Vaucluse
Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. Vaucluse is located on the South Head peninsula, just south of The Gap with Sydney Harbour on the west and the Tasman Sea to the east. The Sydney Harbour side of the suburb commands views across the harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The adjacent suburbs are Watsons Bay, to the north and Rose Bay and Dover Heights to the south. Vaucluse is a mainly residential suburb. For many years, it was the most affluent suburb in Sydney and in terms of houses and properties is still in the top five most expensive suburbs.
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It is perhaps a blessing that Parsley Bay is overshadowed by its more famous neighbour, Watsons Bay, as this picturesque corner of Sydney Harbour is quiet haven for those lucky enough to know of its existence and discovered its tranquillity. Though the least frequented, it is as attractive as any other bay on the South Head peninsular, and the perfect place for children to take a dip in its sheltered waters or fossick for shells and crabs on the rocks while the adults laze away the afternoon in the shade of the Moreton Bay fig trees.
Circling Parsley Bay is a rocky ridge which forms a small valley through which a small stream flows. The stream enters the valley high on the escarpment at the valley s head and cascades over rocks for some metres before winding its way through the only remaining natural strand of rainforest on Sydney Harbour's southern shores, to empty into the harbour. A path from the beach follows the stream to the head of the valley and back and this short walk is a most relaxing experience. Other paths lead to the harbour foreshore and up to the picturesque 130 year old suspension footbridge which spans the mouth of the Bay. It was built in 1903 to bring locals to Central Wharf on Point Seymour at a time when it was serviced by a ferry. Legend has it that a peg was placed at a point on the southern side. An instruction was given that the bridge was to be built on the right side of the peg, however, in facing the other way round, the instruction was misconstrued and the bridge was built too far west, requiring the acquisition of property and leaving a 'kick' in the approach to it.
Facilities: toilets, barbeques, picnic tables, grassed area, kiosk (limited opening times).
Public transport: Bus No. 325 from Circular Quay. Alight in Fitzwlliam Road, walk down lane to reserve near cnr. of Parsley Road.
A large dwelling of Gothic Revival design which has been extensively added to over the years, Vaucluse House has been likened to a West Indian plantation house. Set in grounds which feature both virgin bushland and cultivated gardens, the oldest part of the house was built in 1803 for Sir Henry Browne Hayes, an eccentric Irish knight of the realm who was transported to New South Wales for kidnapping a Quaker heiress. Hayes, a widower and father of four, ran foul of the law when he was arrested for kidnapping Mary Pike, the daughter of a Cork banker. The object of this abduction was a forced marriage between Hayes and Pike. On the evening of 21 July 1792 he ambushed Mary Pike's chaise (horse-drawn pleasure carriage) and took her to his house where a marriage ceremony was performed very much against her will. This spurious 'marriage' had no validity and the reluctant bride's relatives quickly rescued her from Sir Henry's household.
It took some years to secure Hayes's conviction but on 10 August 1801, he was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to transportation and he arrived in New South Wales on 6 July 1802. On arrival, he immediately found himself charged with improper behaviour towards the ship's surgeon and drew a six-month jail sentence. After his release, Hayes was restricted to Parramatta but soon took up residence in Chapel Row, Sydney. He purchased the property which he called 'Vaucluse' in August 1803 from the original grantee, Thomas Laycock, Deputy Commissary-General and a Quartermaster in the New South Wales Corps. The property Hayes built was a simple Georgian cottage.
Extensions in the Gothic Revival style were first added when it became the home of W.C. Wentworth, and the tradition continued for over a century, more than doubling the size of the home. Very little remains of the original house, erected in 1803. In later years the property boasted an orchard which produced a wide variety of fruit including oranges, peaches, apricots and nectarines, planted either side of a small stream. Wentworth, its most famous occupant, was one of the three men who blazed the first trail across The Blue Mountains in his youth. During his residency at Vaucluse House, he became a noted author, barrister and statesman after having volunteered his services to the colony in order to escape a highway robbery conviction. In later life he became arch-enemy of Governor Ralph Darling who represented the British Government and all it stood for. He consequently drafted the Constitution Bill which gave New South Wales self-government. Vaucluse House is now a fully furnished period museum. Open Tues - Sun 10.00am - 4.30pm. Entry fee applies. Wentworth Road, Vaucluse.
