| Historical notes: | Cremorne Point and Mosman Bay:
Wooloorigang / Cremorne Point and Mosman Bay were both once Cammeraygal territory named Wul-warra-Jeung before European settlement in Sydney Cove to their south. Aborigines called the waters east of the point Goram-Bullagong. In early European settlement after 1788 it became known as Careening Point and Mosman Cove became known as Hungry Bay. Careening Point commemorates HMS Sirius, a ship from the First Fleet of 1788, which was refurbished, pushed upstream in Mosman Bay (Read, 2009).
In January 1822 Scot James Robertson, watch maker, arrived on the Providence with wife and six children to become Supervisor of Governor Brisbane's astronomical instruments and clocks at his observatory in the Parramatta Domain. Brisbane was named 'founder' of Australian science by Sir William Herschell, himself a noted astronomer and botanist who spent some time in South Africa. Robertson was granted a large amount of land on the Upper Hunter River and later in 1823 a further 86 acres (34.8ha) of Cremorne headland, where he built a Georgian house with fine cedar joinery. In its grounds were some fine pear trees. One of his sons became Sir John Robertson, NSW's fifth Premier - and premier five times. His statue graces the pedestrian avenue in the Domain opposite the Art Gallery of NSW (ibid, 2009).
The difficulty of crossing the harbour was overcome by John in a novel manner. Rather than hire a boat from Blues Point (there were no ferries yet) and walk, he would walk to Mrs Macquarie's Point, tie his clothes to his head and swim. At Fort Denison he would rest before swimming the remainder. Robertson's Point commemorates his father's occupation. Today it sports a lighthouse for navigation (ibid, 2009).
The foreshore path from Neutral Bay to Cremorne Point wharf dates to 1830 when the reserve was retained by the Crown. Cremorne Point Reserve is the most substantial example in North Sydney of imposition of the 100' (Harbour Foreshore) Reservation, applied from 1828 (ibid, 2009).
The Rev. W.B.Clarke identified a coal seam running under much of Sydney and proposed it be mined. An experimental copper smelting industry was established in the mid-1840s on the eastern shore but was not successful and was removed by 1849 (ibid, 2009).
In 1853 North Shore pioneer James Milson bought the land - Robertson's house became the Cremorne Hotel, later Cremorne House - and three years later leased 22 acres to J.R.Clarke and Charles H.Woolcott, who planned Cremorne Gardens, named for the rather notorious Regency Pleasure Gardens in London. These opened in 1856 with 30 acres (12.2ha) and amusements galore. Steamers plied from Circular Quay and Woolloomooloo Bay every half hour until late. There were scenic walks - the Serpentine Walk and Italian Walk. Papers advertised 'a monster dancing stage, 200' in circumference', an 'excellent (German) band, carousel, archery, quoits, rifle shooting, skittles, gymnastics, rifle gallery and refreshments' at Sydney prices. Even a masked ball. At 8pm, magnificent fireworks, a la Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (London) and splendid pyrotechny as in Cremorne Gardens, London. The Sydney Morning Herald declared Cremorne to 'be ranked among the best of those places of holiday resort of a superior order which have recently sprung into existence in the neighbourhood of Sydney'. Anyone missing the last boat was compelled to remain behind overnight, as the bush was too thick to penetrate and few cared to swim back. By 1862 the place had an unsavoury reputation and the 'Gardens' were in ruins (ibid, 2009).
Around 1875 a white cask was moored just off Cremorne Point and used for target practice from Mrs Macquarie's Chair. Balls from the 68 pound cannon would skim across the harbour ending up near Whiting Beach, near Taronga Zoo. The barrage would stop for the hourly steam ferry. In the 1880s and 1890s Cremorne Point was a more genteel Victorian sunday destination (ibid, 2009).
In 1891 and 1893 Sydney Harbour Collieries Ltd. sank exploratory bores and discovered coal ten feet thick. Despite support from the Mines Department, the Lands Department refused permission to build coal wharves and the company found an alternative base in Balmain (ibid, 2009).
By the beginning of the 20th century the maritime enterprises that had dominated the Lower North Shore had begun to give way to residential development. Neutral Bay and Cremorne became known as 'alternative society suburbs', where the emerging Arts and Crafts architectural style was creating a 'friendly', relaxed style in contrast to the uniformity of terrace housing (National Trust of Australia (NSW), 2019, 18).
In 1905 a Harbour Foreshores Vigilance Committee formed and Cremorne Reserve was proclaimed later that year, with North Sydney Council as trustee. This was the culmination of a ten year campaign to secure the area as public land. It reflected other campaigns for harbour foreshore reserves and conservation of that time. Magnificent harbour and city views were and remain available from here (ibid, 2009).
The McCallum Pool west of Cremorne Point was built in the 1920s as a pleasure pool for residents. As the threat of industrialisation subsided, others arose. Subdivision of the peninsula followed land reservation. By 1925 residential development encroached. While private gardens flourished, weeds and rubbish choked the foreshore reserve. Reports that 'respectable people' didn't go there at night suggest it was sheltering the homeless or carousing couples after dark. North Sydney Council started a beautification campaign in the 1920s with local residents helping, transforming it by the 1930s. Several elements of that era survive - a concrete and chicken wire sign, archway etc. Then, perhaps due to the 1930s depression and World War 2, it sunk into neglect again (ibid, 2009).
The area attracted various architects including J.Burcham Clamp: his house The Laurels (1907, extended 1920) is a striking Arts & Crafts example. A 1927 issue of 'The Home' magazine featured an 'Italian' (Mediterranean revival) example - a house belonging to Mr F.C.Lane (ibid, 2009).
Belvedere:
Built 1919 for grazier C.H. Stockman, who specified broad eaves and wide verandahs and generous proportions for the plan. The architect, Alexander Stuart Jolly, was a prominent and unorthodox architect influenced by a love and knowledge of timber, the California bungalow movement and American 'organic' architecture (LEP, 1989). |