North Shore (Sydney)

North Shore Sydney, New South Wales
The Harbour Bridge connecting the North Shore to the Sydney CBD. The North Sydney skyline is visible in the background.
North Shore Approximate centre of the North Shore in Sydney
Coordinates	33°47′44″S 151°10′53″E / 33.79556°S 151.18139°E / -33.79556; 151.18139Coordinates: 33°47′44″S 151°10′53″E / 33.79556°S 151.18139°E / -33.79556; 151.18139
Population	207,241 (2007)[1]
Postcode(s)	various
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
LGA(s)	Hornsby Shire Ku-ring-gai Council Municipality of Lane Cove Municipality of Mosman North Sydney Council Warringah Council City of Willoughby
State electorate(s)	North Shore Willoughby Davidson Ku-ring-gai Lane Cove Wakehurst Hornsby
Federal Division(s)	North Sydney Bradfield Warringah Berowra Mackellar
Localities around North Shore: Hawkesbury River Central Coast Forest District Hills District Northern Suburbs North Shore Northern Beaches Greater Western Sydney Inner West Sydney CBD

The North Shore is a term used to describe the primarily residential area of northern metropolitan Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The term refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of Sydney Harbour up to Hornsby and between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River.

History

Before British settlement, the Lower North Shore was home to the Gorualgal (Mosman and southern Willoughby) and Cammeraygal (North Sydney and Eastern Lane Cove).^[2]

After the establishment of Sydney in 1788, settlement of the North Shore of the harbour was quite limited. One of the first settlers was James Milson who lived in the vicinity of Jeffrey Street in Kirribilli, directly opposite Sydney Cove. The north shore was more rugged than the southern shore and western areas of the harbour and had limited agricultural potential. The early activities in the area included tree felling, boatbuilding and some orchard farming in the limited areas of good soil. The North Shore railway line was built in the 1890s. Access to the Sydney CBD, located on the southern shore of the harbour remained difficult until the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. This led to commencement the development of suburbs on the North Shore.

Cumberland County mapping from 1792 to 1894 indicate that the four local governments that stand today were derived from one: the Parish of Willoughby. From the Parish of Willoughby came the City of Willoughby and the municipalities of Mosman, Lane Cove and North Sydney. North Sydney was formerly known as St. Leonards.

Geography

Family home in Wahroonga, a suburb in the Upper North Shore.

Suburban home on the Upper North Shore.

Tudor revival home in Killara.

Residential home in Lindfield.

Single family home in Killara on the Upper North Shore.

The suburb of Chatswood lies in the centre of the North Shore

Most of the North Shore suburbs are part of the Hawkesbury Plateau, a large sandstone plateau overlaid by a system of ridges and gullies. The Plateau begins north of the Port Jackson and runs up until the Hawkesbury River. Thus much of the North Shore is hilly with many steep valleys running down into the harbour and the rivers on either side. These ridges and valleys were originally populated with dry sclerophyll forest, much of which still remains.

There are many small parks and areas of the sclerophyll forest adjacent to and within residential areas, earning the area the nickname "the leafy North Shore". The Lane Cove National Park and the Garigal National Park include many areas of remnant bushland adjacent to the Lane Cove River and Middle Harbour. There is excellent bushwalking, abseiling and bouldering around Lindfield and North Turramurra. Gordon houses one of Sydney's largest bat colonies in a bat reserve leading to Middle Harbour.

Upper North Shore

The "Upper North Shore" usually refers to the suburbs between Chatswood and Hornsby. It is made up of the handful of suburbs located within Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby Shire councils. The affluent area is known for its clean leafy streets, stately homes and high property prices. However the area is undergoing significant changes with increased urban density along the railway and vegetation clearing since the introduction of the state governments 10/50 tree clearing legislation. Ku-ring-gai was rated as having the number 1 quality of life in Australia (there are 590 Australian Local Government Areas) in the BankWest Quality of Life Index 2008.

Lower North Shore

The Lower North Shore encompasses all of the North Shore's northern shore of Sydney Harbour stretching from the Lane cove River in the west to Middle Head (Mosman) in the east and includes Mosman, Kirribilli and Longueville.

