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Official Opening Marks New Chapter for The Forest High School in Allambie Heights

After years of planning and construction, The Forest High School has officially opened its brand-new campus in Allambie Heights, marking a milestone moment for one of the Northern Beaches’ longest-serving public schools.

Read: The Forest High School Relocates to Allambie Heights: What Local Families Need to Know

After 64 years of educating Northern Beaches students, The Forest High School left Frenchs Forest, with more than 830 students relocating to the newly opened campus.

The school first welcomed students at the new site at the start of Term 1 in February this year. The May 15 ceremony was purely ceremonial, but it clearly meant a great deal to a community that has carried the school’s spirit through years of transition.

The relocation keeps the school within its existing catchment area, minimising disruption for current families while positioning The Forest High School to serve growing communities across the Northern Beaches for decades to come.

Photo credit: Facebook/The Forest High School

Situated on the corner of Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive, the new campus represents one of the Northern Beaches’ most significant education infrastructure projects, with the $160-million development designed to accommodate up to 1,500 students as the region grows.

Designed as a large courtyard campus, the school is connected by a continuous accessible circulation path called the Learning Loop, which links classrooms with the landscape around the internal edges of the campus buildings.

The 4.5-hectare site, previously home to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance’s McLeod House facility, offers modern learning environments surrounded by the natural beauty of Garigal National Park bushland.

Facilities include 73 modern classrooms, three Special Support Units, a new library, canteen and administration spaces, a multi-purpose sports and performance hall, outdoor sports courts, landscaped recreation and outdoor learning spaces, and over 180 parking spaces for bicycles and scooters.

Photo credit: Facebook/The Forest High School

“Our state-of-the-art facilities open up wonderful opportunities for our students, and I am especially excited to see our creative students showcase their talents in the performance theatre,” Principal Lawler said. “We have high expectations of our students, and we now have the facilities to match the effort they’re putting in.”

The school has consistently delivered strong academic results. Over the past two years, two thirds of HSC students achieved results in the top three bands, the school’s highest proportion in recent years.

NSW Premier Chris Minns cut the ribbon on the new school on Friday, 15 May, alongside Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan, Principal Nathan Lawler, and a group of students. The ceremony brought together past and present staff and student leaders to mark the occasion.

Some key members of the original planning committee who helped bring the vision to life back in 2018, were among those welcomed back for the special day. Year 12 Legal Studies students also had the chance to speak with the Premier during the visit.

Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan, whose support for the project stretches back to his days as Mayor of Northern Beaches, said the day had been a long time coming. “The new school campus is a huge step forward with modern classrooms, facilities and great spaces for sport, performance and student wellbeing,” he said.

Read: The Forest High School Joins E-Bike ID Tag Program to Improve Student Rider Safety

The Old Frenchs Forest Site

The previous school site will be demolished, to give way to a new Frenchs Forest town centre which will be constructed in its place. It will include civic administration buildings, a piazza and adjoining retail areas, plus 2,000 mixed residential dwellings with apartments up to 12 storeys high. The redevelopment is part of a broader rezoning strategy for the Northern Beaches Hospital precinct.

Published 18-May-2026

Allambie Heights Mum Remembered After Sudden Brain Aneurysm

Photo Credit: GoFundMe

Kali Blundell had recently become a mother and was spending maternity leave with her five-month-old daughter when a sudden brain aneurysm changed the course of her young family’s life in Allambie Heights.

A Young Family’s New Life In Allambie Heights

Ms Blundell, 32, had been caring for her daughter Ruby, her first child with husband Brandon, when she suffered a brain aneurysm in mid-April. She had been working out at a gym in Frenchs Forest when the medical emergency occurred.

She was taken to hospital and remained under medical care for more than a week before she died.

GoFundMe fundraiser — *Photo Credit: GoFundMe*

At the time, Ms Blundell was on maternity leave from her career as a management consultant. Her death came only five months after Ruby’s birth and after the young family had moved into their Allambie Heights home.

For Brandon and Ruby, the loss has left a future suddenly reshaped around the absence of a wife and mother.

northern beaches mother — *Photo Credit: GoFundMe*

A Relationship That Began In Their Teenage Years

Ms Blundell and Brandon had known each other since they were 15, after meeting in their home town of Canberra. Their relationship continued through their teenage years, marriage and the arrival of their daughter.

Friends have described the pair as deeply close, with Ms Blundell’s death leaving Brandon to care for Ruby while grieving the sudden loss of his wife.

