Could a pleasure boat return to Roundhay Park's Waterloo Lake where she last sailed 85 years ago?
That's the dream of Mrs Hilary Dyson, secretary of Oakwood and District Historical Society, who has taken a keen interest in the Mary Gordon.
* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from Roundhay Today.She has written a chapter about the boat in Oak Leaves: Part Eight, the latest historical volume from her group.
She writes: "Would it be too much to hope to see the Mary Gordon on Waterloo Lake again? It would be wonderful if this could be arranged some time in the future."
* Click here for latest news in Roundhay & Oakwood.Currently, the vessel is out of water at Brayford Pool near the Pyewipe Inn in Lincolnshire. A group of enthusiasts who have formed the Mary Gordon Trust are seeking Lottery funding to equip the boat with an electric motor as she had when first built.
Leeds Corporation (as it was then known) ordered the Mary Gordon from a Chiswick company in 1900 specifically to cruise in Roundhay Park. She was brought to Yorkshire by steam lorry.
Hilary recalls that the vessel cost £600. She was made of teak and oak and the batteries which powered her were laid along the keel beneath the seats.
She took her name from the Lady Mayoress of the day. Her husband John was a prosperous accountant and stockbroker and lived at Potternewton House which has since been demolished.
The new 30-page issue of Oak Leaves is now on sale for £3 at City Stationers, Oakwood; Philip Howard Books, Street Lane; and Roundhay Park visitor centre.
Its other features include the closure of St John's Church, Roundhay; the history of Gledhow Hill House and Estate (now part of Roundhay School); memories of Roundhay School, 1950-57; and Rowland Ding, daredevil pilot of Soldiers Field.
An essay about the wealthy Irish aristocrats Richard and Charles Parson reveals an astonishing fact. Charles designed military torpedoes which were tested on Waterloo Lake. They had a range of 200 to 300 yards and a speed of nearly 20 knots.
"These may be the basis of rumours that munitions are buried at the bottom of the lake," commented Hilary.
