Bonnet Bay is a suburb in

southern Sydney Southern Sydney is the southern metropolitan area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney includes the suburbs in the local government areas of Georges River Council and part of Bayside Council (collectively know ...

, 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 that is located south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

. Its postcode is 2226, which it shares with neighboring

Jannali Jannali is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Jannali is located 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. The majority of land use in ...

and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

. Bonnet Bay is located on the eastern bank of the

Woronora River The Woronora River is a perennial river of the Sydney Basin, located in the Sutherland Shire local government area of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, approximately south of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. 'W ...

, which flows north into the Georges River. The suburb draws its name from the adjacent bay of the same name. Its terrain consists of Sydney sandstone with steep gullies, creeks, escarpments and one sandstone plateau. In terms of crime rates, Bonnet Bay has been ranked to be among the top ten safest suburbs in Sydney.

History

The original name proposed for the area was Kirkby. A rock formation making a cave in the area was known as 'The Bonnet' because it was shaped like an old-fashioned woman's

poke bonnet A poke bonnet (sometimes also referred to as a Neapolitan bonnet or simply as a poke) is a women's bonnet, featuring a small crown and wide and rounded front brim. Typically this extends beyond the face. It has been suggested that the name came ...

and this was adopted for the name of the bay on the

which the formation overlooks. The Geographical Names Board decided to name the land area itself Bonnet Bay in 1969. Construction started in late 1969 at Fillmore Rd, with completion of all house plots in 1985.History of Sutherland Shire Placenames

Demographics

According to the 2021 Census, there were 2,238 residents in Bonnet Bay, with a median age of 44. In Bonnet Bay, 77.5% of people were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were England 5.5%, New Zealand 1.5%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.0%, Scotland 0.8% and South Africa 0.8%. 88.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.5%, Cantonese 1.0%, Greek 1.0%, Spanish 0.8% and Russian 0.7%. The most common responses for religion in Bonnet Bay were No religion, so described 34.7%, Catholic 28.8%, Anglican 16.7%, Eastern Orthodox 3.4% and Uniting Church 2.9%.

Landmarks

Burnum Burnum Reserve lies between Bonnet Bay, Como, Jannali, Sutherland and

Woronora Woronora is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woronora is located 27 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Woronora Heights is a ...

, extending for about two kilometres. The reserve, contiguous with The Glen and Koolangarra reserves, effectively surrounds Bonnet Bay, with main roads cutting through it. Burnum Burnum Reserve hosts some plants that are almost extinct and are protected. However, it also represents a fire threat to Bonnet Bay, most notably manifesting in the 1994 Como bushfires. The reserve was originally known as "Jannali Reserve" but the name was changed in 2005 to commemorate

Burnum Burnum Burnum Burnum (10 January 1936 – 17 August 1997) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, actor, and author. He was a Woiworrung and Yorta Yorta man at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales. He was originally christened Harry Pe ...

, the prominent Aboriginal Sutherland Shire resident. A small plaque in the Reserve details his speech in England on the occasion of Australia's bicentenary in 1988, in which he symbolically claimed England on behalf of Aboriginal people. A noteworthy feature of this suburb is that all of the streets except one are named after American Presidents. Washington Drive runs through the length of the suburb and is twice split into one-way 'Upper' and 'Lower' sections due to the steep hills it runs across.

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, who was the incumbent president when the suburb was established in 1969, is the last president a street is named after. The only street not named after an American president is Tudar Road, which originates in NW Sutherland and cuts through Burnum Burnum reserve to enter Bonnet Bay.

Commercial area, school and transport

Bonnet Bay is mostly residential, with a small shopping centre located in Kennedy Crescent, known as the Bonnet Bay Shopping Village. Its shops include a supermarket, hairdresser, pizza restaurant/takeaway and café. Bonnet Bay Public School is located on Tudar Road. It was officially opened in 1979 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, who, in her capacity as president of the

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, had asked to visit a "typical Australian school", with Bonnet Bay Public School being the example chosen. The school also offers before and after school childcare. Though Bonnet Bay does not have its own train station, neighbouring suburbs Jannali and Como have stations on the

Illawarra line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra a ...

of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

network. The Route 968 bus serves Bonnet Bay, connecting it to Jannali, Miranda and

Kareela Kareela is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. History Kareela was the first mixed-use estate developed by Stockland, developed in 1953. The estate was originally called Sylvan Headland. Sylvan Headland ...

. Bonnet Bay notably has only two roads for access in and out of the suburb.

Recreation

Bonnet Bay has a boat ramp, a number of picnic and recreational areas, including a cricket oval, soccer oval, two netball courts, two tennis courts and two baseball fields. Its major recreational area, which is by the water, is Lakewood City Reserve.

Events

Bonnet Bay was well known in southern Sydney for its extensive displays of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

decorations and lights during the festive season, though the tradition reached its peak in the mid-1980s and has since spread to other areas throughout the Sutherland Shire.

Sport

Bonnet Bay has a single sporting club, Bonnet Bay FC, a football club which fields boys' and girls' junior teams, and men's and women's senior teams, playing at Lakewood City Reserve.

References

{{Bays of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Suburbs of Sydney Bays of New South Wales Sutherland Shire