![Freshwater Beach, Manly from The Powerhouse Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Freshwater_Beach%2C_Manly_from_The_Powerhouse_Museum.jpg)
Freshwater Beach is a
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
located in
Freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
,
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 ...
, a suburb 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 ...
,
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 ...
. Freshwater Beach is the first beach north of
Manly, New South Wales, on the
Peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
. The beach is flanked by a
headland
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
at each end and can produce excellent
surf. There is a large rock pool at the northern end. The beach is patrolled by
lifeguard
A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...
s and has its own surf lifesaving club. Freshwater Beach is one of the most popular of Sydney’s 21
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 ...
and is visited by around 3,000 people on weekends and public holidays during the summer months.
History
In 1818, were given to Thomas Bruin by
Governor Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
. The estate became known as
Freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
, possibly because of a freshwater stream running between what are now Wyuna and Wyndora Avenues.
The place remained virtually uninhabited until land sales in the 1880s. A subdivision of the land became known as
Harbord after Margaret Cecilia Harbord, wife of governor
Lord Carrington
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...
.
From the 1900s, Freshwater was a popular working-men-only
camp
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
. Tents soon gave way to huts with names like "The Ritz" and "Shark Bait". Female visitors were only allowed on Sundays. After the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
,
working-class families came to the camps and built new dwellings and lodges.
The original camps were owned and operated by people such as a Mr Lewers who built, in 1908, what is Harbord's oldest building (now a restaurant). In 1909 it was the location of the local
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
.
What is now called the Wormhole (the
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
linking
Manly and Freshwater beaches) was built and blasted out by the owners of some of the Freshwater camps. Wishing to link Manly and Freshwater, they created a cave and a walkway which is still used today, although the pathway requires some climbing, due to rock falls. Remnants of the old pathway still remain.
![Freshwater Beach sunset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Freshwater_Beach_sunset.jpg)
The Freshwater Beach campsite became a place of disrepute. With the growth 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 ...
, the Shire Clerk of
Warringah Warringah is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to:
*Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922
*Electoral ...
, Mr. Jamieson, wrote to the Post Master General's Department in 1923 about changing the name of the community. It is recorded that this was because of the doubtful and riotous characters who frequented the place at weekends in the summer. The buses going there at the time had a sign on the destination board saying "Camp City". Local police supported the change, so Harbord became the official name of the suburb. It was not until 1980 that the beach regained the name Freshwater Beach.
The community grew when the district was developed for housing. In the 1930s, the
Warringah Council
Warringah Council was a local government area in the northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the Warringah Shire Council, and became "Warringah Council" in 1993. In 1992 ...
declared that only brick houses could be built there and many of these still exist today.
At the back of the beach is the "Pilu at Freshwater" restaurant, and 100 metres from there is the Harbord Beach Hotel and pub, known to the locals as the "Harbord Hilton".
World Surfing Reserve
On 10 March 2012, the four-kilometre (6 mi) stretch between Freshwater Beach and
Shelly Beach was declared the "Manly - Freshwater
World Surfing Reserve". The Reserve was dedicated in a ceremony at
Manly Beach
Manly Beach is a beach situated among the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, in Manly, New South Wales. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne.
Etymology
The beach was named by Capt. A ...
by world surfing champion
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is also ...
accompanied by the Governor of New South Wales, Australia, Professor
Marie Bashir
Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positio ...
.
See also
*
Freshwater, New South Wales
Freshwater is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Freshwater is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and is part of the Northe ...
*
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before th ...
References
{{coord, -33.7814, 151.2907, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title
Beaches of New South Wales