The timing has added to the shock felt by those around the family. Ms Blundell had been in the early months of motherhood, a period expected to be filled with time at home with her baby daughter.

family fundraiser — *Photo Credit: GoFundMe*

Kali Blundell Remembered For Her Energy And Drive

Those who knew Ms Blundell have remembered her as ambitious, intelligent and full of life. She was known as someone who embraced new experiences, loved travelling and brought energy to the people around her.

Friends also remembered her as hardworking and determined, while still making room for music, dancing and a cheeky sense of humour. She was regarded as someone others could turn to for advice and support.

Her death has deeply affected her husband, daughter, parents, siblings and long-time friends, including a close group from her primary and high school years.

Kali Blundell — *Photo Credit: GoFundMe*

Organ Donation And Support For Brandon And Ruby

After her death, Ms Blundell’s organs were donated, helping five people.

A fundraiser has since been created by friends to support Brandon and Ruby. The money raised is intended to help with funeral and medical costs and to give Brandon support as he takes time to grieve and care for his daughter.

The campaign has also become a way for friends and loved ones to honour Ms Blundell’s life and support the family she leaves behind.

For those who knew her, Ms Blundell is being remembered not only for the sudden nature of her death, but for the warmth, drive and joy she brought to her family, friends and wider circle.

Published 6-May-2026

The Allambie Heights IGA Where Slowing Down Is the Whole Point

IGA Allambie Heights has launched what may be the northern beaches’ most counter-intuitive supermarket initiative: a dedicated lane where shoppers are actively encouraged to stop, take their time and have a proper conversation with staff, at a moment when the rest of the retail industry is pushing as hard as it can in the opposite direction.

The Community Check-In lane opened on Friday 17 April and runs weekdays from 10am to 2pm until 15 May. It is clearly marked and staffed by a team member whose role is specifically to prioritise connection over speed. Alongside the lane, the store has appointed what it is calling a Chief Chatty Officer, a title that sits somewhere between whimsical and quietly serious, because the problem it is responding to is anything but a joke.

Layne Berry holds the role and she says the idea grew directly from watching what local shoppers were already telling them with their feet.

“While so much of retail is moving towards speed and convenience, we noticed many of our local shoppers were actively choosing the staffed checkouts, not because they had to, but because they genuinely value those small, human interactions,” Berry said.

“We wanted to protect that and take it a step further. The Community Check-In creates a space where no one feels rushed, and where conversation is a meaningful part of the experience, not something you have to squeeze in.”

The Data Behind a Deceptively Simple Idea

What IGA Allambie Heights is responding to runs deeper than retail preference. Research cited by the company shows around 40 per cent of Australians experience loneliness at least some of the time. Loneliness places a $2.7 billion annual burden on the Australian healthcare system, with people over 55 accounting for more than a third of that cost.

Health experts now view loneliness as one of the country’s most pressing public health concerns. National reports on social health cite international research showing that prolonged loneliness raises the risk of premature death by 26 per cent. It is also linked to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and depression.

Against that backdrop, a conversation at a supermarket checkout is not a small thing. For some people, particularly older residents living alone in suburbs like Allambie Heights, the Warringah Mall precinct, and the surrounding northern beaches communities, the interaction at a register may genuinely be one of the most sustained conversations of their day.

What One Shopper of Thirty Years Said

Val Jefferson has been shopping at IGA Allambie Heights for three decades. She said the Community Check-In lane reflects exactly what has always made the store matter to the neighbourhood it serves.

“For some in our community, particularly older locals, the supermarket isn’t just about groceries. It’s one of the only opportunities they have for a real conversation,” Jefferson said. “To know there’s a place where you can stop, talk and not feel hurried makes a huge difference.”

That kind of testimony is not easily manufactured by a large chain supermarket that has spent a decade rolling out self-serve lanes and contactless payment systems. It comes from a store that, by virtue of being independently owned, has the latitude to make a different kind of decision.

Berry made that connection directly. “At IGA, being independently owned allows us to truly show up for our local shoppers in ways that other supermarkets can’t,” she said. “Beyond the transaction we’re able to create moments of connection that can genuinely make someone’s day.”

Next Steps for the Trial

The trial runs until Friday 15 May 2026. IGA is watching closely, and if the Community Check-In lane proves successful at Allambie Heights, the intention is to expand the model across the broader IGA network. That means other independently owned IGA stores across Australia, including those on the northern beaches, could follow.

