Most people are familiar with the mystical qualities of Mary Poppins, but far fewer are aware that the classic storybook and movie character had her origins in the Southern Highlands.

In fact July 2010 is considered the 100th anniversary of the inspiration for Mary Poppins and several Highlands fans of the character are determined to ensure the prestigious centenary does not go unnoticed in her town of origin.

It is a campaign driven by Chevalier High School student Melissa McShane, 17, with the support of her father, Paul McShane, of Booktown Australia and several community organisations including Bowral Chamber of Commerce, Southern Highlands Business Chamber and the Southern Highlands Youth Arts Council (SHYAC)

Mary Poppins is the creation of Helen Lyndon Goff, better known in the literary world as Pamela Lyndon (PL) Travers, who spent much of her youth growing up in a house in Holly Street, Bowral.

In fact, the nanny with the magical touch was something of a mythical escape for her creator who grew up in “tough times” in the Highlands from 1907.

Her mother and two younger sisters, Barbara (Biddy) and Moya, relocated to Bowral from Queensland after Goff’s father, Travers Robert Goff died.

She was only about eight years old at the time and spent the next 10 formative years of her life living in a weatherboard cottage in Holly Street, attending boarding school in Sydney from about the age of 13 and returning to Bowral during the holidays.

The author revealed little of her earlier life in Australia, but many secrets have been uncovered by her biographer, Valerie Lawson, as well as fans of the author and her most renowned character, Mary Poppins.

Melissa is one of those fans keen to learn all she can about one of her “favourite fictional characters”.

The determined teenager and her father have spent many hours at the Mitchell Library in Sydney reading documents and records related to the life of Goff including her childhood memories.

The two are convinced the Mary Poppins character was inspired by Goff’s life in Bowral.

“The Goff family was supported by a rich aunt, Ellie, who lived in Sydney, but Goff’s mother struggled with the task of raising her three young daughters alone,” Melissa said.

“PL Travers records a time around 1910 when her mother ran out into heavy rain to drown herself in the creek behind their house.

“To ease their anxiety, Goff gathered her two younger sisters around the fireplace in their home and began to tell them a story about a magical white horse that she later claimed transformed itself into Mary Poppins.

“The mother failed in her suicide bid and returned to the family, but I think Goff, who was about 12 at the time, realised she had somehow left childhood behind and her life changed.”

Mr McShane said he and Melissa had deduced the episode took place in winter because the children had gathered around the fire and wrapped themselves in an eiderdown.

He said further research of Bowral’s daily rainfall records revealed that 1910 was a very dry year with the only significant period of heavy rain similar to Goff’s childhood memories of the episode coming in July of that year.

Mr McShane said that July 18-20, 1910, had been identified as the time when Helen Lyndon Goff’s mythical thought process began to create the character.

“Later in life she said the story she told her sisters at that time in Bowral resolved the mystery in her own mind of where Mary Poppins came from,” he said

“She had long been evasive about the origins of Mary Poppins, but at least one of her sisters recalled her telling stories about the mysterious nanny while they were young.

“As an adult Travers reported finding a book she had owned when she was 12. Inside the cover of that book was the name M Poppins in her childhood handwriting and this caused her to wonder if her sister was right after all.

“Some people believe the Mary Poppins character was modelled around Aunt Ellie, who lived in Sydney but always seemed be on hand to fix things.

“Goff was an ambitious young woman who harboured dreams of being on the stage. She wanted to be an actor and she had talent, but I think her time in Bowral led to the birth of her role as a storyteller.

“While Mary Poppins has become a favourite childhood character, Goff always emphasised her stories were never specifically written for children – they were for readers of all ages.”

And clearly the character has endeared herself to people of all ages around the world.

One of Melissa McShane’s biggest dreams is to have a statue of Mary Poppins installed in the Highlands, the only Australian location connected with the author that doesn’t have a commemoration of her most famous character.

The concept has been adopted by Wingecarribee Council with a statue to be installed in Glebe Park near the Bradman Museum.

It is a fitting decision for the Mary Poppins statue to be located in the same area as the Bradman statue as a young Don Bradman lived in Holly Street at the same time as the Goff family.

Melissa and her father are now leading the campaign to raise more than $60,000 for the project and community support is steadily growing, but more is welcome.

“A similar plan was considered for Central Park, New York, in the 1960s, but it never went ahead,” Melissa said.

“Money was raised for the project, even PL Travers is understood to have donated to it, but it was later shelved.

“We have been given permission, by the family of the late British sculptor Sean Crampton, the designer of the proposed New York statue, to use the same concept plan for the Highlands statue.

“We will even enquire about the money pledged for the New York project.

“Maybe it could go towards our project or maybe we could encourage the New York proposal to be re-opened as a joint venture with the Southern Highlands.”

In the meantime, the McShanes have teamed up with a community committee to co-ordinate plans for the 100th anniversary celebrations of Mary Poppins in the Highlands to occur in July 2010.

As it happens, the Mary Poppins stage show, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney, which has become a worldwide smash hit, also opens in Melbourne that same month.

Melissa reckons Mary Poppins herself would describe that coincidence as “practically perfect”.

Details: www.mary-poppins-birthplace.net.