Bennelong Point, a former island in
Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
in
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 ...
,
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.
History
Bennelong Point is known to the local
Gadigal
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Indigenous people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Gadigal originally inhabited the area that ...
people of the Eora nation as ''Dubbagullee''.
The point was originally a small
tidal island
A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
, Bennelong Island, that largely consisted of rocks with a small beach on the western side. The island was located on the tip of the eastern arm of Sydney Cove and was apparently separated from the mainland at high tide. For a brief period in 1788, this relatively isolated protrusion into
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
(Sydney's natural harbour) was called Cattle Point as it was used to confine the few cattle and horses that had been brought from
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
by Governor
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales.
Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...
with the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
.
The area at that time was also strewn with discarded oyster shells from many long years of gathering by the local aboriginal women. Those shells were regathered by the newly arrived convict women and burnt to make
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
for cement
mortar. The point was called Limeburners' Point for that reason, though those shells only furnished enough lime to make a single building, the two-storey government house.
In the early 1790s, the Aboriginal man
Bennelong
Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813), also spelt Baneelon, was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Bennelong serv ...
— employed as a cultural
interlocutor by the British—persuaded
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 ...
Governor Phillip to build a brick hut for him on the point, giving it its name.
In December 1798, a half-moon battery was constructed at the extreme northern end of the Point, mounted with guns from ''HMS Supply''.
In the period from 1818 to 1821, the tidal area between Bennelong Island and the mainland was filled with rocks excavated from the Bennelong Point peninsula. The entire area was leveled to create a low platform and to provide suitable stone for the construction of
Fort Macquarie
Fort Macquarie was a square castle, castellated battlement fort built in 1798 at Bennelong Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the site where the Sydney Opera House now stands. It was demolished in 1901 to make way for the Fort Macqua ...
. While the fort was being built, a large portion of the rocky escarpment at Bennelong Point was also cut away to allow a road to be built around the point from
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
to Farm Cove. This was known as Tarpeian Way.
The existence of the original tidal island and its rubble fill were largely forgotten until the late 1950s when both were rediscovered during the excavations related to the construction of the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
. Prior to the Opera House's construction, Bennelong Point had housed
Fort Macquarie Tram Depot
Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was part of the Sydney tram network. It opened in 1902 on the site of the old Fort Macquarie and was demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the Sydney Opera House.
History
Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was ...
.
Gallery
File:Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot03.jpg, Bennelong Point and Fort Macquarie .
File:Sydney Circular Quay 1880.jpg, Bennelong Point
Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
History
Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...
, Fort Macquarie & the first Sydney Rowing Club
Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on its high performance and elite ...
shed 1880
File:Aerial view of Sydney Harbour - the bridge is under construction.jpg, Bennelong Point and Fort Macquarie during the 1920s.
File:Fort Macquarie Tram Depot.jpg, Fort Macquarie Tram Depot shortly before demolition in 1958.
File:Sydney Opera house 3.jpg, The Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
on Bennelong Point, 2010.
File:Bennelong Point restaurant 201708.jpg, Restaurants in Bennelong Point.
See also
*
Man O'War Steps
The Man O'War Steps is a heritage-listed jetty located at Farm Cove Crescent, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1810. The property is owned by T ...
*
Sydney Tram
References
{{Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River islands
Sydney Harbour
Headlands of New South Wales
Sydney localities
Islands of Sydney
Sydney Opera House