For now, the lane is open at 15 Grigor Place, Allambie Heights on weekdays from 10am to 2pm. For anyone who has been moving through supermarket self-serve queues feeling invisible, that might be worth a detour.

Published 30-April-2026

End of an Era for Manly Cabs as Brookvale Fleet Shuts Down

The sudden collapse of Manly Warringah Cabs has stripped the Brookvale skyline of its most familiar transport icon, leaving hundreds of local drivers without a base and the Northern Beaches community without its longest-running taxi institution.

The closure took effect on Friday, 13 March 2026, following an official letter from CRS Insolvency Services. This notice informed the Brookvale-based co-operative that it had to stop all operations immediately. By the afternoon, the well-known cars featuring the red sea eagle logo were ordered off the streets. This decision came after the company surrendered its legal authorisation to the New South Wales transport regulator, making it impossible for the fleet to continue picking up passengers.

Changing Times for Local Drivers

The downfall of the company marks the end of a seventy-three-year history that began in 1953. For many families in the area, the taxi service was more than just a ride; it was a reliable part of the local identity. However, the business had been struggling with modern pressures that changed the way people travel.

The rise of rideshare apps, changes in government rules for the taxi industry, and the long-term financial impact of the global pandemic all combined to make it difficult for the older co-operative model to survive. These factors slowly reduced the earnings for drivers over the last several years, leading to the eventual financial failure of the business.

A New Path Forward

While the news was devastating for those who worked at the Brookvale headquarters, a digital solution has arrived to help those left behind. Lee Furlong, who once managed the local cab company and now leads the tech platform Ingogo, has stepped in to help. He noted that seeing such a long-standing local institution finish so abruptly was a heavy blow to the community.

To keep the drivers working, his platform is quickly moving to bring the former Manly Cabs fleet onto its digital booking system. This change allows drivers to get back to work almost immediately, even though the traditional company they worked for no longer exists.

Supporting the Community

For residents who relied on the familiar red eagles, the transition marks a shift toward a more modern way of booking transport. While the physical office in Brookvale is no longer the hub it once was, the goal for those helping the displaced drivers is to keep the local expertise on the road.

By moving to a new system, the drivers can continue to serve the Northern Beaches, ensuring that the years of local knowledge held by these operators is not lost. The focus remains on making sure no one is left stranded while the industry adjusts to this significant loss.

Published Date 23-April-2026

The Forest High School Joins E-Bike ID Tag Program to Improve Student Rider Safety

EBSA

The Forest High School at Allambie Heights has adopted E-Bike Safety Australia’s student ID tag program, requiring students who ride e-bikes to school to complete an online safety course, pass a road rules quiz with a perfect score and attach a numbered ID tag to their bike before riding in school uniform.

The Forest High joins St Luke’s Grammar School in Dee Why as the second Northern Beaches school to roll out the program, which is delivered by E-Bike Safety Australia (EBSA), a Sutherland Shire-based organisation that has been operating the model across schools in Sydney’s south, the Illawarra and the NSW far north coast. For Allambie Heights and the surrounding northern suburbs corridor, the adoption of the program places a practical safety and accountability structure around a daily behaviour that has grown rapidly and, in some cases, raised genuine concern among residents and families along local roads and shared paths.

What the Program Requires

The EBSA program asks students who want to ride their e-bike to school to first complete a two-hour online training course covering road rules, helmet use, battery safety, riding etiquette and emergency procedures. Students must achieve 100 per cent on the final quiz to receive a digital licence and their school-specific ID tag. The tag carries a unique identifier linked to the student’s name at the school and must be attached to the e-bike whenever the rider is in school uniform.

Each EBSA ID tag carries a prefix that identifies the rider’s school, allowing any member of the public who witnesses unsafe riding to contact the school directly and quote the tag number. The school then manages the response under its own student wellbeing and safety policies, with EBSA holding no individual rider data. In practice, this means the accountability mechanism operates at the school level: if a resident near Allambie Heights sees a tagged student riding dangerously on a shared path or local road, they can contact The Forest High directly. The school can then counsel the student or withdraw their riding privileges for a defined period.

An Area Where E-Bike Use Has Grown Sharply

Allambie Heights sits in the middle section of the Northern Beaches peninsula, with students travelling to The Forest High from Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Brookvale, Curl Curl and surrounding suburbs. For many of those students, e-bikes have become the most practical and independent way to make the school journey, bypassing bus timetables and eliminating the need for a parent to provide transport.

