Beacon Hill is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of northern

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

17 kilometres north-east of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

, in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Northern Beaches Council The Northern Beaches Council is a local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the amalgamation of Manly, Pittwater and Warringa ...

. It is part of the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...

region.

History

Beacon Hill was given the title when the Department of Lands built a trigonometric beacon there in 1881.

Aboriginal culture

Little is known of local aboriginal culture in the Beacon Hill area but other local areas towards the sea have a rich and diverse aboriginal background. There are some aboriginal carvings in rocks to the north of Red Hill.

European settlement

Daniel Egan Daniel Egan ( – 16 October 1870) was an Australian politician who served as Mayor of Sydney in 1853. He was also a member of the New South Wales Parliament. Egan was born in Windsor, New South Wales and was a foreman at the Government Docky ...

, a member of the

NSW Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New S ...

, purchased two parcels of land on 5 October 1857. Most of the houses in the suburb were built in the boom days after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the streets in Beacon Hill are named after notable battles, military men or places where Australian troops served in

. These include Owen Stanley Avenue,

Kokoda Kokoda is a station town in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is famous as the northern end of the Kokoda Track, site of the eponymous Kokoda Track campaign of World War II. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the ...

Crescent, Goroka Place and Lae Place. Beacon Hill Post Office opened on 1 August 1949 and closed in 1986. Beacon Hill High School was established in 1964 and closed in 2002.

Demographics

According to the 2016 census, there were 7,457 people in Beacon Hill. 67.5% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 6.2%, China 3.3%, Italy 2.3% and New Zealand 2.3%. 76.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 3.6%, Mandarin 3.0% and Cantonese 1.5%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 29.9%, No Religion 28.3% and Anglican 16.6%.

Transport

Beacon Hill is serviced by

Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Keolis Downer Northern Beaches is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates services in Sydney Bus Region 8 on the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches under contract to Transport for NSW. Its headquart ...

bus services. For many years there have been plans put forward, then withdrawn again for a heavy rail line to be constructed to service the

. Most residents therefore drive motor vehicles to get around.

Landmarks

Governor Phillip Lookout

This lookout is located atop Beacon Hill itself. Views of almost the entire eastern half of the Sydney region may be had from the summit which is approximately 152 metres (500 ft) above sea level. Views extend from the southern outskirts of Sydney, west to the Blue Mountains and north to Gosford and the Central Coast. The skyline of the city is to the south. Ships, pleasure craft and occasional migratory whales can be seen out to sea in the east. The lookout is popular with locals on New Year's Eve when the firework displays across Sydney Harbour are clearly visible, approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south. The lookout may be reached via Warringah Road. There is a small parking area adjacent to the road with stairs leading to a pathway and the summit.

Red Hill

Red Hill, not to be confused with Beacon Hill, is located at the northern end of the suburb behind the former Beacon Hill High School site. From here there are views across to the Governor Phillip Lookout, and onwards to the city. The views to the north are over the eastern sections of the Garigal National Park, to

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

and beyond into the suburbs of Elanora,

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narrabeen is 23 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and is ...

and Ingleside. The Red Hill Preservation Society attempted to prevent a state government development of Red Hill in the early 1990s.

Community services and organizations

The Governor Phillip Lookout Trust was gazetted on 9 December 1966 and was charged with the responsibility not only of protecting and developing the area as an historical feature of the district, but also for the preservation and propagation of the native flora and fauna that surrounds the lookout. The first meeting took place on 10 April 1966. On 13 October 2017 The Hon Paul Toole, Minister for Lands and Forestry transferred responsibility for the Trust to Northern Beaches Council.NSW Government Gazette No. 116 Page 6268

References

{{Sydney Northern Beaches suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Northern Beaches Council