Lavender Bay

Lavender Bay is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lavender Bay is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.

The suburb takes its name from Lavender Bay, a natural feature of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) immediately west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It lies between Milsons Point and McMahons Point. The suburb North Sydney is located, to the north. Lavender Bay is a residential suburb with expansive views of Sydney Harbour.

History

File:Shoreview1931.jpg

Lavender Bay in 1931 with the Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction and Lavender Bay railway station on the left

Lavender Bay was named after the Boatswain (bosun), George Lavender, from the prison hulk "Phoenix", which was moored there for many years. The bay is dual-named Gooweebahree,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (also sometimes written as Quiberee<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) in the Dharug language of the local inhabitants, the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation. The colonists also called it Hulk Bay and sometimes Phoenix Bay. George Lavender lived on Template:Convert adjacent to the property of Billy Blue. On 30 May 1915 Lavender Bay railway station was opened to take the place of Milsons Point railway station. This only lasted for seven weeks, as passengers refused to alight here and demanded that trains stop at Milsons Point. During the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction, Lavender Bay station was the terminus of the North Shore railway line. The area is now used to stable Sydney Trains rolling stock.<ref>The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson 1990, Published in Australia Template:ISBN, page 150</ref>

Heritage listings

File:(1)Clark Park Lavender Bay.jpg

A view of the Harbour Bridge taken from Clark Park in Lavender Bay.

Lavender Bay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 1 Walker Street: Brett Whiteley House<ref name=nswshr-1949>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 870 people in Lavender Bay. 59.4% of people were born in Australia and 75.5% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.6% and Catholic 23.9%.<ref name = census/>

Landmarks

File:Gardens in Sydney - 4 - 2023 December.jpg

Wendy's Secret Garden. 2023

• A wharf is located in the bay which provides access to private vessels.
• The Lavender Bay Baths (1910), also known as Cavill's Baths, a tidal swimming pool, were once popular with swimmers, located in the area beside the ferry wharf.
• Wendy Whiteley created a garden adjacent to her home, in the area between Clark Park and the old railway line. It is sometimes known as Wendy's Secret Garden, and is open to the public.

Churches

• Christ Church, Lavender Bay, a Lower North Shore landmark.
• The Jesuit Church of St Francis Xavier was founded in 1856 and is now part of North Sydney Parish.

Notable residents

• Donald Bradman lived in the harbourfront Bay View Street, and was one of the first few Australians to get a private telephone number while living in Bay View Street.<ref name=nswshr-390>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>
• Artist Norman Lindsay lived at 'Heidelberg' at 9 Bay View Street; another artist, John Firth-Smith, occupied this same house many decades later.Template:Citation needed
• Artist Brett Whiteley lived in a house overlooking the Bay with his wife Wendy Whiteley; Wendy continued to live there Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018 the NSW Government granted heritage status to the Whiteleys' house, its views of Sydney Harbour, and Wendy's remarkable Secret Garden in recognition of the significance of the place to the history of Australian art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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