(Redirected from Middle Head)
North Head Coastline and Cliffs
'Sydney Heads',also known as 'The Heads', is the entrance to
Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) in
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia.
North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north, South Head Dunbar Head are to the south.
Middle Head, Georges Head and Chowder Head are to the west and within the bay.
The
Hornby Lighthouse is located on South Head and is Australia's third oldest lighthouse. Australia's first lighthouse (
Macquarie Lighthouse) is a few kilometres to the south on Dunbar Head.
North Head
North Head is a headland south-east of the suburb of
Manly. It is part of
Sydney Harbour National Park. The headland is a promontory of
sandstone and is 3.85 square kilometres in area.
The Sydney Quarantine station is located on North Head. From 1828 Spring Cove, on the western side of North Head, was used to
quarantine new arrivals to Sydney to minimise the spread of
communicable diseases such as
smallpox. A permanent quarantine facility was set up in 1837, and it continued to operate until 1972.
Vietnamese refugees were housed there in 1975 and
Cyclone Tracy victims from
Darwin, Northern Territory in 1976. The Station was finally closed in 1984 and the management of the site passed to the
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.
[1]
From 1934, defence facilities were installed on the headland. These were wound down in 1945. From 1953 there was a School of
Artillery and it used the former defence facilities. The harbour reserve was established in 1979. The School of Artillery relocated to
Puckapunyal army base in 1998. There is now an artillery museum on the headland. In 2001 the site was passed to the
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust for management.
[2]
Also located on North Head are a Police training camp and War Veterans' homes.
South Head
South Head is a headland, part of
Sydney Harbour National Park, to the north of the suburb of
Watsons Bay.
A twenty-minute foreshore walk on the South Head Heritage Trail offers dramatic views of Middle Head, Manly, North Head and the Pacific Ocean. Starting at the delightful Camp Cove Beach, an 1870s cobblestone path leads first to Lady Bay (also known as Lady Jane) Beach, one of three in Sydney where nude bathing is lawful. It then loops around the headland, passing Hornby Lighthouse, its lightkeepers' cottages, and several gun emplacements from the end of the 19th century.
HMAS Watson, the Royal Australian Navy training base, is also located here.
Middle Head
Middle Head is a headland between North Head and South Head, beside
Middle Harbour. It is part of
Sydney Harbour National Park. Middle Head is also home to an extensive network of
defence fortifications and tunnels. The fortifications feature 'Tiger Cages' where the military trained soldiers by simulating prisoner of war conditions in Vietnam.
HMAS Penguin is located at Middle Harbour.
References
1. North Head Quarantine Station
2. Former School of Artillery, North Head
See Also
Bradleys Head
Clark Island (Australia)
Dobroyd Head
Goat Island
Nielsen Park
Rodd Island
Shark Island
Sydney Harbour National Park