Public transport: Bus No. 325 from Circular Quay, alight at Vaucluse House.
Vaucluse Bay: The small beach of the head of Vaucluse Bay is backed by parkland in which historic Vaucluse House is situated.
Milk Beach
A strip of Rose Bay foreshore land from Bayview Hill Road to Nielsen Park that was resumed in May, 1912 and added to the Sydney Harbour National Park, November 1983. The area was largely left in its natural state so that with both the Hermitage Reserve and Nielsen Park there is now more than 3 km of rock and beach foreshore which is mostly untouched by urban development and is fully accessible to the public.
Hermit Bay
The Hermitage Trail: A popular bushwalk called the Hermitage Trail follows the harbour foreshore for a few kilometres from near Greycliffe House to Rose Bay. The walk passes three beaches - Queens, Tingara and Milk Beachs - all of which are sheltered, shallow and calm. They are relatively small and insignificant, but with Strickland House and its surrounding grounds behind and a magnificent Sydney Harbour panorama to the west, they are well worth visiting. Commence this walk at Nielsen Park. Easy walk.
Queens Beach
Queens Beach: A small, isolated beach which has views across the harbour to the city skyline, Harbour Bridge and Shark Island.
Milk Beach: Milk Beach is is slightly larger than Queens but similarly breathtaking and a favourite backdrop for wedding photography. Milk Beach is also an excellent vantage point for New Year's Eve fireworks with a clear view of the Harbour Bridge. As with all the best vantage points, you have to pay to see the New Years Eve fireworks but you need to get there early.
Hermit Bay: one of the tiniest but loveliest beaches in Sydney. Access is on foot from historic Strickland House along the Hermitage Foreshore Walk and then take a small flight of stairs down to the sand, which stretches for just a few metres. Gorgeous for picnics, it has stunning harbour views and beautiful clear water.
A single gun emplacement was constructed here in 1871 as part of the harbour's defence system. All that remains today is the stonework on the point above Shark Beach. The land on Steele Point was resumed from its private owners and construction was completed in 1874 with an additional barracks being added in 1880. The site was designed under the supervision of colonial architect James Barnet who was responsible for designing several other harbour fortifications during this period. In 1872 three 80-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns were installed.
Although Steele Point never fired a shell in anger, it was the source of sufficient noise to annoy the occupants of Greycliffe House, the elegant house that still overlooks Nielsen Park. They complained about the noise and the damage caused to the house and actually won compensation.
In its last form, the battery consisted of three sandstone gun emplacements or pits with embrasures for the guns to fire through. These pits were connected by open passages and covered passages that led into underground chambers that consisted of a gunpowder magazine, a shell and artillery store and two shell and lamp recesses built of stone. The site had its own living quarters that included amenities for the workers manning the fort. Steele Point at present consists of a three-gun battery. The passageways, tunnels, magazine store and barrack room are still there, but are now partially buried.
A well used family recreational area which, in 1975, became one of the first inclusions in the Sydney Harbour National Park. The rocky headlands on either side of the beach have historic significance. Shark or Steele Point to the east contains the remains of a 140 year old gun emplacement which it was part of Sydney's defence strategy. The beach, interestingly called Shark Beach, has a shark net, so it is safe for swimming. Vaucluse Point, with a rock formation known as the Bottle and Glass Rocks at its tip, contains the remnants of Aboriginal rock art.
There is a lovely restaurant overlooking the beach on Shark Bay. It is a spectacular spot to have breakfast or lunch and the attached cafe/kiosk. In summer it is very popular - like the beach, so you'll need to arrive early to get a parking spot. But in autumn and winter, especially during the week there's no one here. It's an excellent spot to a catch up with friends. Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse.
