Dangar Island is a forested

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, in area, in the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

, just north of

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 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 ...

. Dangar Island 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 ...

Hornsby Shire Hornsby Shire is a local government area situated in Northern Sydney (Upper North Shore), as well as parts of the Hills District, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The shire stretches from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to the Haw ...

and as at the 2016 census had a population of 303, which swells dramatically during holiday seasons. The island is serviced regularly by Brooklyn Ferry Service and departs from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and takes about fifteen minutes. The Brooklyn ferry is itself adjacent to

Hawkesbury River railway station Hawkesbury River railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main North and Central Coast–Newcastle lines in Brooklyn in the Hornsby Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves th ...

. The ferry service is in operation 7 days a week.

History

Dangar Island has been known to the local

Guringai Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilar ...

Aborigines for thousands of years. The first European to visit the area was Governor Arthur Phillip, who explored the lower river by small boat in March 1788 within weeks of 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 ...

's arrival. He named it Mullet Island, for the abundance of fish in the local Hawksbury River. At first the local people were friendly towards him, but when he returned a year later, they would not come into contact. By 1790, over half the Guringai people had succumbed to the

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

the British had brought with them. The island was purchased in 1864 and renamed by

Henry Cary Dangar Henry Cary Dangar (4 June 1830 – 25 April 1917) was a colonial Australian politician. He served two terms in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly during the 1870s and 1880s. Biography Dangar was born in Port Stephens, New South Wales, s ...

, the son of

Henry Dangar Henry Dangar (1796 - 1861) was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician. He was born on 18 November 179 ...

, a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, pastoralist and parliamentarian. Dangar leased the island to the Union Bridge Company of Chicago for the construction of the original Hawkesbury River Rail Bridge between 1886 and 1889. About 300 workers and their families lived there and the island boasted a large social hall, school, library and its own newspaper. In the 1920s the island, which is barely a five-minute walk across, was divided into residential plots, though space was reserved on the beach, the flat and the top of the hill for recreational use. Dangar Island Post Office opened on 1 September 1951 and closed in 1986.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 303 people in Dangar Island. 61.2% of people were born in Australia and 85.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common response for religion was No Religion at 49.2%.

About the island

In contrast to much of the surrounding area, which is designated

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, Dangar Island is relatively heavily inhabited. This was not always so. The island has several tarmacked roads which are closed off to all but the community fire truck, the council

ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...

and vehicles with special permits. There are no private cars on the island. A

wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is mad ...

is a common method used to haul goods from the ferry. The island has one shop/

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

, and a bowling club for members/visitors which has a bar. The island also has a community hall that supports several community groups, including a children's film workshop, and mains water. The island was connected to the water supply system by the then Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board in 1971. The island has since been connected to the Sydney sewerage system by

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the B ...

, via a sub-marine pipeline to the mainland and a state-of-the-art treatment plant in Brooklyn. Septic tanks are being quickly phased out by most residents, providing a boost to the Hawkesbury waterways surrounding Dangar Island. Mail is delivered to the island daily by Australia's last Riverboat Postman. The island has a shop next to the ferry wharf that serves light snacks, coffee, breakfast and lunch. It also sells groceries and has a good supply of meat. On the weekend the Dangar Island Bowling Club, which is licensed, serves meals and you can play bowls.

Island access

Travelling by road from the south, from either

or Hornsby, access is available by the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

. Drive across the Hawkesbury River Bridge at Kangaroo Point and follow the Brooklyn-

Mooney Mooney Mooney Mooney is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, at the end of a peninsula extending southwards into the Hawkesbury River estuary situated north of Sydney. It is where the Pacific Motorway and Pacific ...

turnoff just after you cross the river. Travelling by road from the north, from either

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

, access is available via the M1 motorway. As you approach the Hawkesbury River you can exit the motorway via the Brooklyn-Mooney Mooney turnoff on your left hand side. Follow the signs to Brooklyn and drive through the village. At the end of the road you will find a public car park and the Dangar Island Ferry Wharf.UBD City Link 2006, street directory
Page 55-56, Map reference N7 – on page 56 and P4 on page 55 Rail travellers can catch any all-stations train on the Central Coast & Newcastle line. If travelling from Central (Sydney), the train departs from the InterCity section (Platforms 1–15). Alight at

Hawkesbury River Railway Station Hawkesbury River railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main North and Central Coast–Newcastle lines in Brooklyn in the Hornsby Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves th ...

(after

Cowan railway station Cowan railway station is a railway station located on the Main Northern line on the northern fringes of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It serves the suburb of Cowan, and the station was opened in 1890. Cowan was a terminating point for C ...

). Access to and from the station platforms is possible by lifts. The Dangar Island ferry can be seen on your left as you leave the station.

History

Population

About the island

Island access

See also

References

Further reading