The History of the North Shore

By corey | December 9, 2015 |

The North Shore is the largely residential area located in Northern metropolitan Sydney (NSW), Australia. The area covers the suburbs situated towards Sydney Harbour’s north shore, between Lane Cove River and Middle Harbour, right upto Hornsby. Before the British settled here, the Lower North Shore housed the Gorualgal (Mosman & southern Willoughby) as well as the Cammeraygal (North Sydney & Eastern Lane Cove).

Post establishment of Sydney in the year 1788, there was very limited settlement in the North Shore Harbour. James Milson (1785-1872) was one of the very first settlers in the area; he lived very near Jeffrey Street in Kirribilli – this was just opposite Sydney Cove.

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The Terrain

At that point of time, the terrain in the North was far more rugged compared to the terrain in the South Shore as well as all the areas along the harbour’s western areas. This is also why the North Shore had very limited agricultural potential; the activities that used to be carried out in these areas at that point of time, included boat building and tree felling.

Since there were certain limited areas with good soil, this land was used to conduct some orchard farming. By the 1890’s the North Shore railway line started being built here, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s construction was completed only in 1932. Post this, access to Sydney’s Central Business District became more accessible. It was only after this that major development started across the North Shore suburbs.

Mapping of Cumberland County, from 1792 to 1894 indicates that the 4 different local governments that exist today were all derived from a single one – The Parish of Willoughby. It was from the Parish of Willoughby that the City of Willoughby came into existence, as did the municipalities of North Sydney (formerly St Leonards), Lane Cove and Mosman.

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Trams in Sydney

The tramway played a very important role in the expansion and growth of North Sydney and the history of the area would be incomplete without a mention of it. North Sydney’s tramway system history can be divided into 3 distinct periods:

The first was from the time of its original opening- 1886-1909; this was the time when the McMahons Point line was opened.
The second covers the period till the Wynyard line opened in 1932, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The third period was from that point up until the 1958- this was the time the general closure of this system took place.

The 1st part of the tramway system in North Sydney was a 2-track cable tramway; its starting point was at Milsons Point Ferry wharf (the original one). It was situated where the Harbour Bridge’s north pylon currently stands. Originally, this line extended through Alfred St (which is the current day Alfred Street South) and Junction Street (the current Pacific Highway), and then past Blue Street & Miller Street, right to the engine house & the depot in Ridge St. The tramway used and the classic cable grip cars (dummies) & unpowered trailer cars.

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The Underground Terminus

One of the features of these lines was the Wynyard railway station’s underground tram terminus (this was the only one in the country) and its tracks ran right over the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge. The trams ran straight from North Sydney’s Blue Street, right across the Harbour Bridge Roadway, and over to the Harbour Bridge’s (the current road lanes), eastern side. From here on, it moves over the tram platform at the railway station at Milson’s point, before it descends underground to Waynard Station’s platform 1 & 2.

Today, this area is a bustling commercial hub with 2 very large commercial centres situated in Chatswood and North Sydney; it is home to a large number of global corporation headquarters.

Best Regards,
Corey Iskenderian

Posted in North Shore