Greycliffe House: adjoining Nielsen Park is Greycliffe House, which houses the local headquarters of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Built in the late 1840s as a home for the daughter of statesman William Charles Wentworth and her husband, John Reeves, the house is built on land which was once part of Wentworth's Vaucluse estate. A popular bushwalk called the Hermitage Trail follows the harbour foreshore for a few kilometres from near Greycliffe House. The walk passes three beaches - Queens, Tingara and Milk Beaches - all of which are sheltered, shallow and calm, though small. Open all times.
Facilities: sheltered harbour beach with shark net, kiosk, toilets, change rooms, showers, picnic facilities.
Public transport: Bus No. 325 from Circular Quay, alight at Nielsen Park.
Shark Beach: Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse. In spite of its name this beach has a shark net (summer months only), so it is safe for swimming. Vaucluse Point, with a rock formation known as the Bottle and Glass Rocks at its tip, contains the remnants of Aboriginal rock art and affords views to the city.
A Victorian Italianate style mansion built for John Hosking (Sydney s first Lord Mayor) in the mid-1850s. The mansion designed by John Hilly, consists of 3 storeys of sandstone and verandahs with Doric columns. The property was subsequently purchased by the NSW State Government in June, 1914 who later used the property as the Strickland House Convalescent Hospital. The hospital was named after Sir Gerald Strickland who was the NSW State Governor from 1913 to 1917. The convalescent facility was later closed down in December 1989 and in 1994, the grounds of Strickland House were declared an urban park and opened to the public.
Access is limited but it is used for functions and as a film set occasionally. It is a great spot to watch the float-planes departing from, and returning to, the sea-plane base in Rose Bay. The grounds around Strickland House is a great place to have a picnic. There are picnic tables under shady trees around the property, all with stunning views either towards Rose Bay or the main harbour. The grounds are open daily from 9am to 5pm; the house is only open to the public around Easter. Strickland House, 52 Vaucluse Road, Vaucluse. Ph 02 9337 5999.
The Packer family tomb
South Head Cemetery was established well before 1869 to cater for the needs of the population in the growing Vaucluse area. It contains the graves of 6,000 people as of 2008. There are a number of well-known people interred at the cemetery including Australia's first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton. Architect John Horbury Hunt's last commission was a memorial to Sir John Robertson, former Premier of New South Wales.
The memorial is shaped like a cone with two sections, the bottom of which commemorates Robertson s wife, while the top half commemorates Robertson himself. Also interred in this cemetery are members of the Packer family (newspaper proprietors); members of the Fairfax family, also newspaper proprietors; Sir Walter Edward Davidson, former Governor of New South Wales; the architect Howard Joseland and entertainer Gladys Moncrieff.
Hopetoun Avenue, Vaucluse: The expansive views from this inner suburban lookout cover Vaucluse and Port Jackson towards Shark Island and the city. No facilities.
Public transport: Bus No. 324, L24 from Circular Quay. alight at cnr New South Head & Hopetoun Rds.
If you think you are seeing things when a white lighthouse appears in the front garden of 12 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse as you drive past, your eyes are not deceiving you. It is in fact a functional harbour marker, one of two used to define the eastern channel of Port Jackson. Vaucluse Bay Rear Light gives ships that have entered the Harbour a guide as to the line of the eastern channel of Port Jackson south from inside The Heads. It lines up with the Vaucluse Bay Front Light (see photo below), located nearer to water level to the east of Parsley Bay at No. 80 Wentworth Avenue, Vaucluse. They are two of four lighthouses on Sydney Harbour designed by architect Maurice Festu in a style sometimes called Disney Castle.
Character: fixed or leading light. Power source: Mains electricity, Standby Diesel. Height: 8 metres. Front Light; UBD Map 237 Ref M 2; elevation 16 metres. Rear Light; elevation 84 metres.
Public transport: Bus No. 324, L24 from Circular Quay. alight at cnr New South Head and Hopetoun Rds, walking along Hopetourn Rd, left into Wentworth Rd.
Vaucluse Bay Front Light
Eastern Channel Harbour Marker: An 11 metre octagonal cylindrical tower with lantern and two galleries, mounted on piles. Located off Laing s Point in Vaucluse, it marks the eastern end of the Sow and Pigs Shoal. It emits a green light occulting once every 3 seconds. This channel markert is scheduled for replacement by Sydney Ports. Character: pile light. Power source: Mains electricity, Standby Diesel.
