| Port Jackson | |
|---|---|
_V2.jpg) Port Jackson seen from the air in 2006 | |
  Port Jackson | |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°51′30″S151°14′00″E / 33.85833°S 151.23333°E /-33.85833; 151.23333 |
| River sources | Parramatta,Lane Cove,Middle Harbour |
| Ocean/sea sources | Tasman Sea of theSouth Pacific Ocean |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Islands | Clark,Shark,Goat,Fort Denison |
| Settlements | Sydney |
Port Jackson, commonly known asSydney Harbour, is anatural harbour on the east coast ofAustralia, around whichSydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour,Middle Harbour, North Harbour and theLane Cove andParramatta Rivers. The harbour is an inlet of theTasman Sea (part of theSouth Pacific Ocean). It is the location of significant landmarks such as theSydney Opera House andSydney Harbour Bridge. The location of thefirst European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney.
Port Jackson, in the early days of the colony, was also used as ashorthand for Sydney and its environs. Thus, many botanists, see, e.g.,Robert Brown'sProdromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen,[1] described their specimens as having been collected at Port Jackson.
Many recreational events are based on or around the harbour itself, particularlySydney New Year's Eve celebrations. The harbour is also the starting point of theSydney to Hobart Yacht Race.[2]
The waterways of Port Jackson are managed byTransport for NSW.Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks and picnic areas.[3] The harbour is a globalhotspot for marine and estuarinediversity.[4]
At the time of the European arrival and colonisation, the land around Port Jackson was inhabited by the Eora clans, including theGadigal,Cammeraygal, andWangal. The Gadigal inhabited the land stretching along the south side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head, in an arc west to the presentDarling Harbour. The Cammeraygal lived on the northern side of the harbour. The area along the southern banks of theParramatta River toRose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora inhabited Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), south to the Georges River and west to Parramatta.[5]
The first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour was by LieutenantJames Cook in 1770. Cook named the inlet afterSir George Jackson, one of theLords Commissioners of the British Admiralty, andJudge Advocate of the Fleet.[6] As theEndeavour sailed past the entrance atSydney Heads, Cook wrote in his journal "at noon we were...about 2 or 3 miles from the land and abrest of a bay or harbour within there appeared to be a safe anchorage which I called Port Jackson."
Eighteen years later, Port Jackson saw the arrival of theFirst Fleet. On 21 January 1788, after arriving atBotany Bay, GovernorArthur Phillip took alongboat and twocutters up the coast to sound the entrance and examine Cook's Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed overnight atCamp Cove, just inside the South Head, then moved up the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove and then Manly Cove, before returning to Botany Bay on the afternoon of 24 January. Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed TenderSupply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney. In his first dispatch from the colony back to England, Governor Phillip noted that:[7][8]
We got into Port Jackson early in the Afternoon, and had the satisfaction of finding the finest Harbour in the World, in which a thousand Sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security...I fixed on the one [cove] that had the best spring of Water, and in which the Ships can Anchor so close to the Shore, that at a very small expence...
— GovernorArthur Phillip, 15 May 1788.
Port Jackson was described as a "capacious harbour, equal, if not superior to any yet known in the world", that "shelteredanchorage for the ships" and provided "a suitable landing place on rocks on the western side of the cove, relatively level land at the head of thecove, and a run of fresh water", in addition to it being "capable of affording security to a much larger fleet than would probably ever seek for shelter or security in it." Royal Navy officerDavid Blackburn also described it as a "fine Harbour as Any in the World, with water for any Number of the Largest ships."[7]
TheGreat White Fleet, theUnited States Navy battle fleet, arrived in Port Jackson in August 1908 by order of U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt. From 1938, seaplanes landed in Sydney Harbour onRose Bay, making this Sydney's first international airport.
In 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, theSydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green (Laings) Point,Watsons Bay to thebattery atGeorges Head, on the other side of the harbour. On the night of 31 May 1942,three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom net's central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process. A second midget submarine came to grief in Taylor's Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes atUSSChicago (both missed) before leaving the harbour. In November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydney's Northern Beaches.[9]
Theanti-submarine boom net was demolished soon afterWorld War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, which can be viewed on Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay. Today, theAustralian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour.[10][11] The conning tower of one of the midget submarines is on display at theRAN Heritage Centre,Garden Island, Sydney.[12]
Fort Denison is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of theRoyal Botanic Garden in Sydney Harbour.
