The Australian way of life is consistently casual. And for those of us who are fringe dwellers; on the eastern coast, we are bordered by the Tasman Sea, a marginal sea in the South Pacific Ocean.

Its soft, sandy, blonde beaches are world famous and include Bondi and Coogee beaches, while our emerald blue Sydney Harbour also contains a number of idyllic spots such as Balmoral Beach and Camp Cove, where Governor Phillip is said to have stopped overnight when making a reconnoitre for a better settlement than Botany Bay.

Botany Bay didn’t have sufficient fresh water to sustain the first fleet, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people and vast quantities of stores.

After the City of Sydney Council redeveloped Beare Park, Elizabeth Bay, locals requested that its original beach also be re-instated. This required careful harbour wall construction and earthworks.

Now that the Maritime Services Board has redeveloped its park-side marina with a café, kayak storage, and change rooms, use of the beach is more accessible and useable.

It’s a local knowledge thing. The beach only becomes visible and accessible at low tide.

It is almost private and is un-signposted, not crowded, and a safe place to swim and enjoy  what Governor Phillip stated as “… being without exception the finest Harbour in the World … “.

Low tide times are provided by the NSW Bureau of Meteorology and can be found on-line at:

https://tides.willyweather.com.au/nsw/sydney.html

By Andrew Woodhouse, Director, Heritage Solutions