Behind the scenes
Using the Covid Pandemic lockdowns as an opportunity to start researching online, these two girls created an online history hub for Paddington and surrounds.
When Kerry Forsythe discovered that her beloved suburb, Paddington, didn’t have a history group or anyone collating local history since the 1990s, she used social media to express her frustration. Her message was picked up by local writer, and accidental historian, Caylie Jeffery, who agreed that such a team was imperative, and offered to join forces to start Paddington Then and Now. They’ve shared hundreds of photos and stories on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor and YouTube) and continue to call for stories from locals past and present, interviewing, filming, recording and editing their findings to share with the greater community.
Questions for us?
Please drop us a private message on social media using the links at the top of this page, or email us via the envelope above and we will be in touch within a few days.
Kerry Forsythe
Kerry Forsythe has lived in Paddo for 16 years. She is a member of the historic Matthews Real Estate family where she gets to see inside many unrenovated homes and is their self-appointed company historian. She is passionate about the Paddington community and breathes in stories from the past like they’re oxygen. Kerry loves taking pictures of retro and vintage house features to post online, with a keen focus on wallpaper, vintage lino and real terrazzo floors.
Parents with kids will know Kerry’s family (and their haunted house) as Paddington Halloween. For the past eight years, they have been building and operating a walk-though haunted house experience for kids (and charity) in their garage on the 31st of October.
Kerry's skills lie in event management, historical research, marketing, advertising and storytelling. Kerry is an Instructional Designer, Social Media Manager and qualified Real Estate Agent. Her passions include graphic design, community engagement, interviewing, breezeblocks and photography. She is the heart of this project, and shares her passions openly with the community she's grown to love.
Caylie Jeffery
Caylie Jeffery is a long term Paddington/Milton resident, having lived on Ellena St, Heussler Tce and now, in a character cottage on Latrobe Tce, since 1992. She works as writer and educator at the Qld Writers’ Centre and loves Brisbane history, especially that of the inner city suburbs... some of the oldest settled areas in the state. Caylie was bitten by the history bug while investigating money and banking documents she found Under the Lino of her Milton Queenslander, and has authored an award-winning book of the same name about the incredible community collaboration that followed her discovery. Caylie speaks to community groups each week about the value of writing down life stories to leave a legacy for the community, starting with family members. She wants everyone to sit with their elders, to ask them questions, to listen to their stories, to pore through their albums and to record their conversations! One of Caylie’s oldest memories includes sitting on the front fence at her home in Newstead, aged 3, chatting to people who walked past. 48 years later, she’s still doing it in Paddington. Make sure you say, “Hi!” when you see her… it will make her day!
