Snapper Island (previously known as ''Schnapper Island'') is a island in

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 ...

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 ...

. It lies in the main channel of the western section of the harbour, upstream 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 ...

, adjacent to the

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 ...

suburb of

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative center for the local government area of the City o ...

. The island was originally a rocky outcrop, but in 1931-2 it was increased in size over seven times by land reclamation, and reshaped into the general plan form of a ship. Since then it has been used as a training depot by the

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

, and as a museum. Today it is in the hands of the

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust ("Harbour Trust") is an Australian Government agency established in 2001 to preserve and rehabilitate a number of defence and other Commonwealth lands in and around Sydney Harbour. The Trust has been focused ...

, who are charged with planning a new future for it.David Messent (1994). ''The Complete Guide to Sydney Harbour''. . Page 98. Snapper Island is the smallest island in the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

and more than the others has been reshaped significantly by human intervention.

Early history

In 1879, Snapper Island was declared a public recreation reserve by the NSW Legislative Assembly. However, Snapper Island remained a rarely visited rocky outcrop. When nearby Cockatoo Island was passed to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

in 1913, Snapper Island was included in its 'naval waters', and as such subject to naval control. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the island was leased to the

Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...

for storing ships' parts and old corrugated iron. In 1930, Len Forsythe leased the island from the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

in order to create a training depot for boys in nautical skills. Around 50 cadets were recruited and began work on the island. After clearing the island of vegetation in 1931, the island was flattened by blasting an estimated 1,000 tonnes of rock from the top of the island over an eight-month period. Associated land reclamation activities increased the size of the island by around 1,000 square metres. The stone sea walls of the island were sculptured to create the shape of a ship with the stern (pointing towards

) and the bow (pointing towards Cockatoo Island). In 1932, building work commenced on a signal station, wharf and the other main buildings that can still be seen today. The layout of these buildings models the layout of a naval ship. The cadets also planted the two cabbage-tree palms which are still the only vegetation left on the island. With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the island was returned to the service of the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. At the end of 1942 United States troops moved onto the island to use it for training purposes. The British also used some of the facilities on Snapper Island as a social club for troops on leave. In 1952, Forsythe decided to set up the Snapper Island Company and establish a museum on the island, the income from which would go towards the ongoing maintenance of the island. Opened after 1966, the museum held thousands of pieces of memorabilia from Australia's naval history. Currently the island is closed to the public.

References

External links

* {{Sydney Canada Bay suburbs, state=collapsed Islands of Sydney Sydney Harbour Sydney localities Commonwealth Heritage List places in New South Wales Tourist attractions in Sydney