Fingal Bay is the easternmost suburb of the
Port Stephens local government area in the
Hunter Region of
New South Wales
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, 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.
[ The only population centre is the township of the same name, which itself is named after the adjacent, small, semi-circular bay.]
2021 census
the population of the town was 1,635.[
Except for the township, most of Fingal Bay is included in the ]Tomaree National Park
Tomaree is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, northeast of Sydney in the Port Stephens local government area. It is located on the shores of the Tasman Sea, extending north from Fishermans Bay to Shoal Bay passing throu ...
, which includes forested areas, coastal scrubland, beaches and most of the Fingal headland. The suburb does not include the bay itself.
Fingal Bay
Fingal Bay is about across at its widest point and from the mouth to the beach.[ The northeastern head of the bay is the Fingal headland, which is connected to the mainland via Fingal Spit, a ]sand spit
A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due to ...
about long.[ Waters to the northeast of the spit are known as "Fly Roads". Crossing between the mainland and the headland along the spit is considered dangerous. According to a sign on the beach, people have died crossing the spit, which is covered by breaking waves at high tide. The south-western head of the bay is Fingal Head, which is located southeast of the town. Between the two heads, the mouth is over wide.][ The bay includes a sandy beach about long.][
]
History
The bay was originally known as "False Bay", because it could be mistaken for the entrance to Port Stephens. The name "Fingal Bay" appeared on an 1845 map prepared by Captain Phillip Parker King
Rear Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts.
Early life and education
King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Ann ...
.[
]
Heritage listings
Fingal Bay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Point Stephens Light on Shark Island.
Tourism campaign
Fingal Spit was a location for the 2006 " So where the bloody hell are you?" advertising campaign filmed for Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and employs 187 staff (includ ...
and appears at the end of the advertisement.
Headland and Point Stephens
The irregularly shaped headland, which is sometimes mistakenly called "Fingal Island", covers an area of approximately , most of which is part of the Tomaree National Park, and reaches in height.[ Point Stephens was connected to the mainland prior to the "Maitland gale" in 1891. The southeasternmost point of the headland was named "Point Stephens" by ]Captain Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
when he passed on 11 May 1770, honouring Sir Philip Stephens who was Secretary to the Admiralty
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
Histor ...
. Stephens was a personal friend of Cook and had recommended him for command of the voyage. It seems Cook's initial choice had actually been Point Keppel (named after Augustus Keppel, a Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty
The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...
), but instead he used Keppel later when he named Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay is a bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River on the coast of the Coral Sea.
Extent
Keppel Bay extends from Station Point on Curtis Island () in the Gladstone Region to Zilzie Point at Zilzie () i ...
. The name first appeared on chart 1070, prepared by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1845.[
]
Lighthouse
As early as 1857, the need for a lighthouse on Point Stephens was identified, due to the proximity to the entrance of Port Stephens, and the dangers of the local coastline to ships. A high stone lighthouse was subsequently constructed in 1862.above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
Th ...
and has a range of .
Transport
Port Stephens Coaches
Port Stephens Coaches is an Australian bus company operating services in Port Stephens and the Hunter Region.
History
In the 1940s, the Newcastle to Nelson Bay service was purchased by the Fogg family. In 1957, the route was purchased by Sid ...
operate local services to 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 ...
as well as an express service to Sydney.Bus Timetables
Port Stephens Coaches
Notes
References
External links
Coastal Explorer Pacific Touring Route Sydney to Brisbane, Cartoscope, 4th edition, 2004
{{Bays of New South Wales , state=autocollapse
Bays of New South Wales
Headlands of New South Wales
Suburbs of Port Stephens Council
Towns in the Hunter Region
Beaches of New South Wales