The search is on for the Manly mermaids

These were the brave women who responded to a job ad looking for "attractive and fearless girl skin divers" to swim with sharks, rays and other "swimming companions" at what was then called Sydney Marineland. Many of the girls went on become Marineland Mermaids, who were among the first divers employed at the Manly attraction.

The first ad said the divers "must be absolutely unafraid of sharks, stingrays and other marine life". It appeared in 1964, a year after Sydney Marineland opened. It later changed its name to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, which this January will be closing its doors forever.

To mark the aquarium's 50 year history, Manly Sea Life Sanctuary is hoping to track down the original Marineland Mermaids as part of its farewell celebrations.

Down Under News footage from the 1960s shows the prospective mermaids in action. In the footage the keen candidates can be seen patting a shark before donning snorkels and fins and getting into the tank with fish and turtles while the news announcer says dryly: "How about this advertisement for girl swimmers. It could well be a temporary position - the job involves feeding underwater monsters at Sydney's Marineland."

"We are calling for Australians to assist us on the search for the original Marineland Mermaids to reconnect history and give Manly Sea Life Sanctuary the farewell it deserves," said Manly Sea Life Sanctuary's senior operation manager Ashley Hayes.

"Who are these girls? Where are they today? What is their best memory of Manly's treasured oceanarium? Anyone with any information is urged to visit our Facebook page and share details on our call-out post."

Since opening on November 7, 1963 the North Shore attraction has welcomed hundreds of thousands of families through its doors, helped Australian youth start their careers, and has even hosted an underwater wedding.

The attraction has celebrated world-firsts, including being the first to rescue, rehabilitate and release a great white shark and breed grey nurse sharks on-site - and countless rescues of turtles, stingrays and more recently, the rescue and return of 'Fluffy' the shark who was swept up onto Manly shores.

The oceanarium has held many recruitment rounds for divers over the past 50 years, and still has a strong presence of female divers and aquarists, although bikinis have since been replaced with wetsuits.