The Blue Lion On St Thomas

By Laura Terrance on July 12, 2012 in News

How many times have you driven past that big blue lion that sits out the front of 53 St Thomas Street, Bronte and wondered what the hell it is doing there?

Who owns it, where is it from and why in God’s name is it sitting out the front of this Bronte home?

So conspicuous is the colourful feline, my running club uses “the blue lion on St Thomas” as a landmark to run to.

Well, after some investigation, it turns out that Hayley O’Sullivan is the proud owner of the lion. Having lived with her family in Munich for about four years, when it came time to move back to Australia she wanted to buy her children a souvenir.

The Blue Lion Statue was a mascot of sorts in Munich during the football World Cup in 2006.

“During the World Cup there were painted lions all over Munich. They were painted by local artists and then sold to raise money for a children’s home,” Hayley explained.

This particular lion was from the district of Solln, where the O’Sullivans lived at the time.

“I bought him in an online auction – the first and craziest thing I’ve ever bought online,” Hayley said.

For the O’Sullivan kids – Niamh, Caitlin and Finn – seeing the lion outside their Sydney home was baffling.

“The kids saw him in the street in the snow in Munich and next he appeared out the front of our house in Bronte!” Hayley laughed.

The O’Sullivan’s did not plan to leave the lion sitting out the front of their house but the size of the lion made it very heavy to move, and it posed an almost impossible task for two poor delivery guys.

“They put it in the front yard and that’s where it has stayed,” Hayley said.