Stokes Point, NSW
Looking east, this was taken whilst flying south over Pittwater, a semi-mature tidal drowned valley estuary some 40 km north of Sydney's central business district. The point is the north-western corner of the beachside suburb of Avalon Beach.
The Kuringgai, often called Guringai, peoples were the traditional inhabitants of the land and waterways north of Sydney Harbour. Amongst them, there were many smaller units called clans, of which the Carigal were most prominent in the area surrounding Pittwater. During 1789 the impact of smallpox on aboriginal peoples led to extensive mortality, with the death rate estimated at somewhere between 50% and 90%.
The waterway had been surveyed by crew of HMS Sirius in 1788, and named Pitt Water after William Pitt the Younger, the then-Prime Minister of Great Britain. The first regular water transport across Pittwater was the cutter Francis which carried settlers and farm produce from Sydney between 1793 and 1800. By 1803 a fleet of privately-owned coasters had begun operating in the area, usually travelling in convoy to reduce the risk of piracy by escaped convicts living along the shore! Today the 18 sq km of Pittwater is a popular area for water recreation.
On the peninsula stretching across the photograph above, beyond Stokes Point and the bay behind it, is Whale Beach, the next suburb as you head up the Northern Beaches region. Beyond it can be seen the Tasman Sea.
Stokes Point, NSW
Looking east, this was taken whilst flying south over Pittwater, a semi-mature tidal drowned valley estuary some 40 km north of Sydney's central business district. The point is the north-western corner of the beachside suburb of Avalon Beach.
The Kuringgai, often called Guringai, peoples were the traditional inhabitants of the land and waterways north of Sydney Harbour. Amongst them, there were many smaller units called clans, of which the Carigal were most prominent in the area surrounding Pittwater. During 1789 the impact of smallpox on aboriginal peoples led to extensive mortality, with the death rate estimated at somewhere between 50% and 90%.
The waterway had been surveyed by crew of HMS Sirius in 1788, and named Pitt Water after William Pitt the Younger, the then-Prime Minister of Great Britain. The first regular water transport across Pittwater was the cutter Francis which carried settlers and farm produce from Sydney between 1793 and 1800. By 1803 a fleet of privately-owned coasters had begun operating in the area, usually travelling in convoy to reduce the risk of piracy by escaped convicts living along the shore! Today the 18 sq km of Pittwater is a popular area for water recreation.
On the peninsula stretching across the photograph above, beyond Stokes Point and the bay behind it, is Whale Beach, the next suburb as you head up the Northern Beaches region. Beyond it can be seen the Tasman Sea.