The woman killed saving Sydney’s heritage from developer destruction

Sydney heiress, journalist and activist Juanita Nielsen, who mysteriously disappeared in 1975, is credited with saving some of inner-Sydney’s beautiful terraces – but her legacy is actually far greater, according to an expert of the time.

Nielsen, the great granddaughter of retailer Mark Foy, supported the Green Bans movement of the 1970s, which were instrumental in saving the oldest buildings in Australia from demolition.

She lived in a terrace house on Victoria Street in Kings Cross, which was slated for demolition and redevelopment.

Desperate to protect the leafy boulevard’s heritage, she befriended unionists, residents and activists and used her newspaper Now to attract publicity to the cause.

Juanita Nielsen, heir to the Foys department store fortune, fought back against development and heritage destruction in historic Kings Cross.

Dr Meredith Burgmann, a former Green Bans activist and author of Green Bans, Red Union: The Saving of a City, joined the squatters protesting on Victoria Street and met Nielsen a few times.

“She was very, very different to us,” Dr Burgmann said.

“We were students, activists and socialists. She dressed differently. She thought differently. She was probably quite conservative politically and probably didn’t have much in common with us.

“She had an incredible style. She was always immaculately dressed, always in a skirt and often in a suit.”

Juanita Nielsen lived and fought to protect the heritage character of the Cross – including Victoria Street where she lived.

But despite the differences, Dr Burgmann said Nielsen had a “friendly and comfortable alliance” with the unions and activists who shared her plight.

‘This is terrible, she’s been killed’

Former Greens MP Lee Rhiannon organised annual memorial lectures on Nielsen in Sydney from 2001 until 2020 in honour of her work, but also because she realised “the younger generation just didn’t know about Juanita and her huge contribution”.

Ms Rhiannon said fighting developers in Kings Cross in the 1970s would have been “very frightening”.

“The union, environmental activists, residents … they didn’t know each other initially but they were working against some really powerful people. It was a really tense time in NSW politics. There were really courageous people and Juanita was one of them.”

While it was concluded Juanita was murdered, her remains have never been found. Picture: The Australian

Dr Burgmann said the battle between developers and activists had reached “a crisis point”.

“The developers had no legislation working against them. Nielsen knew she was under threat.”

Dr Burgmann remembers the July day when Nielsen disappeared. She received a note telling her so while at a meeting on Victoria Street.

Police later found her handbag dumped near Penrith.

“A chill went through me,” she recalled.

“We half-hoped she’d just been kidnapped, and they were just frightening her. But after three or four days it became clear that she wasn’t going to return. I thought: ‘this is terrible, she’s been killed’.

“It was pretty frightening. We were all very anxious. The Kings Cross police at the time were famous for being corrupt.”

Locals gather outside Juanita’s home following her disappearance.

Just 38-years-old old when she disappeared, Nielsen’s body has never been found.

Today, the police and government in NSW are still searching for answers. Together, they offered a $1 million reward for information in June 2021.

At the time, Nielsen’s cousin Francis Foy said her disappearance had devastated their family for more than four decades.

“The unknown of what happened to her caused incredible pain for her family,” Mr Foy said in a statement.

“Our purpose now is to try and find where Juanita’s remains are, so that she can be buried respectfully with other members of our family.”

Juanita with her father Neil Smith, chairman of the Foys company, who was said to have never recovered from the grief of her disappearance and died a few years later.

‘Her murder highlighted a need’

Dr Burgmann believes the heiress played an important role in publicising the community fight in Kings Cross but accomplished even more through her death.

“There’s a sense that if she hadn’t been murdered, her fight against the developers would just have merged into the general fight of the anti-development movements in the 70s.

“In a strange way, her murder had the effect of helping to clean up the police, helping to clean up the Cross, and in reminding people of the story of standing up against developers.

“Her murder also highlighted the need for legislation to back up community action and save historic houses and green space.”

The heritage of Kings Cross and Potts Point were preserved thanks to Juanita. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

While there was no legal protection of heritage buildings while Nielsen was alive, the NSW Heritage Act was passed in 1977, protecting items of state and local heritage significance.

Victoria Street gained historic significance, with many terraces tagged for development ordered to be saved and restored.

Embedded in folklore

Nielsen is remembered as a woman who took a stand for her community, Ms Rhiannon said.

“She had money behind her, but she was her own woman.

“She raised awareness around the importance of community. Community has rights, community has power and community can achieve things, and I think that’s her legacy.”

Juanita’s beloved home still proudly stands on Victoria Street, like so many others. Picture: realestate.com.au

Dr Burgmann describes Nielsen as “a brave woman” who remains a fond part of the Kings Cross story.

She believes the heiress would be happy today if she could see that many of the terraces along Victoria Street still exist.

Though, she may not like what the area has turned into, she added.

“I think she’d be a bit worried by the fact that it’s turned into another quiet suburb. I think she quite liked the razzmatazz atmosphere of the Cross of the early 70s.

“And she chose to live right in the middle of it.”