Evelyn de Lacy swam for Australia at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. At the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney, she won the Gold medal in the 110 yards freestyle event.
Growing up in Western Australia, she had learned to swim in pools in the Swan River.
As Evelyn Whillier, she was an active member of the Bronte Breakers and Bronte Amateur Ladies Swimming Club and a daily early morning swimmer at the Bronte pool. She coached and gave swimming lessons at the Bronte Baths, teaching two generations of locals to swim. Evelyn died in 2004 and is honoured with a roundel in the Bronte Heroes Walk constructed by Waverley Council.