Canoelands, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Canoelands is a suburb
of northern Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Canoelands is located 60 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire
and Baulkham Hills Shire
. It is part of the North Shore
region.
and Maroota
and is 13 km north of the village of Glenorie
and 18 km south of the village of Wisemans Ferry
. By road, Canoelands is 60 km north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
.
The landform of the area is on Canoelands Ridge, a high, undulating, dissected plateau of Hawkesbury Sandstone with many steep gullies covered with dry sclerophyll forest, predominantly tall varieties of hardwood trees of the genus Eucalyptus
. It has an area of 60 km² and is surrounded on three sides by the Marramarra National Park
, a wilderness area of 11,759 ha.
Mount Blake lies some 2 km east of the eastern end of Canoelands Road. The geodetic survey station there is 270.3 m above sea level. This makes it the highest natural point between the northern side of Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River. All drainage from the area is into the Hawkesbury-Nepean Basin.
of the Dharug
-speaking tribes. To the west they join the Boorooberongal clan (which extended to Windsor
) and the Cattai clan (extending to Richmond
) and to the south they joined the Bidjigal people around Castle Hill
. To the east they joined the large Eora-speaking tribes which covered the coastal area. Within Canoelands there are many aboriginal rock carvings in caves and on rocky outcrops. These are all under the care of the National Parks and Wildlife Service
.
. Such trees were aptly named canoe trees.
As the trees were used for mill logs, none remains in the area but preserved specimens may be examined at other places, e.g., in the Pioneers Park at Griffith, New South Wales
.
The area was originally named "The Canoe Grounds" and is shown as such in a Gregory's Directory of 1946. Some time after that it became known as "Canoelands". This name was officially gazetted in the N.S.W Government Gazette dated 12.11.1993 and had its boundaries specified and officially designated as a suburb of Sydney in the N.S.W. Government Gazette No.145, dated 01.12.1995.
The first landholding in the Parish of Marramarra
, which includes Canoelands, was of 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) on the northern side of Marramarra Creek below Mount Blake. It was purchased by John Blake for One Pound Ten Shillings Sterling on June 6, 1835. The land had been advertised for sale by auction in an advertisement dated December 13, 1834.
to Wisemans Ferry
. The suburb has two other roadways, Canoelands Road which is a 9 km long cul-de-sac and Marra Avenue which is a 2.2 km long cul-de-sac. The former is bituminised for most of its length and the latter has a wholly bituminised surface.
Picturesque rural, mountain and city views can be had from many locations along these roads. The first and still the only street light in the suburb was erected on the corner of Old Northern and Canoelands Roads on June 6, 1994. At first it was only activated by the headlights of approaching cars but this proved to be quite erratic. After a month or two this was abandoned and it was lit as at present, from sunset until sunrise.
Industry in the area consists of four commercial plant nurseries and three large stonefruit orchards. The orchards are largely covered by synthetic netting to minimise the depredations of grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) which attack the fruit trees when carrying fruit. The fruits grown are peaches, nectarines and plums. There is also some cashcrop market gardening such as tomatoes, snowpeas and zucchini from time to time. Apiarists bring their beehives when the orchards are in flower for their bees to gather honey and assist in the pollination and setting of fruit.
A very large nursery exists nearby on the western side of Old Northern Road but as this roadway forms the boundary between two Shires, it is situated in the Shire of Baulkham Hills and is not technically in Canoelands, but in Glenorie. There is an aggregate quarry and a sandstone quarry in the area. The Hawkesbury sandstone is a basically cream-coloured sedimentary rock with colourful patterns of red, orange, yellow and white. It was once used to build houses but is now used as dimension stone and sawn stone, principally for landscaping architecture or as feature panels in housing. The area also contains some lenses of white and blue shale, the former being used as an admixture with clay to make blonde housebricks.
, some 32 km to the south.
