Palm Beach looking north to Barrenjoey Head

Palm Beach
Upmarket suburb at the northern end of Sydney beaches

There is something totally delightful about Palm Beach. There it sits at the end of a peninsula with the quiet waters of Pittwater on one side and the almost orange sands of a long, clean beach with waves breaking in from the Tasman to its east. Located, as the road sign states "Sydney 40 Manly 30" it is both a daytripper destination and a retreat for people who are wealthy enough to enjoy the multimillion dollar houses on the headland or who are prepared to spend some time getting to work. The population is a mixture of artists and businesspeople. Both writer Bob Ellis and filmmaker David Elphick live here - one on the ocean beachfront, the other on the headland looking across to Barrenjoey. Equally there are lawyers, bankers and, most famously, Kerry Packer, one of Australia's richest men, has a holiday home here.

While some people think of Palm Beach as the city's northernmost suburb the distance from the city gives it a distinctively non-Sydney feel. On the Pittwater side Palm Beach feels like part of the NSW Central Coast and the ambience of the ocean side, with its houses gazing eastward over the Tasman and Barrenjoey headland glowering down, is one that seems far removed from Sydney suburbia. Certainly when the bus leaves Avalon and winds around Barrenjoey Road you feel as though you are entering a place far beyond Sydney.

The walks through the dunes below Barrenjoey

The first European into the area was Governor Arthur Phillip who, on an early exploration of the coast north of Sydney Cove, sailed into Pittwater on 2 March 1788. He was looking for land suitable for food production. It is recorded that they made contact with the local Aborigines at the time and the contact was friendly. In less than a decade the agricultural potential of the Hawkesbury River had been well established and boats sailed regularly from Sydney to the Hawkesbury carrying timber and grain. It was around that time that the district acquired its name as a result of the large numbers of cabbage tree palms which grew in the area [a remnant of that original rainforest can be seen at Hordern Park - see things to see].

By 1808 the first settlers had moved into the area and were growing vegetables for the Sydney market. In 1816 the original Palm Beach Estate - an area of 400 acres which stretched from Palm Beach down to Newport and included Whale Beach - had been granted to James Napper. By the 1830s fishermen were living along the coast, often in caves, and making a simple living from what they caught. A decade later the district had a reputation for smuggling. Cargoes arriving in Sydney but trying to avoid government scrutiny and taxes were landed on the Pittwater side of the headland. The situation got so bad that in 1843 the government established a customs office on Barrenjoey headland just below the present site of the lighthouse. It continued to operate until the 1870s. Around this time some Chinese moved into the area and established a fish-drying business near the present site of the Palm Beach jetty.

It was Governor Phillip who named Barrenjoey Head. It is believed that the Aboriginal word "barrenjoey" meant "a young kangaroo", hence "joey". The stretch of water was named Pittwater after William Pitt who was Prime Minister in England from 1783-1801.

The district remained isolated from Sydney until the 1920s when the road from Newport was completed and the track which is now known as Barrenjoey Road was upgraded, improved and bituminised.

Things to see:  

The ferry wharf on Pittwater

Ferry Trips
There are a range of excellent ferry trips from the Palm Beach jetty on Pittwater. Near the jetty is a good kid's park, with the slides and climbing frames suitably designed like a ship. The ferry trips include journeys across Broken Bay to Ettalong and Wagstaff. The trip takes an hour and costs $16 for the round trip. There is also a delightful trip to The Basin and Great Mackerel Beach which crosses Pittwater, passes Bennetts Wharf and Bonney Doon Wharf and stops at The Basin - a wonderful landlocked lagoon with a spit of sand ideal for picnics. It then continues past Currawong Beach and around to Great Mackerel Beach where life is so uncomplicated and simple that there are rows of wheelbarrows at the end of the pier so people don't have to carry their shopping to their housing and where the ferry terminal building has a number of paperbacks neatly piled so those who miss the ferry can read a few pages of Jackie Collins while they wait.

Barrenjoey Lighthouse
Walk to the northern end of the beach at Pittwater and you'll see the steep track (it takes 20 minutes or 35 minutes according to the steepness of the two alternatives) up to the Barrenjoey lighthouse which offers great views of the isthmus and across to West Head and Lion Island. By the 1850s the Hawkesbury had become a major supplier for the colony in Sydney and consequently Pittwater, Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury had become a major shipping area. In 1868, knowing the importance of directional lights, two suspended lanterns were hung in two wooden buildings known as Stewart Towers. These were replaced in 1881 by the current lighthouse which was designed by James Barnet. It is claimed that the light from Barrenjoey Lighthouse can be seen 40km out to sea.

The Main Beach
The main beach is ideal for walking, jogging and surfing although the sand, particularly along the duneline, can be particularly testing. It is soft and if you try and jog you feel as though you are part of a Percy Cerutty training group. At the southern end there is a substantial rock pool which is ideal for children and people eager to swim endless laps. There is a surf club in the middle of the beach which provides life saving facilities for those wanting to body surf. The beach is used by everyone from anglers to parachutists, surfers and joggers.

Hordern Park

Hordern Park
Hordern Park is located at the southern end of Ocean Road. Although small it has an interesting lizard sculpture near the roadway and the steep path into the undergrowth reveals fine stands of cabbage tree palms and dense tropical rainforest complete with spectacular flowering undergrowth.

Parking
For those who drive, Palm Beach offers a genuinely civilised parking arrangement where you buy a parking ticket ($5 for up to four hours) and it can be used in any of the car parks on the peninsula.