Pearl Beach 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 ...

of on the Central Coast 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. Pearl Beach was assigned 'suburb' status by the Geographical Names Board of NSW on 25 October 1991.

History

Pearl Beach has a rich Indigenous history that is largely ignored by historical markers which have been erected in the community to commemorate visits by white settlers. On 2 March 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip sailed north from

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora language, Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central ...

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

, to the inlet described by

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

in 1770 as a "broken land" (id est

Broken Bay Broken Bay, a semi-mature tide-dominated ria, drowned valley estuary, is a large inlet of the Tasman Sea located about north of Sydney on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies ...

). As entered in their journals: * "We slept in the boat that night within a rocky point in the north-west part of the bay (which is very extensive) as the native tho very friendly appeared to be numerous", Gov. Capt. A. Phillip R.N.. * "At 9 at night moored the boats in a cove on the N. side of the bay off which the surf broke violently... They were met by a great number of the natives men, women and children... They were all very friendly", Lieut. Wm. Bradley R.N. March 1788.

Geography

Located south of Umina Beach, being separated from it by a ridge upon which sits Mount Ettalong at a height of . It is bounded on the west and south by

Brisbane Water National Park Brisbane Water National Park is a national park on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated north of Sydney and southwest of Gosford. It consists the Brisbane Water and Moo ...

, and on the east by

. Green Point, with

Paul Landa David Paul Landa, QC (29 May 194124 November 1984) was an Australian politician. In public life, he was called "Paul Landa". He was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1973 to 1984, and the member for Peats in the N ...

Reserve, adjoins the southern end of the beach. The bay provides an example of a logarithmic spiral beach.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 536 people in Pearl Beach. 68.7% of people were born in Australia and 88.2% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 37.1% and Anglican 20.4%.

Swimming

The south end of the beach is placid, sheltered by a rocky point and Lion Island and is favoured by most visitors as a swimming spot. The north end of the beach is known for rough surf and is unofficially called "the dumpers". The dumpers, excluding the roughest waves at the far north end of the beach, are a popular bodysurfing spot for strong, confident swimmers, except during particularly rough surf or at

king tide A king tide is an especially high spring tide, especially the perigean spring tides which occur three or four times a year. King tide is not a scientific term, nor is it used in a scientific context. The expression originated in Australia, Ne ...

. Swimmers risk getting violently pounded onto the sand by a wave, or "chundered" (usually kayaking terminology) by waves dumping into a deep trench along the shoreline, but can generally avoid getting chundered by moving towards dry land or ducking under the break of the wave and swimming back to shore in smaller waves. In 2014, five-year-old Chayce Kofe drowned after he was swept off the shore by a large wave. Gosford City Council continues to oppose danger signs despite calls from the local Member Kathy Smith to erect them.

Environment

Pearl Beach village is located within the National Trust of Australia's Broken Bay Entrance Landscape Conservation Area.

Awards

* 4 November 2009, Pearl Beach was declared the Central Coast regional winner of the NSW

Keep Australia Beautiful The Litter Act 1979 was an act passed by the Western Australian Government to prevent littering. It helped to set up the Keep Australia Beautiful Council (W.A.). See also *Litter in Australia Litter in Australia is prevalent in many areas ...

''Clean Beach Challenge'' while also winning the ''Community Partnerships and Action Award''. Pearl Beach also took home a highly commended award in the ''Environmental Protection'' category. * 9 December 2010, due to an absence of a formal select programme, Pearl Beach was successful with a nomination to represent New South Wales in the

''Clean Beaches Award'' for 2010–11.

Community groups

*Pearl Beach Progress Association The Pearl Beach Progress Association was established in 1929 and grew out of informal gatherings of residents to discuss local problems and community projects. Today the Pearl Beach Progress Association promotes the best interests of the village, protects and enhances our wonderful natural environment and manages the historic Memorial Community Hall. Membership is available to anyone who is 16 years of age or older and lives in Pearl Beach or are owners of property in Pearl Beach, and the immediate families of such persons. *Pearl Beach Rural Fire Brigade A volunteer firefighting brigade under the NSW Rural Fire Service, formed in 1953. The Station is located at 39 Emerald Avenue.

Community events

Since 2006, Opera in the Arboretum has been performed annually in March in the Crommelin Native Arboretum. The event is organised by the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of the New South Wales state of Australia. The town is located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water and near the mouth of Brisbane Water at the Pacific Ocean, it is a popular holiday de ...

and features performances by leading Australian opera identities. All proceeds are given to charities and Rotary projects.