E-bike numbers across NSW have grown from under 10,000 sales in 2017 to an estimated 760,000 e-bikes currently in circulation statewide, and that growth is reflected visibly in the daily movement of students around Northern Beaches schools. Legal e-bikes are limited under current NSW regulations to 250 watts of continuous rated power, following a December 2025 regulatory change reinstating the EN-15194 standard, and must not exceed 25 kilometres per hour under motor assistance. However, the existing legal framework does not require any demonstrated knowledge of road rules, a licence or registration to ride, leaving a significant gap that the EBSA school program steps into at a local level.

Community concern about e-bike behaviour in the Northern Beaches has been building for several years. As early as 2022, local schools were seeking safety resources for students riding to school, with young riders observed not wearing helmets correctly, carrying passengers and travelling at speeds that created risks for pedestrians on shared paths. The introduction of the ID tag system at The Forest High responds to that concern with a structured, measurable approach rather than general awareness messaging.

What the ID Tag System Delivers

The visible ID tag changes the dynamic around student e-bike riding in two important ways. First, it ensures that every tagged student has completed a structured safety education course and demonstrated knowledge of road rules before riding to school. Second, it removes the anonymity that allows poor riding behaviour to go unchallenged. A student who rides recklessly through a residential street near Allambie Heights or along the Manly Dam shared path can be identified, reported and held accountable by the school in a way that was previously impossible.

EBSA director Ben Horwood describes the combination of education and visible identification as the missing pieces in improving e-bike safety at the community level, observing that schools which have adopted the program consistently report calmer communities, safer young riders and improved relationships between the school and its surrounding neighbourhood. The Forest High’s decision to adopt the program reflects a recognition that the school has a role to play not just within its gates but in the shared public spaces students move through on their way to and from school each day.

Growing Use of E-Bikes Among Students

For Allambie Heights residents, the program brings accountability to a form of transport that has become a significant feature of daily life in the suburb, particularly around school hours. The local road network around The Forest High connects to Wakehurst Parkway and several shared cycling and walking paths that carry both students and community members throughout the day. When student e-bike riders and pedestrians or other path users share those spaces safely, the community benefits. When they do not, the consequences fall on residents who have had limited recourse to address the behaviour until now.

The EBSA program gives those residents a direct and practical channel for reporting concerns, and it gives The Forest High the tools to respond. E-Bike Safety Australia is currently in discussion with Narrabeen Sports High School about adopting the program, and further Northern Beaches schools are expected to follow.

Schools, families or community members wanting more information about the EBSA program can visit ebikesafetyaustralia.com.au.

Published 30-March-2026.

Native Bush Rats Return To Bushland Near Brookvale

Photo Credit: Australian Museum

Native bush rats are being reintroduced into bushland near Brookvale as part of a Sydney rewilding project aimed at restoring a locally missing species and reducing pressure from invasive black rats.

Native Species Returns To Bushland Near Brookvale

Allenby Park, which spans Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill and Brookvale, is one of the key locations included in the reintroduction of native bush rats. The species, also known as bogul in Dharug language, is being returned to urban bushland where it had previously disappeared.

The initiative is led by the University of Sydney, with support from Macquarie University and partner councils. At Allenby Park, Northern Beaches Council is supporting site management, monitoring and community engagement while researchers oversee the reintroduction process.

Allenby Park urban rewilding — Photo Credit: Australian Museum

Decline Of A Native Species

Bush rats were once common along the Sydney coastline but became locally absent from many urban reserves over time. Their decline has been linked to competition from introduced species, urbanisation, and predation from foxes and feral cats.

Surveys across 31 urban reserves found bush rats missing from nearly half of the sites. In contrast, invasive black rats were detected in almost all surveyed areas, highlighting a shift in species presence within urban bushland.

How The Rewilding Program Works

The reintroduction is being carried out in stages across Allenby Park and Twin Creeks Reserve at Turramurra. A total of 100 bush rats are planned for release across both sites, including 50 within Allenby Park, with the rollout continuing through to May.

Before native species are released, researchers have been targeting invasive black rats within Allenby Park to improve survival conditions. About two dozen black rats were trapped during early preparation stages.

The project is also trialling a scent-based method to support settlement. Materials carrying the animals’ natural odour are placed near release points to help encourage the bush rats to remain within the reserve.

