Long-time Allambie Heights resident Mario Sardelich, who once saved a teen from drowning, has received a civilian bravery award, 42 years after the fateful incident at Manly Dam.
Mr Sardelich, who is now 64, was honoured with the Commendation for Brave Conduct in the Federal Government’s Australian bravery decorations on the 24th of March 2021. The award itself is only ever given to those who perform acts considered worthy of recognition. Though the incident happened over four decades ago in 1978, his heroism has not gone unnoticed or forgotten.
During the incident, Mario Sardelich was only 23 and working as a carpenter for the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, which is known nowadays as Sydney Water Corporation — a government-owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water to New South Wales.
While Sardelich was out on business, he managed to hear cries for help coming from around the Manly Dam area. A group of students were celebrating the end of the school year with a picnic, however an accident led to two boys drowning in the waters of a popular swimming spot in Manly Vale.
By the time he had arrived, the boys were desperately trying to stay afloat, which prompted him to dive into the water to try and rescue them. Though he succeeded in rescuing one of the boys, the other had sunken out of reach and disappeared deep beneath the surface of the water despite the man’s best attempts to find him.
The teenage boy Sardelich managed to rescue that fateful day has opted to remain anonymous, mentioning that it was a particularly traumatic event he’d rather not revisit. He was good friends with the other boy who’d drowned, Peter Mastroianni, who was only 16 at the date of his passing.
The Commendation for Brave Conduct itself is a 30mm-long silver-gilt sprig of mimosa mounted on a red ribbon 32mm wide and 90mm long. The sprig’s centre is 19mm from the bottom of the ribbon and 16mm from either edge, mounted at a 45 degree angle.
This prestigious award is to be worn solely on the left breast on all occasions where medals must be presented, and the ribbon bar can be worn with service dresses at any time, however the lapel badge can be worn with civilian clothing.
Allambie Road has been named among Northern Beaches roads affected by potholes as councillors consider alternatives to temporary patching. Northern Beaches Council repaired more than 9,000 potholes across its road network in the 12 months to June.
Cr Vincent De Luca is seeking a review of pothole repair materials and techniques used by other Australian councils and road authorities. His proposal asks staff to examine more durable options, including full-depth asphalt patching and polymer-modified asphalt.
Northern Beaches Council says temporary pothole repairs can cost between $30 and $200 per hole, depending on the location and work required. Interim repairs are used to keep damaged roads safe before longer-term treatment is undertaken, while recurring failures can lead to heavier patching or resurfacing.
Questions about the durability of temporary repairs have previously been raised with the council. In September 2025, De Luca asked about repairs failing after rainfall and whether more cost-effective long-term methods had been investigated.
Longer-term treatments used across the Northern Beaches include crack sealing, microsurfacing, heavy patching and road resurfacing. Additional funding from the council’s Special Variation to rates has supported road maintenance and renewal projects across the Northern Beaches, including works in several suburbs where potholes have been reported.
McIntosh Road moves to major pavement works
McIntosh Road between Dee Why and Narraweena has drawn particular attention after repeated pothole complaints. Council has said about $1.5 million will be spent on the worst-affected section, including pavement strengthening, kerb and gutter replacement and resurfacing.
ConnectSydney separately completed about 532 pothole repairs on contracted state roads in the Northern Beaches local government area from January 2025.
Residents can report council-road damage to Northern Beaches Council, while potholes on state roads including Warringah, Pittwater and Mona Vale roads are handled through the NSW Government.
A boy believed to be aged about seven was taken to hospital after a white BMW station wagon crashed into Wicked Chicken in Allambie Heights, with two other children treated for minor injuries.
Emergency services were called to the Allambie Heights shop on Sunday afternoon, 28 June, after the vehicle crashed into the front of the chicken takeaway where children were seated.
NSW Police attended and found the white BMW station wagon had gone into the front of Wicked Chicken. The vehicle had mounted the kerb and struck a table and chairs before hitting the shopfront.
The crash happened at the Allambie Heights shops on Sydney’s northern beaches.
People at the scene appeared to move quickly to help after the crash.
Police and ambulance crews attended the shop after the vehicle hit the front of the business. The available information does not confirm what caused the crash.
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.
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.
Photo credit: Facebook/The Forest High School
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Photo Credit: IGA
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Allambie Heights is set to become the new home of The Forest High School, a modern, purpose-built campus that is getting ready to welcome over 800 students next year, marking a fresh start for the 64-year-old institution previously based in Frenchs Forest.
The new school on the corner of Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive 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.
What the New Campus Offers
Artist’s impression of the soccer field at the Allambie Heights campus (Photo credit: schoolinfrastructure.nsw.gov.au)
The Allambie Heights campus has been purpose-built with contemporary education in mind. Interactive smartboards will feature throughout the school, supporting digital learning across all year groups. The entire facility is fully air-conditioned, a considerable upgrade from the original 1960s buildings.
Students will benefit from flexible learning spaces designed around a “Learning Loop” concept – an accessible pathway connecting classrooms with outdoor learning areas. The campus includes a modern library, updated canteen facilities, and a multi-purpose theatre for music, drama and dance performances.
Sports facilities have received particular attention in the design. The school will feature a fully equipped gymnasium and fitness lab, all-weather sports surfaces, two half courts, and five multipurpose courts suitable for soccer, touch football, basketball, netball and volleyball. Break-out study and seminar spaces are included throughout the campus.
Senior students will appreciate dedicated facilities including a senior study area, senior bathrooms, and spaces located near examination rooms – creating what Lawler describes as a more senior experience for Years 11 and 12. The school’s specialist autism support unit will continue operating at the new location, maintaining the inclusive education programs that serve students with additional needs.
A Fresh Start for a Historic School
Photo credit: Facebook/The Forest High School
The original Forest High School opened its doors in January 1961 with just 318 students and 14 teachers. Over more than six decades, it became a cornerstone of the local community; the school included three members of legendary rock band INXS among its students. Now, as the school prepares to close its Frenchs Forest chapter, the move to Allambie Heights signals a new beginning for students and staff alike.
Principal Nathan Lawler has emphasised that the relocation brings significant advantages for the school community. The new 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.
Room to Grow
Capacity has been a key consideration in the relocation. While the school currently serves more than 830 students, the new campus can accommodate over 1,000, with eventual expansion possible to 1,500 places. This growth capacity isn’t arbitrary – it’s linked to significant residential development planned for the area.
The old Frenchs Forest site will be demolished to make way for a new town centre, with developers permitted to build apartment blocks up to 12 storeys high. This rezoning, part of the state’s plan to provide medium and high-density housing near the Northern Beaches Hospital precinct, will create demand for additional school places. The Forest High School is expecting approximately 180 new Year 7 students in 2026.
In a win for local residents, Northern Beaches has partnered with the Education Department to ensure community access to the school’s sports facilities outside school hours. This arrangement extends the benefit of the significant public investment beyond the student population.
As demolition equipment prepares to move onto the old Frenchs Forest site, the school community is focused on the opportunities ahead. 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.
For Allambie Heights residents, the arrival of this expanded educational facility represents a significant addition to local amenities and a vote of confidence in the area’s future.
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.
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.
Caption: Photo courtesy of Nicole Murray, The Forest High School Photo Credit: Colin Gwyther via Find A Grave
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.
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.