The Canoelands Rural Fire Brigade station and the local optical fibre telephone exchange are both located at the corner of Canoelands and Old Northern Roads. The area has single and 3-phase electricity, natural gas, telephone and broadband services online but is without reticulated water or sewerage, residents relying on rainwater tanks and dams for water and on septic systems for sewage disposal. Many homes have stand-by diesel-powered generators to safeguard the operation of their water supply pumps and refrigeration in case of power blackouts. One residence is fully solar-powered. The Sydney-Newcastle oil/gas pipeline runs along a good length of Canoelands Road before turning north to go under the Hawkesbury River and has two radio-controlled valve stations in Canoelands.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of northern Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Canoelands is located 60 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire is a Local Government Area in the Northern region of Sydney, Australia. The Shire stretches from the suburb of Eastwood in the south to the Hawkesbury River town of Wisemans Ferry, some to the north...
and Baulkham Hills Shire
Baulkham Hills Shire
The Hills Shire is a local government area of in the north western region of Sydney, Australia. The area encompasses 380 square kilometres stretching from North Parramatta in the south to Wiseman's Ferry on the Hawkesbury River in the north.-Incomes:According to the Australian Bureau of...
. It is part of the North Shore
North Shore (Sydney)
The North Shore is an informal term used to describe the primarily residential area of northern metropolitan Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The term usually refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of Sydney Harbour between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River, up to...
region.
Geography
Canoelands is a small hamlet consisting of some 65 houses and 160 people extending out towards the east from Old Northern Road. Canoelands is located along this road, between the hamlets of Forest GlenForest Glen, New South Wales
Forest Glen is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Forest Glen is located 54 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire and is part of the North Shore region....
and Maroota
Maroota, New South Wales
Maroota is a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Maroota is located 83 kilometres northwest of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire....
and is 13 km north of the village of Glenorie
Glenorie, New South Wales
Glenorie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Glenorie is located 44 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire. Glenorie is part of the Hills District.-Aboriginal culture:The...
and 18 km south of the village of Wisemans Ferry
Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales
Wisemans Ferry is a town north of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wisemans Ferry is located 75 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire, The Hills Shire, City of Hawkesbury and City of Gosford.The town is a...
. By road, Canoelands is 60 km north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
.
The landform of the area is on Canoelands Ridge, a high, undulating, dissected plateau of Hawkesbury Sandstone with many steep gullies covered with dry sclerophyll forest, predominantly tall varieties of hardwood trees of the genus Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
. It has an area of 60 km² and is surrounded on three sides by the Marramarra National Park
Marramarra National Park
Marramarra is a national park in New South Wales , 41 km north of Sydney.-Fact sheet:*Area: 118 km²*Coordinates: *Date of establishment: December 28, 1979...
, a wilderness area of 11,759 ha.
Mount Blake lies some 2 km east of the eastern end of Canoelands Road. The geodetic survey station there is 270.3 m above sea level. This makes it the highest natural point between the northern side of Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River. All drainage from the area is into the Hawkesbury-Nepean Basin.
Aboriginal culture
The area was inhabited by Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
of the Dharug
Darug people
The Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
-speaking tribes. To the west they join the Boorooberongal clan (which extended to Windsor
Windsor, New South Wales
Windsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
) and the Cattai clan (extending to Richmond
Richmond, New South Wales
Richmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...
) and to the south they joined the Bidjigal people around Castle Hill
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
. To the east they joined the large Eora-speaking tribes which covered the coastal area. Within Canoelands there are many aboriginal rock carvings in caves and on rocky outcrops. These are all under the care of the National Parks and Wildlife Service
National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is part of the Office of Environment and Heritage - the main government conservation agency in New South Wales, Australia....
.
European settlement
In early times, it became a timber-getting area for Sydney. The treefellers found tall stringybark gumtrees (E. cephalocarpa) with large, uniform patches of bark missing. These pieces of bark were cut out with stone axes and used by the local Aboriginal people to make canoes to use on the Hawkesbury RiverHawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
. Such trees were aptly named canoe trees.
As the trees were used for mill logs, none remains in the area but preserved specimens may be examined at other places, e.g., in the Pioneers Park at Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
.
