Duffys Forest 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 ...

. Duffys Forest is 28 kilometres north 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 ...

. Duffys Forest is considered to be 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 and the Forest District.

History

Duffys Forest is named after Patrick Duffy, who received a land grant there in 1857. He became a timber cutter and cleared a road through the bush to

Cowan Creek Cowan Creek is located in New South Wales, Australia. It is a tidal subcatchment of the Hawkesbury River. Almost all of the catchment lies within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Tributaries include Coal and Candle Creek Coal and Candle Creek i ...

, where he built a stone wharf for transporting timber. The wharf is still known as Duffys Wharf and the road is Duffys Track.

Heritage listings

Duffys Forest has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 13 Namba Road:

Waratah Park Waratah Park is a heritage-listed former Aboriginal land and fauna sanctuary and now Aboriginal title claim at 13 Namba Road, Duffys Forest in the Northern Beaches Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also know ...

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 474 people in Duffys Forest. 76.7% of people were born in Australia and 86.1% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 32.0%, Catholic 25.9% and Anglican 21.1%.

Landmarks

Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary () was a popular tourist attraction in Duffys Forest, famous as the film set of the popular television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo''. Much of the set and props are still there, although since being closed in August 2009 all of the animals including descendants of the kangaroos used in the series have now been removed. The 'Duffys Forest Ecological Community' is an

endangered ecological community An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the Sydney basinDepartment of Environment and Climate Change NSW

Education

Duffys Forest is home to Two schools: AGBU Alexander Primary School Mimosa Public School

References

Suburbs of Sydney Endangered ecological communities Northern Beaches Council {{Sydney-geo-stub