Squatter's rights claim looks set to be approved over prime property in ritzy Sydney beachside suburb of Mosman

Published: 11:41, 30 July 2026 | Updated: 11:41, 30 July 2026 The mystery of what happened to a small forgotten strip of land on Sydney's ritzy Lower North Shore could soon be solved after three local women said they wanted to claim the real estate under squatter's rights. The 165 square-metre block on Raglan Street, in the old money suburb of Mosman, is located just 250 metres away from picturesque Balmoral Beach. Three Mosman women, who live in the two-bedroom cottage at the front of the block, have now begun proceedings to take the vacant land under adverse possession. The term 'adverse possession' essentially refers to the centuries-old law of 'squatter's rights'. In NSW, it is possible for a person to claim possession of land by the 'adverse possession' rule if they have openly and continuously possessed it for at least 12 years without the previous owner's permission. The women - Mary Elizabeth French, Janet Muriel Bagnall and Emma Janet Lonsdale - lodged a legal notice in a local newspaper on July 2, spelling out their possessory title claim. NSW's Registrar-General is due to sign the block over to them in early August, unless someone lodges an objection first.  While there is already a name on the deed, it dates back to the early 1900s when Walter William Wallace Walker owned the land. Three Mosman women, who live in a cottage in front of the vacant strip, have applied to take ownership of the land under squatters rights The 165 square-metre block on Raglan Street is located 250 metres away from Balmoral Beach The women lodged a notice in a newspaper on July 2, spelling out their possessory title claim In 1919, the block in front of the piece of land in question was passed to his wife, Mary Walker, before passing over to Ernest Alfred Wallace Walker in 1950, the Mosman Collective reports. The block then fell to the Public Trustee in 1977, before changing hands in the 1980s and falling to Marjorie Ella Bagnall in 1986. One of the applicants shares her surname with that 1986 buyer. The forgotten strip of land, however, never moved away from Mr Walker's name. Despite being just under the size of a standard tennis court, the lot is said to be comparable in value to the recent sale of a nearby small block. It recently sold for more than $650,000, the Mosman Collective reports. Any person with a rival claim to the land must come forward by August 2. Enquiries can be made to the NSW Land Registry Services.