Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River

Parramatta River

The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

, in the inner-west of Sydney

Inner West (Sydney)

The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...

, 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. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove

Birchgrove, New South Wales

Birchgrove is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Birchgrove is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

, Balmain

Balmain, New South Wales

Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

, Rozelle

Rozelle, New South Wales

Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

, Lilyfield, Haberfield

Haberfield, New South Wales

Haberfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Haberfield is located 9 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield....

, Five Dock

Five Dock, New South Wales

Five Dock is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local Government Area of the City of Canada Bay.-Location:...

, Rodd Point

Rodd Point, New South Wales

Rodd Point is a small suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rodd Point is located 9 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....

, Russell Lea

Russell Lea, New South Wales

Russell Lea is a small suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Russell Lea is located 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....

 and Drummoyne

Drummoyne, New South Wales

Drummoyne is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....

. The bay extends from Longnose Point to the south-west.

In the early days of the colony of New South Wales, the area was sometimes known as Long Cove, presumably for its long narrow shape. The origin of the name 'Iron Cove' is unclear. In his book on Sydney Harbour, P.R. Stephensen suggests that the name is derived from the iron shackles worn by convicts from Cockatoo Island who were forced to work in the area around the bay from 1839. However, he goes on to note that this is merely "a surmise". Another possible explanation for the name is that it was derived from the Ironbark

Ironbark

Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus Eucalyptus that have dark, deeply furrowed bark....

 trees that used to grow there.

The island in the middle of the bay is called Rodd Island, in honour of Brent Clements Rodd. Iron Cove is crossed by the Iron Cove Bridge, which was first opened in 1882 and links Rozelle and Balmain to Drummoyne. The original bridge was replaced in the 1950s. The Australian warships HMAS Ballarat

HMAS Ballarat (J184)

HMAS Ballarat , named for the city of Ballarat, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy .-Construction:Ballarat was laid down by HMA Naval...

 and HMAS Goulburn

HMAS Goulburn

HMAS Goulburn , named for the city of Goulburn, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....

 were broken up for scrap in the bay in 1953.

The land around the bay is mostly made up of publicly accessible foreshore or parkland. This forms a very popular 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) jogging circuit known as The Bay Run

The Bay Run

The Bay Run is a popular pathway that encircles much of Iron Cove and is located in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The Bay Run is particularly popular with joggers, walkers and cyclists who enjoy the pleasant waterside scenery whilst participating in exercise...

.

Pollution

According to the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

's School of Geosciences, this bay and its catchment area are the most heavily polluted in Port Jackson

Port Jackson

Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...

. In particular, very high levels of copper, zinc, and lead have been detected in the bay. Some of this pollution is contained in road dust, which is washed into the bay in stormwater. Iron Cove Creek

Iron Cove Creek

Iron Cove Creek was a creek in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the inner-western suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Haberfield and Five Dock...

(Dobroyd Canal) also suffers from organic and hydrocarbon pollutants.

A proposal has been put forward for a water filtration device to be installed at Iron Cove Creek. According to Professor Gavin Birch from the University of Sydney's School of Geosciences, "This device is specifically designed to stop those contaminants [heavy metals, organic pollutants and hydrocarbons] actually reaching Sydney Harbour."