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6 November

Leonie Bell - Botany Mill

Botany Wool explores the history of the once vibrant wool industry in Botany, which thrived in the area from the mid 1800s to the 1970s. Leonie's talk will explain the occupation of a fellmonger, the origins of the industry in Botany, key industry players, and the reasons for the industry's demise.
Leonie Bell is a tour guide with a keen interest in family history and local history, is an active member of Botany Bay Family History Society and she leads our Writers Interest Group. She has been a Professional Member of the Institute of Australian Tour Guides (IATG) since 2001. Leonie has conducted tours at Sydney Opera House for 17 years, explaining its history, architecture and performance to over 85,00 people. She also guides educational tours of The Rocks for Sydney Walks, Leonie twice won Bayside Council's Ron Rathbone History Prize for her research on the history of Rockdale Opera Company (2016)  and the Botany wool industry (2018) and was Highly Commended (2017) for her biography of Rockdale Alderman Simon Peter Depena.

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