Lavender Bay is a harbourside

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 separ ...

on the lower North Shore 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 Mounta ...

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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Lavender Bay is located 3 kilometres north of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main 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 city centre is often referr ...

, 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 ...

North Sydney Council North Sydney Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs. The area is bounded by Willoughby to the north and north-w ...

. The suburb takes its name from Lavender Bay, a natural feature of

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...

(Sydney Harbour) immediately west of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

. It lies between

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Mi ...

and McMahons Point. The suburb North Sydney is located, to the north. Lavender Bay is a residential suburb with expansive views of

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane Cove and Parramatta River, Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or harbor, natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. T ...

History

Lavender Bay was named after the

Boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervis ...

(bosun), George Lavender, from the prison hulk "Phoenix", which was moored there for many years. The bay is dual-named Gooweebahree, (also sometimes written as Quiberee) in the

Dharug language The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language ( Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin–Kuric group that was traditionally spoken in th ...

of the local inhabitants, the

Cammeraygal The Cammeraygal, variously spelled as Cam-mer-ray-gal, Gamaraigal, Kameraigal, Cameragal and several other variations, are one clan of the 29 Darug tribes who are united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunt ...

people of the

Eora The Eora (''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as the Sy ...

nation. The colonists also called it Hulk Bay and sometimes Phoenix Bay. George Lavender lived on adjacent to the property of Billy Blue. On 30 May 1915 Lavender Bay railway station was opened to take the place of

Milsons Point railway station Milsons Point railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the North Shore line, serving the Sydney suburb of Milsons Point in New South Wales, Australia. It is served by Sydney Trains T1 North Shore line services. The ...

. This only lasted for seven weeks, as passengers refused to alight here and demanded that trains stop at Milsons Point. During the harbour bridge construction, Lavender Bay Station was the terminus for the North Shore Line. The area is now railway storage sidings. Panorama of Sydney from Lavender Bay (1875)

Panorama of Sydney from Lavender Bay (1875)

Heritage listings

Lavender Bay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 1 Walker Street: Brett Whiteley House

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 941 people in Lavender Bay. 57.2% of people were born in Australia and 76.1% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 33.4% and Catholic 26.4%.

Landmarks

* A wharf is located in the bay which provides access to private vessels. * The Lavender Bay Baths (1910), also known as Cavill's Baths, a tidal swimming pool, were once popular with swimmers, located in the area beside the ferry wharf. *

Wendy Whiteley Wendy Susan Whiteley (; 1941) is best known as the former wife of the Australian artist Brett Whiteley, and as the mother of their daughter, actress Arkie Whiteley (1964–2001). She has become a notable cultural figure, particularly since her ...

created a garden adjacent to her home, in the area between Clark Park and the old railway line. It is sometimes known as Wendy's Secret Garden, and is open to the public.

Churches

* Christ Church, Lavender Bay, a Lower North Shore landmark. * The

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Church of St Francis Xavier was founded in 1856 and is now part o
North Sydney Parish

Notable residents

Sir Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

lived in the harbourfront Bay View Street, and was one of the first few Australians to get a private telephone number while living in Bay View Street. *Artist

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his generat ...

lived at 'Heidelberg' at 9 Bay View Street; another artist, John Firth-Smith, occupied this same house many decades later. * Artist

Brett Whiteley Brett Whiteley AO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitio ...

lived in a house overlooking the Bay with his wife

; Wendy continued to live there . In 2018 the NSW Government granted heritage status to the Whiteleys' house, its views of Sydney Harbour, and Wendy's remarkable Secret Garden in recognition of the significance of the place to the history of Australian art.

References

{{Coord, -33.84428, 151.20388, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:AU-NSW Suburbs of Sydney