The Lower North Shore usually refers to the suburbs adjacent to the harbour such as Neutral Bay, Waverton, Mosman, Cremorne, Lavender Bay, Milsons Point, Cammeray and North Sydney. The Lower North Shore's eastern boundary is Middle Harbour, or at the Roseville Bridge at Castle Cove and Roseville Chase. The term Lower North Shore encompasses suburbs belonging to the local government areas of Municipality of Mosman, City of Willoughby, Municipality of Lane Cove, Municipality of Hunter's Hill and North Sydney Council.

The region is home to hundreds of parks and reserves, including Sydney Harbour National Park and the Lane Cove National Park. Local sportsgrounds include North Sydney Oval, the region's largest in capacity, followed by Chatswood Oval and Christie Park. Major waterways in the region include Port Jackson, the Lane Cove River, the Parramatta River, Middle Harbour and the many creek systems that branch out from these main aquatic lifelines.

Transport

The main transport routes on the North Shore are Military Road, the Pacific Highway and the Warringah Expressway, and the North Shore, Northern & Western Line, which provide access to the central business district of Sydney over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Many bus routes also serve the area, particularly the lower North Shore, and ferries connect many of the harbourside suburbs with Circular Quay in the central business district.

Commercial areas

Significant commercial and retail centres on the North Shore include North Sydney, Crows Nest, Chatswood, St Leonards, Neutral Bay, Gordon and Hornsby.

The North Shore has two large commercial centres located at North Sydney and Chatswood with many international companies have their Australian or Asia Pacific Headquarters in this part of Sydney. The region's largest central business district at North Sydney, is home to a modern urban skyline of skyscrapers. Although North Sydney has none of Sydney's major shopping centres, it is home to scores of speciality stores and cafés. Chatswood is one of the largest retail areas. It is home to large shopping centres such as Westfield Chatswood, Chatswood Chase and apartment towers such as The Sebel. St Leonards is another large commercial area featuring mostly office space and apartments. Westfield Hornsby is also a major shopping centre.

Landmarks

The Lower North Shore has many unique landmarks such as: The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Taronga Zoo in Mosman, Kirribilli House (Sydney residence of the Prime Minister of Australia), Luna Park and Balmoral Beach. At a Sydney or local level however, landmarks are more plentiful and include: The Lane Cove Azalea Beds, Blues Point Tower, Eden Gardens, the Balmoral Rotunda, the Stanton Library in North Sydney, Lane Cove Plaza, Zenith Towers at Chatswood, Northpoint Tower in North Sydney, Cammeray suspension bridge at Cammeray, Echo Point Park in Roseville Chase, the Royal North Shore Hospital, the Hornsby Water Clock, the 'Forum' in St Leonards and North Sydney Oval.

Landmark churches in the area include St Mary's in North Sydney, Christ Church in Lavender Bay, the Gladesville-Macquarie Chapel and St Paul's in Chatswood.

Events and celebrations

The Willoughby Spring Festival is held throughout the Willoughby local government area, in September each year. The festival lasts for a month and features over 40 events including live music/entertainment, exhibitions, cultural celebrations, business events and many more community activities. The highlight is the annual Willoughby StreetFair where the Chatswood CBD is taken over by market stalls, performers, dancers and musicians. The StreetFair features the Willoughby Street Parade which included over 1,000 participants in 2007.

The Lower North Shore's other main festivals/events include: Tartan Day at Lane Cove, the Guringgai Festival honouring northern Sydney's Aboriginals, the Moocooboola Festival at Hunters Hill, the Mosman Festival, Lane Cove's Cammeraygal Festival, Chinese New Year at Chatswood. Mosman, North Sydney, Willoughby also holds an annual art prize. All local government areas in the region and around the country celebrate Australia Day, which is on 26 January.

Organisations

The local newspapers are the 'Sydney Observer', 'Hornsby Advocate', 'The North Shore Times', 'The Mosman Daily' and the North Shores' local lifestyle publication Northside.

Climate

North Shore has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). Turramurra receives one of the highest rainfalls in the whole of Sydney, with an average of 1400mm per year.^[3] The North Shore is somewhat cooler than other areas of the surrounding Sydney basin in the winter months, and the further inland of the area (particularly the Upper North Shore), the cooler the weather becomes. Climate data is taken from Riverview (temperature) and Turramurra (rainfall).

Gallery

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  A historic home turned function centre in the suburb of Lane Cove.

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  Taronga Zoo

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  The Forum, St Leonards

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  Lavender Bay Wharf

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  Royal North Shore Hospital

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  Wollstonecraft Bay Marina

List of suburbs

References