Sydney Travellers' Guide: Sydney's Islands

Sydney's Islands

The Major Islands of Sydney Harbour

	Cockatoo Island Cockatoo Island is Australia's most unusual urban park - a heritage-listed island in the middle of beautiful Sydney Harbour. Where else can you pitch a tent and camp so close to the city of Sydney, or get such a magnificent view of the harbour bridge, the city skyline and the wonderful juxtaposition of headlands, suburbs and water? Read more ..
	Fort Denison Fort Denison is situated on Pinchgut, one of the most visited and photographed islands on Sydney Harbour. In 1788 a convict named Thomas Hill was sentenced to a week on bread and water in irons on what had originally been given the descriptive name of called Rock Island. It came to be known as Pinchgut. Read more ..
	Goat Island Located in the middle of Port Jackson to the east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Goat Island has a long history of human habitation. During the colonial days, Goat Island served as a quarry, convict stockade and boatyard and more recently an explosives store, police station, fire station and film set. Today the island forms part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. Read more ..

	Clark Island This small island off Darling Point is named after a First Fleet Lieutenant of the Marines, Ralph Clark, who in November 1789, planted a private garden of corn, potatoes and onions there. The island has remained pretty much as Clark had left it, being declared a public reserve in 1879. Read more ..
	Shark Island Located between Bradleys Head and Rose Bay with views up the Harbour to the Bridge and down to the heads, Shark Island is crowned by a large Gazebo on the hill. The island has picnic tables scattered under the trees and man-made grottos providing nooks with wonderful harbour views. Read more ..
	Spectacle Island Spectacle Island has been used as a Naval Armament Supply Depot since 1884. It is the oldest official naval stores complex in Australia. Originally named Dawes Island, after First Fleeter William Dawes, its named was changed to Spectacle Island in the 1850s because of its shape at the time it was being considered as a gunpowder magazine. Read more ..
	Rodd Island One of the smaller islands of Sydney Harbour, it was here that a biological research station was established by French scientist Louis Pasteur in the 1880s. Today its romantic image, beautiful scenery, distinctive pavilions and peaceful ambience makes it an attractive place to visit. Read more ..

Snapper Island
One of the smaller, lesser known and less frequented islands of Sydney Harbour,, Snapper Island is part of the series of drowned knolls along the ridges between the flooded river valleys. The island has been flattened and formed into a rectangular shape with longer sides oriented to the north west and south east.
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The Minor Islands of Sydney Harbour

Cannae Point
The tip of Cannae Point near the Old Quarantine Station jetty at Manly becomes an island at very high tides. The island is joined to the mainland at other times by rocks. Cannae Point marks the end of a fairy penguin sanctuary, which starts from west of Collins Beach and extends to the northern side of Cannae Point. The remains of the wooden clipper ship Centurion are in 18 metres of water off Cannae Point. She sunk in 1887 while heading out of the Sydney Harbour on the way to Newcastle.
UBD Map 234 Ref P 7

Rocky Point, Balmoral
Except at high tide, Rocky Point is connected to the mainland by the beach sands of Balmoral. With the opening of the Balmoral tram line in 1922, the beach became a major recreational destination for the north shore residents. The Promenade, bridge and Rotunda were built in 1930, with funding provided by the State Government as Depression employment schemes. Being an actual island, a bridge linking it to the mainland was built as part of the Balmoral promenade.

Former Islands of Sydney Harbour

	Glebe Island One would never know today that there once existed an island to the north of Rozelle Bay were it not for the existence of the Glebe Island Bridge. The area to the north of the western approach to the bridge is what used to be Glebe Island before being joined to the mainland when the grain handling facilities were first installed there in the 1920s. Read more ..
	Bennelong Island Once a small island off what the First Fleet colonists called Cattle Point, Bennelong Point is today the site of one of the world's most well known 20th century buildings - The Sydney Opera House . When the first fleet arrived, cattle were brought ashore here. Read more ..
	Darling Island one of a number of islands in Sydney Harbour that have been reclaimed and are now a part of the mainland with little or no evidence remaining as to its former disposition. By the turn of the 20th century, Darling Island was lined by wharves and no longer recognisable as an island. After World War I, an influx of European migrants saw the wharves of Darling Island reserved for passenger liners. Read more ..
	Berry Island Located at the end of Shirley Road, Wollstonecraft, Berry Island, which was joined to the mainland by early white settlers, is one giant midden, a dumping ground of shells, bones and refuse from centuries of meals enjoyed here by the local Aborigines. Read more ..
	Garden Island Garden Island, to the east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay, has been associated with the defence of Sydney and eventually Australia, since the first fleet of convicts arrived in 1788. Consequently, access to Garden Island is restricted, due to it being a military base. Read more ..

Other Islands in the Sydney Region

	Bare Island Sited at the entrance to Botany Bay, Bare Island was considered such a strategic location in the defence of Sydney, a fort was built over the island in the 1870s to protect Sydney from attack from the south. The historic military fort and tunnels can only be visited by guided tour. Bare Island is connected by a footbridge to the suburb of La Perouse. The waters around the island are popular with scuba divers. Read more ..
	Long Island Long Island is one of a number of small, forested islands of the Hawkesbury River, some 50 kilometres north of Sydney, across Sandbrook Inlet from the settlement of Brooklyn. Long Island is a nature reserve to which NSW Parks and Wildlife Service runs infrequent guided tours, for those who are interested in its flora, fauna, geology and Aboriginal history. The Sydney to Central Coast railway line passes through a tunnel at the eastern end of the island. Read more ..
	Dangar Island A unique island paradise on the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn to the north of Sydney, Dangar Island is surrounded by sparkling water and views in all directions. With no private cars to disturb the 'sounds of silence', Dangar Island is a haven of peace and tranquillity and an ideal place for a holiday, a weekend away or even a day trip from Sydney. Read more ..
	Scotland Island Home to artists and privacy-loving celebrities such as Toni Pearen and Will Osmond, Scotland Island is a great place to feel like you're getting away from the rat-race, yet it is not too far from Sydney's CBD. Located on Pittwater, with Church Point to the south-west and Newport to the south-east, it has just the right balance of being secluded enough so it feels like a piece of paradise, but also being close to Australia's biggest city. Read more ..
	Misc. small islands The Cooks, Woronora, Hawkesbury and Georges Rivers all contain small islands that in most instances are too small to be inhabited. Nevertheless, they are all named and marked on maps for anyone with a boat who wants to visit them Read more ...

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Sydney Travellers' Guide has been compiled from material supplied to us, and all information is published as information only. The publishers are not responsible for its accuracy and inclusion of information about travel and holiday destinations within Australia on this site or other sites linked to it does not constitute any representation or offer by the businesses, services or organisations contained therein, nor are the views or opinions expressed therein necessarily those of this