on friendship and conversation. Woodwork is the anchor, but wellbeing is the outcome.” 

Noelene Berne, who joined in 2025, came looking for a way to contribute after retiring. “I heard they made Christmas toys for children and thought, what a wonderful thing to be part of,” she says. With no woodworking experience, she arrived armed only with enthusiasm. “It’s incredibly rewarding knowing you’ve played even a small part in creating toys that will make a child smile.”