Mosman: History of its Harbour

The tradition of houseboats in Pearl Bay has existed since the Depression and the area was also another site where a popular ‘pleasure ground’ was established.

•Pearl Bay Pleasure Gardens was opened in 1868 with the idea that the gardens would be as popular as Balmoral, due to the presence of a publican’s booth.

•In the early 1870s a new owner of the grounds changed the policy no longer allowing ‘intoxicating

drinks’. Family picnics were encouraged and a pavilion, dining room and a cricket ground were built.

•A daily service of steamers from Circular Quay to Pearl Bay, the Spit, Bantry Bay and the Head of Middle Harbour commenced in 1896.

•During the Depression years many unemployed people moved to the waterfront to live in caves, makeshift huts, tents and houseboats.

•Three of the four houseboats remaining in Sydney Harbour today are in Pearl Bay, with one of these houseboats in Pearl Bay dating back to the early 1910s!

•The sandstone block seawall and short-stone-walled

jetty mark the former location of the pleasure grounds - one of the few substantial relics of any 19th century ‘pleasure ground’.

Mosman’s Harbour Heritage

Pearl Bay D

id y

ou k

now

?

Historical images in this brochure have been taken from Mosman Library’s Local Studies Unit. The collection is available to view on the website at http://www.mosman.nsw.gov.au/library/localstudies.html Text has been taken from extracts from Local Studies, Mosman Library.

Mosman Bay

Chowder Bay

Hunters Bay

Pearl Bay

In conjunction with Sydney Harbour Week Mosman Council presents a snapshot

history of Mosman’s more popular baysPrinted 2003.

The backdrop for Chowder Bay is Clifton Gardens Reserve. This secluded and picturesque area is famous for its former use as a ‘pleasure ground’.

•The area was known to its Aboriginal owners as Koree, while it’s likely that the name Chowder Bay refers to the practice of visiting American whalers making

chowder from the shellfish in the bay.

•On Christmas Day in 1863 Clifton Gardens was opened as a ‘pleasure ground’ for recreation and picnics.

•Mosman’s first pub was opened in Clifton Gardens in 1872 but by the early 1880s it had a reputation for brawls and drunkenness! In order to attract a different type of clientele a dancing pavilion, wharf, bathing enclosure and skating rink were built. The hotel was demolished 35 years ago.

•In the late 1800s Chowder Bay Barracks were built for

the NSW Submarine Miners Corp. and a minefield was laid across the harbour. The distinctive buildings remain and the area is open to the public.

Did

you

kno

w?

Once known as Great Sirius Cove, Mosman Bay is one of the most picturesque harbour inlets in Sydney.

•Mosman Bay is named after Archibald Mosman who was granted land in 1831 to start a whaling

station. Whaling began in 1833.

•The Barn (Avenue Rd) was built in 1831 as a storehouse for the whaling industry. It is Sydney’s only

remaining maritime industrial structure dating from the early colonial era.

•With the decline of the whaling industry in the 1840s Mosman Bay became a graveyard for discarded vessels and the site for industries such as candle

making and wool-washing

•A ferry service began c.1870 using structures from the former shipyards for wharves. The present wharf is in the historic wharf location

•Reid Park, at the head of Mosman Bay, contains remnant bushland and historic relics.

Mosman Bay Hunters Bay, Balmoral & Edwards Beach

Chowder Bay & Clifton Gardens

Balmoral has long been one of Mosman’s most popular locations for leisure and recreation. Reserves around Balmoral also contain a number of important Aboriginal heritage sites, and remnant bushland.

•In the 1880s an artists camp was established at the northern end of Edwards Beach and it attracted many of the famous artists of the time.

•The Balmoral Rotunda and Promenade were constructed

in 1930 as part of an important depression era employ-ment program. Construction of the Bathers Pavilion commenced in 1928 and was refurbished in 1999.

•A regular ferry service ran between Balmoral and Circular Quay (1913) on weekends and a tram line was established in 1922 - this increased crowds in the summer of 1922 from 10,000 to about 30,000 a few years later.

•The shark net was erected in 1935 following years

of debate concerning the danger of shark attacks at Balmoral - it is probably the last remaining example of this form of suspended net in Sydney

•The Lawry Plunkett Reserve Environment & Heritage Project being conducted by Mosman Council is likely to uncover some of the physical remanants of the tramway system through an interpreta-

tive heritage walk through the old tram cutting.

Did

you

kno

w?

Did

you

kno

w?