The area was originally named "The Canoe Grounds" and is shown as such in a Gregory's Directory of 1946. Some time after that it became known as "Canoelands". This name was officially gazetted in the N.S.W Government Gazette dated 12.11.1993 and had its boundaries specified and officially designated as a suburb of Sydney in the N.S.W. Government Gazette No.145, dated 01.12.1995.
The first landholding in the Parish of Marramarra
Marramarra Parish, Cumberland
Marramarra Parish, Cumberland is one of the 57 parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales, a cadastral unit for use on land titles.The first landholding in the Parish of Marramarra was of on the northern side of Marramarra Creek below Mount Blake. It was purchased by John Blake for One Pound...
, which includes Canoelands, was of 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) on the northern side of Marramarra Creek below Mount Blake. It was purchased by John Blake for One Pound Ten Shillings Sterling on June 6, 1835. The land had been advertised for sale by auction in an advertisement dated December 13, 1834.
Transport
Old Northern Road was convict-built and is a major connecting route stretching north for 34 km from Baulkham HillsBaulkham Hills, New South Wales
Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Baulkham Hills is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire...
to Wisemans Ferry
Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales
Wisemans Ferry is a town north of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wisemans Ferry is located 75 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire, The Hills Shire, City of Hawkesbury and City of Gosford.The town is a...
. The suburb has two other roadways, Canoelands Road which is a 9 km long cul-de-sac and Marra Avenue which is a 2.2 km long cul-de-sac. The former is bituminised for most of its length and the latter has a wholly bituminised surface.
Picturesque rural, mountain and city views can be had from many locations along these roads. The first and still the only street light in the suburb was erected on the corner of Old Northern and Canoelands Roads on June 6, 1994. At first it was only activated by the headlights of approaching cars but this proved to be quite erratic. After a month or two this was abandoned and it was lit as at present, from sunset until sunrise.
Rural areas
Canoelands is at the far northern end of the Hornsby Shire Council's coverage and has the Local Government land usage classification of Rural Lands. Holdings must have a minimum area of 10 ha which cannot be subdivided and only one dwelling may be erected on each. However, the erection of necessary agricultural buildings is permitted.Industry in the area consists of four commercial plant nurseries and three large stonefruit orchards. The orchards are largely covered by synthetic netting to minimise the depredations of grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) which attack the fruit trees when carrying fruit. The fruits grown are peaches, nectarines and plums. There is also some cashcrop market gardening such as tomatoes, snowpeas and zucchini from time to time. Apiarists bring their beehives when the orchards are in flower for their bees to gather honey and assist in the pollination and setting of fruit.
A very large nursery exists nearby on the western side of Old Northern Road but as this roadway forms the boundary between two Shires, it is situated in the Shire of Baulkham Hills and is not technically in Canoelands, but in Glenorie. There is an aggregate quarry and a sandstone quarry in the area. The Hawkesbury sandstone is a basically cream-coloured sedimentary rock with colourful patterns of red, orange, yellow and white. It was once used to build houses but is now used as dimension stone and sawn stone, principally for landscaping architecture or as feature panels in housing. The area also contains some lenses of white and blue shale, the former being used as an admixture with clay to make blonde housebricks.
Services
No shopping facility is available in Canoelands, the nearest being in Glenorie or in the major regional shopping centre of Castle HillCastle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
, some 32 km to the south.
The Canoelands Rural Fire Brigade station and the local optical fibre telephone exchange are both located at the corner of Canoelands and Old Northern Roads. The area has single and 3-phase electricity, natural gas, telephone and broadband services online but is without reticulated water or sewerage, residents relying on rainwater tanks and dams for water and on septic systems for sewage disposal. Many homes have stand-by diesel-powered generators to safeguard the operation of their water supply pumps and refrigeration in case of power blackouts. One residence is fully solar-powered. The Sydney-Newcastle oil/gas pipeline runs along a good length of Canoelands Road before turning north to go under the Hawkesbury River and has two radio-controlled valve stations in Canoelands.