Scotland Island, New South Wales

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Scotland Island is an island in the north of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Pittwater, off of Church Point.

1 General Information
2 History
3 Location and size
4 Physical environment
5 External links

[edit] General Information

Scotland Island is one of the only two inhabited islands in the Sydney area. It has a population of about 1000 residents. Much of the island consists of bushland and some residential zones consisting of approximately 350 blocks. There are no shops or industrial zones which means that it is not a very busy community. But it was not always like that. A hundred years ago salt was extracted from seawater near what is now known as Tennis wharf. Using an oil burner about 90kg were extracted a week. There were even farms with sheep on the island at one time. Now most people go to the mainland to work.

Living on an island with no shops means there is always the inconvenience of having to go across the water for any food or other supplies. The community is so close though that it is quite normal to borrow necessities from neighbours to avoid the boat trip. The only non-residential buildings are a children centre and a community hall. These were built by the residents in the 1980s and 1990s and are used for a pre-school, ballet classes, karate, yoga and the island theatre group.

[edit] History

The island was originally named Pitt Island by Governor Phillip, when the island was discovered and explored in 1788. The first European settler to own land on Scotland Island was Andrew Thompson who created a successful salt works there. He then renamed the island after his homeland, Scotland. He also built boats there up until his death in 1810. The island as a whole was sold several times in the nineteenth century to various people before being divided and sold off in 1906. Permanent residents only took up residence in the 60s. Power was only connected to the island in 1967.

[edit] Location and size

Scotland Island is about 1 km in diameter. Its highest point is about 120 metres above sea level. It is a 3 km walk around the circumference and takes about 40 minutes. Pittwater is a tidal waterway in the south-eastern part of Broken Bay, in the Hawkesbury River. To the east is Newport, west is Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, south is Church Point and Bayview. The Pittwater connects to the ocean to the north, past Palm Beach.

[edit] Physical environment

Around 18 thousand years ago Scotland Island was just a hill, but after the last ice age the sea levels rose, flooding Pittwater, making it an island. The water surrounding it is saltwater which flows in from the Pacific Ocean/ Tasman Sea. There are many small beaches, but they are not naturally sandy. They consist mainly of mud, mangroves and rocks. The main beach is near Tennis Wharf. There are no rivers or cliffs, but some small caves towards the top of the island. The top of the island is sandstone and the lower part consists of shale.