Ecological Role In Brookvale Bushland

Bush rats support bushland ecosystems by pollinating native plants such as banksias and dispersing seeds and fungal spores. These functions contribute to maintaining vegetation in natural habitats.

The species is also expected to compete with invasive black rats within bushland areas. Unlike introduced rodents, bush rats remain within dense vegetation and are not typically found around residential properties.

Next Steps

Releases are continuing in stages, with monitoring underway to assess how well the bush rats establish within Allenby Park. Researchers will track whether the animals remain in the reserve and contribute to rebuilding local populations.

Further expansion into additional urban reserves may be considered if the program demonstrates sustained success in restoring native species.

Published 18-Mar-2026

New Forest High School Campus Opens In Allambie Heights

Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

After its relocation to a purpose-built site on Allambie Road, The Forest High School welcomes students at the start of the 2026 school year.

Opening Arrangements For Term 1

The school opens for Day 1 of Term 1 on Monday 2 February 2026. Around 830 students are expected on opening day, including approximately 180 Year 7 students.

Teaching areas, including classrooms and the library, are set to be operational from the first day, while some external works will continue after students arrive.

Allambie Heights school — Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

Purpose-Built Campus In Allambie Heights

The new campus is located at 189 Allambie Road and has been developed to replace the school’s former Frenchs Forest site, which closed in December 2025 after more than six decades of use.

Designed as a long-term secondary education facility for the area, the campus has capacity for up to 1,500 students.

Facilities On Site

The Allambie Heights campus includes 73 classrooms and three special support units, alongside a library, canteen and administration spaces.

A multi-purpose sports and performance hall forms part of the development, along with outdoor sports fields and courts. Landscaped recreation areas and outdoor learning spaces have been integrated across the site.

Bike and scooter parking is provided near the secondary entrance on Allambie Road.

Forest High School — Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

External Works And Access

Construction activity has continued through the summer school holiday period, including driveway and footpath works, landscaping and sports facility construction.

Approved staging of surrounding access works allows the campus to open while pedestrian and transport upgrades continue. These include changes to bus stop locations on Aquatic Drive, a designated drop-off area and a new pedestrian crossing.

Plans also provide for an upgrade to the existing roundabout at the intersection of Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive to accommodate future traffic demand.

Transition From The Former Campus

Students and staff concluded their final term at the former Forest High School site in December 2025, marking the end of the school’s occupation of the campus that opened in 1961.

The relocation allows teaching, performance and sporting activities to take place within modern facilities designed to support a broad curriculum offering.

What Happens Next

Landscaping, sports court works and boundary treatments will continue after the campus opens. The relocation of equipment and learning resources has been scheduled during the school holiday period, with efforts in place to limit disruption to school operations.

Published 27-Jan-2026

Medicare Urgent Care Clinic Now Open In Brookvale

Photo Credit: Urgent Care Network

Dee Why Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is now operating in Brookvale, offering walk-in, bulk-billed treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions outside hospital emergency departments.

Clinic Location And Hours

The Dee Why Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is located at 10 Dale Street, Brookvale, within the Warringah Medical & Dental Centre. It is open Monday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and patients can attend without an appointment.

The clinic provides 100 per cent bulk-billed services with a valid Medicare card, with no out-of-pocket costs for patients attending under the clinic model.

What The Clinic Treats In Brookvale

The clinic is set up to manage conditions requiring prompt care that are not life threatening. Examples include cuts, viral infections and sprains, alongside wound management, minor burns, minor eye or ear problems, insect bites, vomiting and dehydration.

On-site services at the clinic include pathology, X-ray and pharmacy, allowing patients to access multiple services in one place.

Brookvale urgent care clinic — Photo Credit: Urgent Care Network

Hospital Demand Context

The clinic is intended to ease demand on Northern Beaches Hospital, where around 36 per cent of presentations in 2023–24 were classified as semi-urgent or non-urgent.

Across New South Wales, data reports semi-urgent emergency department presentations have decreased by 5.1 per cent, while non-urgent presentations have decreased by 8.7 per cent.

Chatswood Clinic Also Open

A second Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has also opened in Chatswood, located at 270 Victoria Avenue, operating extended hours seven days a week, with walk-in access and bulk billing.

Published 21-Jan-2026

El Jannah Brings Legendary Garlic Sauce and $5 Deal to Brookvale

Photo Credit: El Jannah

Western Sydney’s legendary charcoal chicken chain El Jannah has officially brought its famous garlic sauce and wood-fired flavours to the northern beaches with a new restaurant in Brookvale.

