Introduction

A moderately hard walk, 20 leisurely minutes one way. Highlights: a grand elevated timber stairway, scenic lookouts and a short bush walk; as well as insights into how Narrabeen Lagoon affected Pittwaters transport history. A spectacular lookout point over Turimetta Beach has hard disabled access and parking via Peal Place.

Headlands are part of the wider landscape often linking travel routes or signal areas.  Narrabeen is in line with outcrops on the Warriewood Ingleside Escarpment.  Food resources in this area include shellfish, fish and bush foods, including fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, roots, bulbs, honey, nectar and insect larva.  The whole landscape is of cultural significance and includes numerous specific site including shell middens, scar trees and marked rocks.

During the early 1900s, colonisation from Manly to Palm Beach was scattered due largely to transport difficulties.  Narrabeen was to most, the end of the line as the tram terminated at this point and further transport north was difficult because of the lagoon.  Only when the Ocean Street Bridge was opened in 1928 did Pittwater become more accessible.  Prior to the completion of the Ocean Street Bridge, the area suffered during a seven year drought which saw the lagoon dry up completely.  Motor enthusiasts would visit the lagoon area on weekends to watch speedcars and motorbikes race on the dry lagoon bed. In 1909, the first man to hang glide in the southern hemisphere did so from Narrabeen Headland.  It is believed that a local resident George Taylor, foot launched a glider, controlled by weight lift.

During the second World War, Narrabeen Headland was used as a defence point and firing range.  Damage to the area is still evident by way of holes along the top of the Headland where aircraft guns were mounted, as well as tracks which were made by the army as transport routes.  Local residents have also indicated that this area was a car parking area and a picnic ground during the 1960s.

During the past 50 years the area has steadily grown in population, with most development in the area consisting of single and double dwelling houses on moderate sized lots, many with expansive views of the ocean and the natural coastline which blesses this area.

The lookout point, known as Bumpers Lookout was named after a local policeman Bumper Farrell, who lived in the area. From 1987 onwards, the Headlands were formally linked with the implementation of the Bicentennial Coastal Walkway, which links Dee Why to Palm Beach.

Narrabeen Headland is of high historic value for both Traditional Owners and the current residents being recognised as a feature representing the social and aesthetic character of the area.

Early transport

Although the 18th century saw some scattered settlement of the area from Manly to Palm Beach, transport difficulties ensured its isolation. The overland route was not only long, but the dirt roads were in poor condition and often impassable when wet. Low-lying swamps backed onto the beaches, and north of Mona Vale the land became steep and rugged. Indeed, trade between the settlements of the Pittwater, Palm Beach and Hawkesbury areas relied on steamships rather than stagecoaches.

Even as recently as 1900 a journey to Sydneys northern-most peninsula was a major undertaking. A ferry from Circular Quay to Manly connected with a horse-drawn coach as far as Narrabeen. Here, the travellers either had to put their feet on the seats opposite while the lagoon was forded, or transfer to rowboat ferry if fording was impossible. More coach travel on rough and ready roads took them on to Church Point, from where they could be rowed across to the Pittwater public wharves.

The end of the line

For most local travellers in the early years of this century, Narrabeen was, literally, the end of the tramline. This started in Manly and was gradually extended, first to Curl Curl, then to Brookvale, and finally to Narrabeen. Here it was stopped by the lagoon. Only when the Ocean Street Bridge crossed the lagoon, with the Spit and Roseville Bridges already in place, did Pittwater become more accessible. By the 1930s most of the local main roads had been sealed. With these improvements and the motor car now an available and popular means of transport, Pittwater soon become a popular resort and holiday destination for people from all over Sydney.

Bumpers Lookout

Bumper Farrell was a policeman well-known for his hard-nosed work around inner Sydney and Kings Cross, his nickname tells all. He lived on the private land behind this lookout point.

Another local who made his mark in this area was George Taylor, the first person to hang-glide in the southern hemisphere. In 1909 he foot-launched a glider, controlled by weight lift, off Narrabeen Head. If the winds are right, you may see modern hang-gliders following in his footsteps at Long Reef Point.

Lagoon lookout

Look carefully at the lagoon mouth, and you may notice that it has been altered to accommodate the bridge and connecting roads. In the early 1900s the lagoon was more like a coastal river. Its ocean entrance extended further southwards and was about 150 metres wide and 10 metres deep. Small steamboats, which could not carry much coal, would stop at Narrabeen Lagoon on their travels between Sydney and Gosford. A trip up the mouth of the lagoon to the local wharf close to where Pittwater Road bridge now stands would enable them to take on enough coal to finish their journey.

Sheepstation lookout

If you look diagonally across the sport fields, to the northwest, you will see Sheepstation Hill, separating Warriewood and Mona Vale. Before a cutting was made for Pittwater Road, it climbed up and over the steep slope. In the 1880s, coach travellers to Pittwater had to dismount at the foot of the hill to help push the coach to the top.

Battleground picnic area

The ocean around you was once a military battleground. During World War 2, many of Sydneys headlands were stationed as defence points or used as practice firing ranges. Narrabeen Head was one of them. If you search carefully you can find the holes on top of the headland where the anti-aircraft guns were mounted, as well as the transport roads made by the Army.

But the signs of a battleground are even more obvious below the surface of the sea. Wrecked steamers and scuttled ferries are now homes for marine plants and animals. However, most of these wrecks record careless navigation rather than military manoeuvres. Several steamships, travelling the trade route between Sydney and Newcastle last century, came to grief after striking the rocks at Long Point. The SS Euroka, SS Duckenfield and SS Collaroy were among them; a permanent reminder of the past lives on in the name of Collaroy Beach.

Ocean Street Bridge

In 1922 work started on the Ocean Street Bridge. The pile driving equipment could not be secured against the tidal and river flows, so the lagoon mouth was closed and stayed closed for seven years, until the bridge was finished. This period coincided with a seven year drought: with no tidal inflow and no rain the lagoon dried up. This made it a Mecca for speed hounds who came in their hordes at weekends to watch speedcars and motorbikes with sidecars race on the dry lagoon bed, while biplanes offered ten-shilling joy-rides.

The completion of the bridge in 1928 heralded the re-uniting of lagoon and sea, although the new mouth was smaller. Five years of dredging followed, and the dredged material used to fill much of the swampland previously surrounding the lagoon.

More Information

To find out more about North Narrabeen Headland Reserve, download its Plan of Management.

Maps

• Walking Track
• Walking Track and Aerial Photo
• View location on map