Darling Island is the middle of the three major peninsulas in the foreground

When the first fleet arrived from Britain in 1788, Darling Island was a rocky inhospitable place on the western side of what is today known as Darling Harbour. In the first forty years of European settlement, Darling Harbour was known as Cockle Bay, because of the abundance of shellfish on its shore, and the island was subsequently called Cockle Island.
In 1855, the Australian Steam Navigation Company acquired Darling Island upon which it would build one of Australia's foremost slipways and engineering workshops. In preparation for its construction, they contracted Pyrmont quarryman Charles Saunders to level the island and connect it to the mainland. The contract time for excavation, quarrying and removal was two years. It was completed in one year.

The Orient Line's SS Orcades and SS Oronsay docked at Darling Island wharves in the 1960s

Darling Island as we know it today began to take shape in the 1890s with the construction of coaling jetties from Pyrmont Bridge to Darling Island. Ongoing reclamation work saw the harbour foreshores reduced by more than 70 kilometres since colonisation. By the turn of the 20th century, Darling Island was totally lined by wharves that were in continual use by overseas ships. After World War I, an influx of European migrants saw the wharves of Darling Island reserved for passenger liners. After World War II, the Pier 13 shed was demolished and a passenger terminal built in its place.
The terminal remained in use until the 1990s when a fall-off in passenger shipping saw it converted to a temporary casino until Star City Casino was built. The former terminal was demolished in 2004 and replaced by new apartment buildings, by which time the sheds around it had been demolished and replaced by parklands, car parks, apartment buildings and a waterfront function centre.
The heritage listed former Ordnance Stores of the Royal Edward Victualling Yard, built between 1902 and 1912, remains.
UBD Map 10 Ref P 15