Sydney Heads

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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.

Contents 1 North Head 2 South Head 3 Middle Head 4 References

[edit] North Head

North Head is a headland to the south 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

1. ^ North Head Quarantine Station. Department of Environment & Conservation (NSW). Retrieved on April 18, 2006.
2. ^ Former School of Artillery, North Head. Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. Retrieved on April 18, 2006.