One of Kiama’s most famous exports, Orry-Kelly, has been recognised as one of 16 new blue plaque recipients as part of the NSW Government spotlights people and events that have shaped our rich history.

Born Orry George Kelly in Kiama in 1897, he was known as Hollywood’s designer to the stars and he led the costume design on over 300 films.

Known as Orry-Kelly, he won three Academy Awards and was the most prolific Australian-born Oscar winner for over 50 years until fellow costume designer Catherine Martin. 

His father, William, was a tailor and opened his shop, W Kelly & Co. Men’s Mercers and General Outfitters, on Terralong Street, in 1888. He moved his shop further up the road between Shoalhaven and Collins streets the following year and it was part of the block that was burnt down in the Great Fire of Kiama in 1899.

Orry went to school at Kiama Public School before moving to Sydney as an adult to live with his aunt to pursue a career in banking. 

He developed an interest in the Sydney theatre scene and Orry set off for New York in 1921 and designed costumes and sets for Broadway. 

He moved in with a little-known English actor called Archibald Leach who would later achieve great fame as Cary Grant and he moved to Los Angeles with his on-again, off-again closeted partner in the 1930s.

Orry-Kelly in 1937.

Orry, who was also well known as an artist with paintings that can be found all around the world, won three Academy Awards for Best Costume Designs for An American in Paris (1951), Les Girls (1957) and Some Like It Hot (1959)and was nominated for a fourth.

A long-time alcoholic, he died of liver cancer in Hollywood in 1964. Cary Grant and another member of Hollywood royalty, Tony Curtis, were among his pall-bearers.

“My concept is that my clothes wrap around the form like smoke. If you do that, you will be ahead of your time,” he said.

In 2015, his memoir – found in a pillowcase in his sister's family home following his death - was published. It became a documentary film ‘Women He’s Undressed’ by award-winning filmmaker Gillian Armstrong.

Danish-born landscape designer Paul Sorensen, who designed Wollongong’s Gleniffer Brae and more than 100 other gardens in NSW, has also been recognised as one of the blue plaque recipients announced on Monday.

With work spanning seven decades, Sorensen designed remarkable gardens from Glen Innes in the far north to Cowra and Orange in the west, through Sydney’s eastern suburbs and south to Wollongong and Canberra.

Many of his iconic designs, including Gleniffer Brae and Everglades in the Blue Mountains, are must-see examples of his work for garden lovers. These gardens, often described as ‘outside rooms’, showcase his signature seamless connections between indoor and outdoor spaces.

“The Blue Plaques NSW program is a great way to celebrate the remarkable people and events that have shaped the state’s history,” Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast, Ryan Park said.

All nominations are assessed by Heritage NSW and independent historians.