The Long Wait Ends

El Jannah Chicken — *Photo Credit:* *El Jannah*

The charcoal fires were lit for the first time on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025. This launch marked the 30th franchise for the brand in New South Wales and happened nearly a year after the company first announced plans to take over the former Quattro Formaggi Deli Cafe space. Residents who had walked past the wooden hoardings near Supercheap Auto at Westfield Warringah Mall can now see the renovations are complete and the restaurant is fully operational.

To celebrate the launch, the owners offered a special meal deal for one day only. Customers who visited the new shop on opening day were able to grab a quarter chicken, small chips, and a serving of the brand’s popular garlic sauce for just five dollars. The company acknowledged that the construction barriers had been up for a long time, but they delivered on their promise that the wait was finally over.

New Flavours on the Coast

This new eatery has already started to shake up the local casual dining options within the shopping centre. It joins other established takeaway spots like KFC and Oporto but brings a different style of “Lebanese-Australian food” cooked over open wood fires. The venue is now serving as a family-friendly destination for quick lunches or dinners, operating daily from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. Locals can choose between dine-in seating or takeaway and delivery through services like Uber Eats.

The menu features more than just the signature charcoal chicken. Food lovers have been ordering crispy falafel rolls, fried chicken, burgers, and a shawarma meal that includes beef, parsley, onions, pickles, and Lebanese bread. A major draw for many customers remains the “toum,” a tangy and creamy garlic sauce that helped the brand build its reputation. Traditional sides such as tabouli, fattoush salad, hummus, and babaghanouj are also available.

From Granville to the World

El Jannah was started by Andre Estephan, a Lebanese migrant who opened the first shop in Granville in 1998. What began as a single location has grown into a major business with outlets across the ACT, Victoria, and key Sydney suburbs like Crows Nest and Lindfield. The company is currently hiring a mix of full-time, part-time, and casual staff to run the new Brookvale location.

The business has big plans for the future. It recently signed a multi-million dollar agreement to expand into the Middle East. Over the next five years, the chain intends to grow from 50 restaurants to 200, positioning itself as a serious rival to major fast-food giants. In the coming year alone, they plan to launch 25 new restaurants, with 11 of those slated for Sydney locations including Cronulla, Maroubra, and the CBD. Head of marketing Adam Issa stated the team was excited to share their charcoal chicken legend with the Brookvale community.

Published Date 08-January-2026

Historic Gravestone Preserved Ahead Of School Move In Allambie Heights

Photo Credit: Metropolitan Memorial Parks

A historic gravestone linked to the naming of Frenchs Forest has been carefully removed from The Forest High School as the campus prepares to relocate to Allambie Heights, ensuring the monument is preserved ahead of site changes.

Headstone Removed For Safekeeping

On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, specialist heritage stonemasons removed the gravestone of northern beaches pioneer James French from the school’s auditorium wall. The removal was carried out to prevent damage or loss as the school prepares to vacate the site.

The monument, weighing about 130 kilograms, had been mounted indoors and protected from the elements for decades.

Temporary Relocation To Lane Cove

Following its removal, the headstone was transferred to the Local Studies section of Lane Cove Library. The relocation allows the monument to remain protected while options for conservation and its longer-term placement are considered.

Possible works include stabilising existing fractures and addressing missing sections of stone.

Why The Gravestone Was At The School

The headstone was previously moved from James French’s burial site at what is now Pioneers’ Memorial Reserve in Lane Cove North after vandalism damaged the original gravesite. To protect the monument, it was later displayed inside The Forest High School in a purpose-built cabinet.

Its presence at the school meant the gravestone remained largely unnoticed by the broader community until the upcoming relocation raised concerns about its future.

Forest High School relocation — *Photo Credit: Brett Miller via Find A Grave*

Who James French Was

James French (1817–1893) was an early settler on the northern beaches and the namesake of Frenchs Forest. He operated timber cutting and orchard activities in the area during the mid-1800s and also served in ranger and constable roles.

His work contributed to early development across parts of the northern beaches and surrounding districts.

Community Concern And Next Steps

Concerns about the gravestone’s future were raised as The Forest High School prepares to relocate to its new campus at Allambie Heights. Members of the school community and descendants of James French sought clarity on how the monument would be protected.

The headstone will remain in temporary storage while decisions are made about conservation work and the possibility of returning it to its original burial location.

Published 23-Dec-2025