Pittwater
Encyclopedia
Broken Bay
Broken Bay is a large inlet of the Pacific Ocean located about 50 km north of Sydney on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, and is the first major bay north of Sydney's Port Jackson.- Geography :...
, 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...
parallel to the coast.
The waterway was surveyed by crew members of HMS Sirius
HMS Sirius
Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Sirius after the brightest star in the nighttime sky.*HMS Sirius of 1786 was a ship of the First Fleet to Australia....
in 1788, and named Pitt Water after British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
. The first regular water transport across Pittwater was the cutter Francis which carried settlers and farm produce from Sydney between 1793 and 1800. By 1803 a fleet of privately-owned coasters had begun operating between Pittwater, Cowan Creek
Cowan Creek
Cowan Creek is located in New South Wales, Australia. It is a tidal subcatchment of the Hawkesbury River. Almost all of the catchment lies within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Tributaries include Coal and Candle Creek, which branches off from Cowan Creek at Cottage Point and Smiths Creek....
and Berowra Waters, usually travelling in convey to reduce the risk of piracy by escaped convicts living along the shore. These vessels were generally built on Scotland Island and were not sufficiently seaworthy to leave Broken Bay
Broken Bay
Broken Bay is a large inlet of the Pacific Ocean located about 50 km north of Sydney on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, and is the first major bay north of Sydney's Port Jackson.- Geography :...
. A customs house operated from Pittwater between 1843 and 1900, and a government-built sandstone lighthouse was completed at Barrenjoey
Barrenjoey, New South Wales
Barrenjoey is a locality in the suburb of Palm Beach, at the farthest northern tip of Pittwater. The headland is mostly made up of Hawkesbury sandstone which overlays Narrabeen shale. Around 10,000 years ago the headland was cutoff from the mainland due to the rising sea level; subsequent buildup...
in 1881.
Shipping declined as a transport medium following road and rail construction through the region between 1850 and 1890, especially the construction of a rail bridge over the waterway in 1899. The last locally-constructed shipping vessel was launched from a shipyard at Blackwall
Blackwall, New South Wales
Blackwall is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located immediately south of Woy Woy on Brisbane Water, north of Sydney. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area....
in 1912, and scheduled shipping services ceased in 1914. However since the 1950s, Pittwater has become predominantly residential in character and is a suburban region of Sydney. The greater Sydney metropolis has extended to Palm Beach, Church Point and offshore communities in Pittwater, however it's early character has been largely retained. People who live and work in Pittwater are very much aware of the need to nurture the environment as a high priority by using aII means to safeguard native flora and fauna, the legacy of Aboriginal culture and the sparkling waters of Pittwater and surrounding ocean for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.
It gives its name to:
- Pittwater CouncilPittwater CouncilPittwater Council is a Local Government Area on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs which comprise the Pittwater LGA were detached from the Warringah local government area in 1993...
. - The Electoral district of PittwaterElectoral district of PittwaterPittwater is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. Located in Sydney's north-east, it is 175.32 km² in size, and comprises the local government area of Pittwater Council and parts of Warringah Council...
. - Pittwater High SchoolPittwater High SchoolPittwater High School, is a school located in Mona Vale, New South Wales, Australia, on Mona Street and Pittwater Road. It is a co-educational high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training with students from years 7 to 12. The school was established in 1963...
.