Bronte is a beachside
Eastern Suburb of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, 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. Bronte Beach is located 7 kilometres east 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
Waverley Council
Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...
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
Eastern Suburbs.
Bronte Beach sits on Nelson Bay, surrounded by Bronte Park. Bronte offers scenic cliff-top walking paths south to
Coogee via the
Waverley Cemetery and north to
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...
, via
Tamarama and
Mackenzies Bay. The cliff-top path offers views which extend from
Ben Buckler in the north to
Malabar in the south. Bronte is located about 2.5 km south of Bondi Beach.
The suburb has previously been declared the best of 641 Sydney suburbs by the ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
s ''Good Suburbs Guide in 2008.''
History
First Australian history
There is no clear evidence for the name or names of the indigenous bands or clans who were the original custodians of the area prior to the
1788 European settlement of Australia. Most sources agree on the
Cadigal, but some sources name the
Biddigal and
Birrabirragal bands as well. There was a large natural "bogey hole" at the southern end of the beach, the name of which derived from the local Aboriginal term for "swimming place", but the original bogey hole was substantially destroyed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the current bogey hole was articially constructed in the early 20th century.
Owing to the devastating effects of the European invasion on Aboriginal peoples, including forced displacement and the catastrophic impact of introduced European diseases such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, most or all of the original indigenous inhabitants of the area were killed by disease or forced to move further inland during the late 18th and early 19th century, resulting in the near-total loss of indigenous cultural knowledge about the area, and this had been compounded by the massive residential and commercial development of the area, which has destroyed nearly all archaeological evidence of the indigenous occupation and use of the land and seashore around what is now known as "Nelson Bay".
Modern history
Robert Lowe, who later became Viscount Sherbrooke, bought of land from
Mortimer Lewis
Mortimer William Lewis (1796 – 9 March 1879) was an English-born architect, surveyor and public servant who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the colony of New South Wales (now a state of Australia) from 1835 to 1849. Le ...
, the English-born Australian
Colonial Architect who was given a free grant of most of the frontage in the area in the 1830s. His home was completed in 1845 and was named ''
Bronte House'', for
Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, who was the Duke of
Bronte, a place in
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The house, a single-storey stone bungalow located in Bronte Road, is owned by Waverley Council and leased to private tenants who hold open days a few times a year. It is listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
[ and on the (now defunct) ]Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
.
Lowe became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
. He later moved back to England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
where he became a writer with ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''.
Trams
The former Bronte tram line branched from the North Bondi
North Bondi is a coastal, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.
North Bondi is a mostly residential ar ...
via Bondi Junction line at Bondi Junction, running down Bronte Road and MacPherson Street to Bronte Beach. A feature of this line was the final approach to Bronte Beach in a rock cutting leading to the Pacific Ocean cliff tops. The line opened to Waverley in 1890, then to Bronte in 1911. Electric services started to Waverley in 1902, then Bronte in 1911. Through services ran from Circular Quay or Railway Square. The line was closed in 1960 and replaced by a bus service that follows the route between Bronte and Bondi Junction of bus 378 (440 from 2015 and 379 from early 2018).
Heritage listings
Bronte has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 470 Bronte Road: '' Bronte House''
* St Thomas Street: Waverley Cemetery
Demographics
According to the of Population, there were 7,166 residents in Bronte. In Bronte, 65.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 8.1%, New Zealand 2.6%, United States of America 1.8% and South Africa 1.6%. 81.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included French at 1.7%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 47.3%, Catholic 21.9% and Anglican 10.4%.
Culture
In recent years Bronte's eating scene has developed, with the introduction of several popular restaurants in and in close proximity to Macpherson St.
Sport and recreation
Bronte has an important surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
culture. The Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club was founded in 1903 and claims to be the oldest surf lifesaving club in the world. An annual long-distance ocean swimming event is held in December each year between Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...
and Bronte.
According to '' The Dictionary of Sydney'', it is believed that the famous swimming style generally known as the "Australian crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams ( bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David ...
" was first seen at Bronte Baths in 1899.
Bronte is represented in one of the most popular sporting competitions across Australia, the National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
competition, by the local team the Sydney Roosters
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
, officially the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC).
The Bronte Splashers Winter Swimming Club claims to be the oldest Winter Swimming club in the world founded in 1921 and compete against Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club, South Maroubra Dolphins Winter Swimming Club, Cronulla Polar Bears Winter Swimming Club, Maroubra Seals Winter Swimming Club, Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club, Clovelly Eskimos Winter Swimming Club, Coogee Penguins Winter Swimming Club, Wollongong Whales and Cottesloe Crabs in the Winter Swimming Association of Australia Championships.
Notable residents
* Dave Brown (1913–1974) – described by football historians as 'the Bradman of Rugby League' was raised near Bronte Beach where his parents operated the dressing sheds. His father, Denis 'Dinny' Brown, was Waverley Council
Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...
's first 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 Cardiopulmonary ...
.
* Cressida Campbell – artist
* Ryan Clark – former child actor best known for playing Sam Marshall in ''Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
'', was raised in Bronte and still lives there with his family. He left the show in 2001 and is now a Waverley Council
Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...
lifeguard.
* Bruce Hopkins – surf lifesaver
* Deborah Hutton – media personality
* Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
– Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning actor, lived in Bronte from 2004 until 2006 when he sold his house due to intense bombardment from paparazzi
Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...
.
* Peter Dodds McCormick
Peter Dodds McCormick (28 January 183330 October 1916) was an Australian schoolteacher and songwriter, known for composing the Australian national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair". He published under the pseudonym Amicus, Latin for "friend".
Ea ...
(1834–1916) – was the composer of the national anthem "Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the King, God Save th ...
". He lived at Clydebank, 5 Virgil Street (now 20 Yanko Avenue) in Bronte and was an elder at Grahame Memorial Presbyterian Church.
* Jessi Miley-Dyer – surfer
* Alan Morrison – army general
* Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...
– 30th Prime Minister of Australia, grew up in Bronte
* Marjorie O'Neill – politician
* Natasha Oakley – model
* Dick Persson – public servant
* Victor Radley – rugby league player
* Dick See – rugby league player
* Mia Wasikowska – actress
* Andrew 'Joey' Johns – former NRL player and football commentator
Gallery
Image:1_Bronte_House1.jpg, Bronte House
Image:(1)Uniting_Church_Leichhardt_Street.jpg, Uniting Church, Leichhardt Street
Image:(1)Bronte_Road_heritage-listed_house.jpg, Heritage-listed house, Bronte Road
Image:Waverley Cemetery1.jpg, Grave of Henry Lawson, Waverley Cemetery
Image:East0088.jpg, Waterfall, Bronte Gully
References
External links
Bronte surf lifesaving club
Bronte House
Sculptures By The Sea
* ( CC-By-SA)
{{Sydney Waverley suburbs
Suburbs of Sydney
Waverley Council