Western Channel Harbour Marker: An 11 metre octagonal cylindrical tower with lantern and two galleries, mounted on piles. The lighthouse marked the western end of the Sow and Pigs Shoal. Sydney Ports had slated the lighthouse for replacement in 2007, The original marker collapsed into the water on 12th December 2006. Also known as the Wedding Cake marker, it has since been restored to its former glory. It emits a green light occulting once every 3 seconds. Character: pile light. Power source: Mains electricity, Standby Diesel.
The Federation Cliff Walk is a 5 km walking trail from Watsons Bay to Dover Heights, boasting high sandstone cliffs and amazing panoramic views of the Tasman Sea. This coastal walk meanders through beautiful parklands and open spaces and includes an exciting timber walkway with viewing platforms that bring you on top of the cliffs. The Bondi to Watsons Bay walk (or Watsons Bay to Bondi walk) is the same as the Federation Cliff walk but goes a little further to Bondi Beach. The Federation Cliff Walk can be commenced either from Gap Park in Watsons Bay, or in Dover Heights at Rodney Reserve or Raleigh Reserve.
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Diamond Bay: the coastal scenery here becomes even more dramatic during a storm, but walking the coastal track is not safe and should be avoided at such times.
As New South Head Road climbs the hill after leaving the Rose Bay shopping area, take a quick glance to the left and you'll get a spectacular harbour view which includes Woollahra Point, Shark Island and Bradleys Head in the foreground, set against the backdrop of the city skyline, the harbour bridge and opera house. If you find it difficult to stop, take Vaucluse Road or Wentworth Road off to the left where you can park and snap this picture-postcard view to your heart's content.
Directly east of Kambala Lookout at the top of the ridge is Dudley Page Reserve. It is the one place in this exclusive residential area where visitors can enjoy the view across the harbour to the city that the locals enjoy out of their lounge room windows every day. The reserve's name recalls Alderman Dudley G. Page, a local resident and Waverley Councillor, 1951 - 66, who served as mayor of Waverley in 1959.
Location: Cnr Military Rd & Lancaster Rd, Dover Heights.
The reserve is only a short drive from the suburb of Watsons Bay, so it is well worth detouring to take in the view on your way home. If you do this towards the end of the day and the sky is clear, bring a blanket and some food and enjoy a picnic and the view as the sun sets over the city skyline. Dudley Page Reserve is not only one of the best spots in Sydney to enjoy a sunset, its sunrises are pretty special too - the glow of the sun as it lights up the city's buildings is almost as good as the view at the other end of the day.
Vaucluse Surface Reservoir, built in 1904, is one of the relatively few remaining reservoirs which were built partly in excavation and partly in bank with the concrete wall supported by the surrounding earth. Modem construction methods are quite different. It is at the end of the line as reservoirs were built progressively eastwards and upwards from Crown Street Reservoir when assured supply became available with the advent of the Upper Nepean Scheme.
Vaucluse Elevated Reservoir became necessary when development finally spread to the highest parts of Vaucluse/Rose Bay area Vaucluse Elevated Reservoir is one of the very few elevated reservoirs built entirely with reinforced concrete for support structure, walls, and floor of the tank. It is a Sydney landmark, visible from many distance parts of Sydney with quite an aesthetic appeal. It also has the unusual secondary role in helping define an accurate measured distance out to sea for the calibrating of ships logs and conducting of speed trials.
With the commissioning of the Upper Nepean Scheme in 1888, much needed amplification of the system became possible, resulting in the construction of a high level reservoir above the surface reservoir at Waverly in 1894, the famous Centennial Park No 1 Reservoir in 1899, and a surface reservoir at Vaucluse in 1904.
In 1930, twenty six years after the surface reservoir at Vaucluse was built, Vaucluse Elevated Reservoir was commissioned to serve the higher areas of Vaucluse and Rose Bay. It also became a famous landmark, visible from many parts of Sydney, and, also, from ships at sea. Location: Clairvaux Rd, Vaucluse.
Hermit Bay