Residential development

Residential development in Pearl Beach is governed by Gosford City Council's ''Development Control Plan 162'' (DCP16). The aim of the Control Plan is to preserve, improve and restore the special natural character of Pearl Beach. It applies to all properties in the village of Pearl Beach, including, proposed buildings and major alterations and additions to existing buildings. DCP16 has superseded Gosford City Council's policies for Pearl Beach titled ''DO 16'' and ''Pearl Beach Residential Development Policy''.

Infrastructure

Road

Pearl Beach Drive is the only vehicular access road to the town. There is pedestrian access is via the former Pearl Beach Road, also sometimes referred to as Cliff Road, which, nowadays, is a rocky unstable walking track that runs 30 feet above the shoreline around the base of the Mount Ettalong cliff via Umina Point. Pearl Beach Road is Heritage Listed, notably as a Section 2: Items listed by Local Government and State agencies. Vehicular access to Pearl Beach has been problematic ever since motorised traffic was given access to the town, some events in this long saga include: * In 1925 Pearl Beach Road was designed and constructed as the main vehicular access road to Pearl Beach. * By December 1935, Pearl Beach Road had been closed to vehicles. As reported at the time: "The engineer of the Woy Woy Shire Council has reported to the touring department of the N.R.M.A. that during the summer holidays cars will be able to reach Pearl Beach from Ettalong by way of the new road. It is necessary for motorists to go along the old road from Ettalong to a point where a turntable has been constructed and a notice gives Warning that the road ahead is closed to traffic. The road over the hill is still under construction, and travelling conditions are not good, but, with care, tourists should be able to travel to Pearl Beach without difficulty." * In June 1936, the Pearl Beach Progress Association sent correspondence to Woy Woy Shire Council objecting to the council's decision to build a road to Patonga which would not go through Pearl Beach. A petition against the proposal was forwarded to the NSW Minister for Lands. * By April 1938, the Pearl Beach Progress Association had decided to pursue access to the town via water rather than road. As reported at the time: "Pearl Beach Progress Association has decided by a unanimous vote to demand an £800 wharf to facilitate launch connection with Patonga and

Hawkesbury River railway station Hawkesbury River railway station is a heritage register, heritage-listed railway station located on the Main North railway line, New South Wales, Main Northern and Central Coast & Newcastle Line, Central Coast–Newcastle lines in Brooklyn, ...

, in preference to a properly graded road connection with Woy Woy. It was expected that with a wharf large coastal vessels would come to Pearl Beach on their excursion trips from

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 ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

." * In February 1939, Pearl Beach Road was closed by Woy Woy Shire Council because a portion of the road had been washed away and two youths had been killed on it by falling over the cliffs. As reported at the time: "Although two experts stated that the road could be reconstructed for £2,000 and £4,800 respectively, a report by the shire engineer estimates that cost at £8,981. The Pearl Beach Progress Association will be advised of the cost, and as the rate necessary would be about 1

hilling Hilling, earthing up or ridging is the technique in agriculture and horticulture of heaping soil up around the base of a plant. It can be done by hand (usually using a hoe), or with powered machinery, typically a tractor attachment. Hilling bu ...

in the ound the suggestion to replace the road is not likely to meet with approval." * In August 2010, Gosford City Council commenced stabilisation and reconstruction of sections of Mount Ettalong Road and Patonga Drive. Works were organised to ensure minimal traffic disruptions during morning and afternoon peak hours with delays of up to 15 minutes during other times. Consideration was given to the bus timetable and emergency vehicles.

Rock Pool

In 1926 construction of the Rock Pool, located at the southern end of the beach, adjoining Green Point, commenced. Once completed in 1928, C. R. Staples and Co. used it in promotional material to help sell land. Up until 1950, the pool suffered a pollution problem from its own amenities block that used open uncovered sanitary pans. Design and maintenance problems have plague the pool from the start. Nonetheless, many people have and still enjoy the rock pool. During 2010, the rock pool was closed for 4 months whilst major renovations were carried out.

Electricity

Plans to provide Pearl Beach with electricity were given an approval on 31 December 1936. Mr. R. Franki, consulting electrical engineer to the Woy Woy Council, was instructed to proceed with construction after the necessary number of guarantees had been signed by the residents.

Sports facilities

Two

tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

and a narrow

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

are located in Opal Close, bookings required. Lap

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

is available at the rock pool located at the southern end of the beach.Gosford City Aquatic Facilities, Ocean Rock Pools
Retrieved 23 December 2010

Notable residents

* Minard Crommelin MBE (1881–1972), postmistress and environmental conservationist, lived in Pearl Beach between 1939 and 1972.

References

External links

Pearl Beach Progress Association website

Pearl Beach area website

Opera in the Arboretum website
{{Suburbs of Central Coast (New South Wales) Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales)