HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bonnet Bay is a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in
southern Sydney Southern Sydney, also commonly referred to as the Southern suburbs, is the southern metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney is a title for the regions and neighbourhoods which fall dire ...
, in the state of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
that is located south 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 ...
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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the
Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...
. Its postcode is 2226, which it shares with neighbouring
Jannali Jannali is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Jannali is located 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Sutherland Shi ...
and
Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...
. Bonnet Bay is located on the eastern bank of the
Woronora River The Woronora River is a perennial river of the Sydney Basin, located in the Sutherland Shire local government area of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, approximately south of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. 'W ...
, which flows north into the
Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...
. Bonnet Bay's boundaries are the Woronora River and Bindea Street in the north, Lincoln Crescent and Taft Place in the east, the suburb of Jannali in the south and the Woronora River in the west. The size of the suburb is approximately 1.5 square kilometres. It contains eight parks which cover almost 24.7% of its total area. The suburb draws its name from the adjacent
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
of the same name. Its terrain consists of
Sydney sandstone Sydney sandstone, also known as the Hawkesbury sandstone, yellowblock, and yellow gold, is a sedimentary rock named after Sydney, and the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common. It forms the bedrock f ...
with steep gullies, creeks, escarpments and one sandstone plateau. In terms of crime rates, Bonnet Bay has been ranked to be among the top ten safest suburbs in Sydney.


History

The original name proposed for the area was Kirkby. A rock formation making a cave in the area was known as 'The Bonnet' because it was shaped like an old-fashioned woman's
poke bonnet A poke bonnet (sometimes also referred to as a Neapolitan bonnet or simply as a poke) is a women's bonnet, featuring a small crown and wide and rounded front brim. Typically this extends beyond the face. It has been suggested that the name came ...
and this was adopted for the name of the bay on the Woronora River which the formation overlooks. The Geographical Names Board decided to name the land area itself Bonnet Bay in 1969. Construction started in late 1969 at Fillmore Rd, with completion of all house plots in 1985.History of Sutherland Shire Placenames


Demographics

According to the 2021 Census, there were 2,238 residents in Bonnet Bay, with a median age of 44. In Bonnet Bay, 77.5% of people were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were England 5.5%, New Zealand 1.5%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.0%, Scotland 0.8% and South Africa 0.8%. 88.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.5%, Cantonese 1.0%, Greek 1.0%, Spanish 0.8% and Russian 0.7%. The most common responses for religion in Bonnet Bay were No religion, so described 34.7%, Catholic 28.8%, Anglican 16.7%, Eastern Orthodox 3.4% and Uniting Church 2.9%.


Landmarks

Burnum Burnum Reserve lies between Bonnet Bay, Como, Jannali,
Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...
and
Woronora Woronora is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woronora is located 27 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Sutherland S ...
, extending for about two kilometres. The reserve, contiguous with The Glen and Koolangarra reserves, effectively surrounds Bonnet Bay, with main roads cutting through it. Burnum Burnum Reserve hosts some plants that are almost extinct and are protected. However, it also represents a fire threat to Bonnet Bay, most notably manifesting in the 1994 Como bushfires. The reserve was originally known as "Jannali Reserve" but the name was changed in 2005 to commemorate
Burnum Burnum Burnum Burnum (10 January 1936 – 17 August 1997) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, actor, and author. He was a Woiworrung and Yorta Yorta man, born at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales. He was originally christened Ha ...
, the prominent Aboriginal Sutherland Shire resident. A small plaque in the Reserve details his speech in England on the occasion of Australia's bicentenary in 1988, in which he symbolically claimed England on behalf of Aboriginal people. A noteworthy feature of this suburb is that all of the streets except one are named after
American Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branch ...
. Washington Drive runs through the length of the suburb and is twice split into one-way 'Upper' and 'Lower' sections due to the steep hills it runs across.
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
, who was the incumbent president when the suburb was established in 1969, is the last president a street is named after. The only street not named after an American president is Tudar Road, which originates in NW Sutherland and cuts through Burnum Burnum reserve to enter Bonnet Bay.


Commercial area, school and transport

Bonnet Bay is mostly residential, with a small shopping centre located in Kennedy Crescent, known as the Bonnet Bay Shopping Village. Its shops include a supermarket, hairdresser, pizza restaurant/takeaway and café. Bonnet Bay Public School is located on Tudar Road. It was officially opened in 1979 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, who, in her capacity as president of the
Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...
, had asked to visit a "typical Australian school", with Bonnet Bay Public School being the example chosen. The school also offers before and after school childcare. Though Bonnet Bay does not have its own train station, neighbouring suburbs Jannali and Como have stations on the Illawarra line of the
Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...
network. The Route 968 bus serves Bonnet Bay, connecting it to Jannali, Miranda and
Kareela Kareela is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. History Kareela was the first mixed-use estate developed by Stockland, developed in 1953. The estate was originally called Sylvan Headland. Sylvan Headland c ...
. Bonnet Bay notably has only two roads for access in and out of the suburb.


Recreation

Bonnet Bay has a boat ramp, a number of picnic and recreational areas, including a cricket oval, soccer oval, two netball courts, two tennis courts and two baseball fields. Its major recreational area, which is by the water, is Lakewood City Reserve.


Events

Bonnet Bay was well known in southern Sydney for its extensive displays of
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
decorations and lights during the festive season, though the tradition reached its peak in the mid-1980s and has since spread to other areas throughout the Sutherland Shire.


Sport

Bonnet Bay has a single sporting club, Bonnet Bay FC, a football club which fields boys' and girls' junior teams, and men's and women's senior teams, playing at Lakewood City Reserve.


References

{{Bays of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Suburbs of Sydney Bays of New South Wales Sutherland Shire