Manly Vale, New South Wales

Manly Vale  is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Warringah Council, in the Northern Beaches region.

Manly Vale is predominantly a residential suburb with commercial land use on Condamine Street, containing small patches of light industrial. It also contains multiple Retirement Villages and Aged Care facilities.

History
Manly Vale Post Office opened on 3 April 1950 and closed in 1994.

Parks and recreation
The suburb contains many recreational facilities including parks such as Passmore Reserve and playing fields at Millers Reserve and David Thomas Reserve. Manly Dam is on the western edge of Manly Vale. There are also a number of small reserves, for example King Street Reserve.

Landcare activities
Landcare activities became important in Manly Vale with the creation of the “Return of the Mermaids” Project. The project consists of regularly involving volunteers to collect rubbish, remove weeds and plant local native species in the Mermaid Pool on Manly Creek.

The Pool was originally an intact sandy beach with a sparkling waterfall. It became polluted due to illegal dumping and urban development. Invasive and noxious weed started to take over the area.

This project was convened under the auspices of the Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee. The SMDCC was established to fight a controversial development in the head waters of Manly Dam by British Motorway constructor Wimpey in conjunction with local firm, Ardel. When bushland was lost to this housing development, the Mermaid Pool Project was initiated to compensate for the destruction.

The “Return of the Mermaids” project aims at rehabilitating the Mermaid Pool as much as possible to its pristine state. The project won the People’s Choice Award for the 2011 NSW Landcare Awards. It was also a winner of the 2011 SMCMA Community Group Environment Award

Schools
The suburb contains three schools, Manly Vale Public School, St Kieran’s Primary School and Mackellar Girls Campus, as well as a child care centre operated by the Child Care Group.

Notable residents
Jack Vidgen, a teenage singer and season 5 winner of Australia's Got Talent.