Bungaroo is a locality near
St. Ives,
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
. The location is thought to be the site where 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 ...
and party camped on the night of 16 April 1788 on the first of many expeditions intended to find
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
that could supply the Colony with agricultural products. The colony at
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 ...
was dependent on supplies from England, but the soils around the harbour were too poor to support crops and sustain the Colony.
History
Captain Phillip and party landed at Manly on 15 April 1788, named the location, and then proceeded westwards until they struck Middle Harbour perhaps somewhere near the present Roseville Bridge. Arthur Phillip,
David Collins David Collins may refer to:
Persons
* David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer
* David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967)
* David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?)
* David Collins (Australian footballer) ( ...
,
George Johnston,
Surgeon White, one soldier and one sailor then proceeded up that waterway to the tidal limit, arrived at about four in the afternoon and camped besides a freshwater pool that night. Surgeon White described the area as ''...the most desert wild and solitary seclusion the imagination can form any idea of...''. In 1885, the area was surveyed and subdivided, as part of the St. Ives division. The creek valley remained unsettled, although the location of the tidal limit was noted and a surveyors' line subsequently became an informal track. A proposal to construct a railway line along the creek valley was thwarted in the 1920s by protests by local residents and councillors.
By the 1930s the area was a well known picnic, bushwalking and beauty spot, with a popular swimming hole at ''The Cascades'', constructed by unemployment relief workers during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Within living memories, now-older people used to refer to going to the Cascades pool ( at 33°43'40.85"S, 151°11'18.35"E ), a once popular creek swimming pool before water quality declined, as going to Bungaroo. Mentions of such occur in Gal Halstead's 1982 large compilation "The Story of St. Ives", in which she gathered the family stories of many St Ives inhabitants. There is no known reason for a move of place name to where Bungaroo is now shown on maps and street directories. Therefore one possible explanation for this is that "Bungaroo" could be an original designation of the creek (Middle Harbour Creek), not just a specific spot along it. The book shows many uses of the name, back to 1909, meaning what is now called the Cascades pools. This was a favourite place for the early St. Ives children. The accounts of it in the book include that 'Snow' Bedwin recalled relief workers building the road down to it in the "Depression in the 1920's"; that "Ali" Bartho caught the biggest death adder ever seen in the district there "which was presented to the Sydney Museum with 'some ceremony' "; that a Scout Jamboree was held there at which a huge bonfire of twigs doused in kerosene was ignited by some scouts on the opposite hill sending down a flaming torch to ignite it, sliding on a wire; that the WWII troops stationed at St. Ives Showground used it; and that the swimming pool there "became polluted and the barrier had to be blown up by the local council". A meaning of 'Bungaroo' given in the book is 'Resting place'; but others have suggested it could be an Aboriginal name for the Salt Water Turtle, or mean 'running water'.
Description
The Bungaroo area is part of
Garigal National Park
The Garigal National Park is a protected national park that is located within the North Shore and Forest District regions of Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney cen ...
and is managed by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Ku-ring-gai Council. The area retains indigenous vegetation including banksias, grevilleas and wildflowers in the spring, and numerous rocky outcrops including the large sandstone steps of the rocky bar known as the 'Stepping Stones' which separates the salt waters of
Middle Harbour
Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi–mature tide dominated ria, drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Au ...
from the fresh water of
Middle Harbour Creek
Middle Harbour Creek, a tributary of Middle Harbour, is a youthful tide-dominated, drowned-valley estuary northwest of Sydney Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ecology
Formed by the confluence of Bare Creek and Frenchs Creek, no ...
. Walking tracks follow the creek valley between the head of Middle Harbour and the northern sections of Garigal National Park as well as connecting the Stepping Stones crossing with St Ives to the west and Davidson Trail,
Frenchs Forest
Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is
13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...
to the east.
Access
* ''Founders Way'' Walking track leaving from Hunter Ave,
St Ives leads onto the
Pipeline Track' (a 4WD maintenance trail) and the Bungaroo Track (a narrow walking trail), both of which descend to Middle Harbour Creek. Both tracks are in good condition and are popular walks for local residents.
* ''Middle Harbour Track'' leads from the
Cascades in Garigal National Park to the ''Governor Phillip Walk''. The track follows along the eastern side of Middle Harbour towards
Forestville, New South Wales
Forestville is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Forestville is 12 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Forestville is part ...
.
Davidson Park to Stepping Stone Crossing walk, Garigal National Park
accessed 3/7/2017
References
*
{{Waterways of Sydney
Creeks and canals of Sydney
History of Australia (1788–1850)