The Tyre Man of Sydney Road: Sinden's, Manly, and the Landmark That Told Us We Were Home

There was a moment, coming over the top of Sydney Road, when the ocean suddenly appeared ahead of you. Then there he was, high above Sinden's, watching everyone make their way down the hill. For generations of Manly kids, that was the sign. You knew you were home.

The man on the tyres

The Tyre Man belonged to Sinden's Tyre and Rubber Company at 100 Sydney Road, on the approach into Manly. William Edward "Eddie" Sinden established the business in 1927, and for most of its life it was a Goodyear house. Sources place the Tyre Man's arrival somewhere between the late 1920s and 1933, which means he stood on that corner for the better part of eighty years.

He stood on top of a tower of close to a hundred tyres stacked around a tall pole, in a copper top hat and military boots, with a cigar in hand. His clothes were replaced again and again as the sun, the rain and the southerlies took their toll. His aluminium face was reportedly modelled on local pilot George Surgeoner, who later flew bombers over Europe in the Second World War.

Eddie Sinden used to tell the story of motorists pulling over to argue about whether he was a real man or a dummy. He turned up in newspapers, in magazines and even in a Goodyear promotional film. On 18 April 1963 a new figure was installed, reportedly with the help of Mackellar County Council. The Dictionary of Sydney still lists "The Man on the Tyres" at Sinden's Garage as one of Fairlight's notable landmarks, which tells you how far his fame travelled for a bloke who never moved.

Looking down the hill, late 1930s

The photograph at the top of this story is the one that started it all for me. It is taken from high on Sydney Road, looking down towards Manly in the late 1930s, judging by the upright, running-board cars parked along the kerb. Sinden's Retreads is on the left, the Tyre Man is up on his pole, the road is empty but for a couple of cars and a truck, the Norfolk Island pines are already standing along the beachfront, and the ocean fills the top of the frame. Everything that made that drive home is in the one picture.

There is a second photograph too, taken from almost the same spot twenty or thirty years later. The Tyre Man is still up on his pole, but now the Norfolk Island pines tower over the beachfront, flats have gone up along the road, and the kerb is lined with FJ Holdens and a ute, which puts it in the 1950s or 60s. Put the two side by side and you can watch Manly grow up around him while he never moved an inch.

Both photographs have been properly restored. The later one is the image on our Sinden's Tyre Man mug and across the chest of our Tyre Man T-shirts and singlet, and in a sun-faded sepia version on our new Retro graphic tee. More on those at the end.

What locals remember

When I shared his photograph with the Lost Manly community, it reached around 15,500 people and the memories poured in.

Tony Spooner remembered taking the school bus to Balgowlah High in the early 1950s. The kids booed the drivers who stopped at the bottom of the hill and put the bus into first gear, and cheered the ones who took a run at it so they could hear the unsynchronised gears complain all the way down. Wendy Law remembered children calling out, "Don't fall off, Mr Man." Ron Elliott lived on the opposite corner. Rod Scott Young's family lived about six doors from Sinden's. Brian Rout lived in George Street from 1966 to 1971. Phil Andrews remembered him from childhood trips to Manly in the 1950s and 60s, and at 80, Patrick Hedman recognised the scene instantly after driving down that hill hundreds of times.

That is what the Tyre Man does. He is not grand architecture or a famous ferry. He is a dummy on a pole. And yet he is one of the most powerful memory triggers I have ever posted.

Taken down, rescued and restored

Even after the old workshop was demolished and apartments went up, the Tyre Man stayed on the block, on a lower pole, slowly disappearing behind the trees. On 7 August 2012 a contractor took him down because his condition had become a safety risk, and he went into storage at the former Manly Council depot in Roseberry Street, Balgowlah. He was not on the heritage register, and a request for a heritage grant had been declined. For a while it looked like that was the end of him.

In 2013 Freshwater businessman Keith Tucker rescued him from council storage. Keith's 15-year-old son Jake, Jake's mates and St Paul's Catholic College visual arts coordinator Christopher Boylan spent three months restoring the head. A father, a son and a bunch of teenagers gave the Tyre Man his face back.

Where he is now

Here is the part most people do not know. The Tyre Man has had a tree change. He is stored in pieces on Keith's property near Mount Panorama, outside Bathurst. For a man who spent his whole life standing on a pile of tyres, you could not pick a more fitting retirement address than a few minutes from the most famous motor racing circuit in the country.

In 2026 Keith began a new campaign to find him a permanent home back in the 2095 postcode, and 2027 marks 100 years since Eddie Sinden opened his doors on Sydney Road. It would be a wonderful thing to see him back where he belongs for the centenary, telling us we are home.

Help us finish the story

One part of the story is still missing. Does anyone remember the year Sinden's finally got "tyred" and closed its "wheel house" for the last time? Family recollection says the business continued into the 1970s, with Colin Bennett taking over during that period, but I would love to confirm it. If you are a former staff member, part of the Sinden family, or have photos or memories of your own, leave a comment below or send me a message.

Take the Tyre Man home

Lost Manly Emporium has restored the Sydney Road photographs so that anyone who remembers that first sight of the ocean can keep it close. The pieces below carry the 1950s-60s view. Every piece is designed by us from our own archive, and every purchase helps keep this work going.

• Sinden's Tyre Man Mid-Century Manly Mug, the 1950s-60s view down Sydney Road
• Vintage Manly Tyre Man Cotton T-Shirt
• Vintage Manly Tyre Man Women's Cotton T-Shirt
• Vintage Manly Tyre Man Sydney Road Cotton Singlet
• Sinden's Tyre Man Retro Manly Graphic T-Shirt, the same view in faded sepia on a heavyweight, boxy, garment-dyed tee in seven faded colours

See the whole Tyre Man Collection

Sources and credits

• Sydney Road, Manly, looking towards the beach with Sinden's Retreads and the Tyre Man, late 1930s. Restored by Lost Manly Emporium.
• Sydney Road, Manly, with Sinden Tyre & Rubber Co. and the Tyre Man, 1950s-60s. Restored by Lost Manly Emporium.
• Dictionary of Sydney, Fairlight: dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/fairlight
• Manly Daily reports on the Tyre Man's removal in 2012 and the campaign to bring him home.
• Memories shared by members of the Lost Manly community on Facebook. Thank you to everyone who contributed.