There are fortifications atSydney Heads and elsewhere, some of which are now heritage listed. The earliest date from the 1830s, and were designed to defend Sydney from seaborn attack or convict uprisings. There are four historical fortifications located betweenTaronga Zoo and Middle Head,Mosman, they are: theMiddle Head Fortifications, theGeorges Head Battery, theLower Georges Heights Commanding Position and a small fort located onBradleys Head, known as theBradleys Head Fortification Complex. The forts were built fromsandstone quarried on site and consist of various tunnels, underground rooms, open batteries and casemated batteries, shell rooms,gunpowder magazines, barracks and trenches.[13][14]
Geologically, Port Jackson is a drowned river valley, orria. It is 19 km long with an area of 55 km2. The estuary's volume at high tide is 562 million cubic metres. The perimeter of the estuary is 317 kilometres.
According to theGeographical Names Board of New South Wales, Port Jackson is "a harbour which comprises all the waters within an imaginary line joining North Head and South Head. Within this harbour lies North Harbour, Middle Harbour and Sydney Harbour."[15]
Port Jackson extends westward from the single entrance known asSydney Heads (North and South Heads) and encompasses all tidal waters within North Harbour,Middle Harbour, Sydney Harbour,Darling Harbour,Parramatta River andLane Cove River.[16]
The harbour is heavily embayed. The bays on the south side tend to be wide and rounded, whereas those on the north side are generally narrow inlets. Many of these bays includebeaches. TheSydney central business district extends fromCircular Quay.
East to west, north side:
East to west, south side
There are several islands within the harbour, includingShark Island,Clark Island,Fort Denison,Goat Island,Cockatoo Island,Spectacle Island,Snapper Island andRodd Island. Some other former islands, includingGarden Island,Glebe Island andBerry Island, have been linked to the shore by land reclamation, though their names often still contain the word "island". Two other former islands,Bennelong Island and Darling Island, are similarly now linked to the mainland, but rarely mentioned as islands. The formerDawes Island was joined to another small island to create Spectacle Island.[17] Exposed at low tide isSow and Pigs Reef, a well-known navigation obstacle near the main shipping lane.
Port Jackson has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa) with warm, somewhat humid summers and mild to cool winters, with moderate rainfall spread throughout the year. Due to its exposed proximity to the Tasman Sea, it is slightly cooler, wetter and windier thanObservatory Hill to the west. In addition to featuring the lowest maximum summer temperatures in the Sydney region (averaging just 24.4 °C (75.9 °F)), Port Jackson is also least affected by extreme heat due to frequentsea breezes. Conversely, winter nights are among the warmest in Sydney, and rarely dip below 8.0 °C (46.4 °F), althoughfog often occurs and may be disruptive.
Port Jackson's weather station is located within alighthouse just south of Georges Head atGeorges Heights inMosman and is adjacent to the suburbs ofVaucluse,Point Piper andWatsons Bay, which are on Port Jackson's east side towards the Pacific Ocean.Sydney Cove, a bay in Port Jackson's west side that includesCircular Quay, is more proximate to the Observatory Hill weather station, and therefore the climate data below does not apply to that vicinity.
| Climate data for Sydney Harbour (Western Channel Pile Light) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 42.2 (108.0) | 39.4 (102.9) | 38.2 (100.8) | 32.4 (90.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.2 (77.4) | 28.7 (83.7) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.8 (96.4) | 40.8 (105.4) | 38.5 (101.3) | 42.2 (108.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.8 (76.6) | 23.9 (75.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 20.0 (68.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 17.9 (64.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.2 (70.2) | 22.2 (72.0) | 23.6 (74.5) | 21.3 (70.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.7 (72.9) | 21.6 (70.9) | 19.6 (67.3) | 16.8 (62.2) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.6 (61.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 19.7 (67.5) | 21.3 (70.3) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.6 (69.1) | 19.3 (66.7) | 16.8 (62.2) | 13.5 (56.3) | 11.6 (52.9) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.2 (63.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 15.7 (60.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14.8 (58.6) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.2 (55.8) | 10.7 (51.3) | 8.9 (48.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 6.1 (43.0) | 6.2 (43.2) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.0 (51.8) | 12.1 (53.8) | 5.0 (41.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 97.6 (3.84) | 120.6 (4.75) | 120.7 (4.75) | 136.4 (5.37) | 122.5 (4.82) | 138.4 (5.45) | 96.1 (3.78) | 81.3 (3.20) | 70.9 (2.79) | 73.7 (2.90) | 89.2 (3.51) | 78.4 (3.09) | 1,215.8 (47.87) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 8.3 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 103.2 |
| Source 1:Bureau of Meteorology (temperatures, 1996–present)[20] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Bureau of Meteorology,Rose Bay (rainfall, 1928–present)[21]Manly Town Hall (rain days, 1914–1963)[22] | |||||||||||||
Port Jackson is bridged from north to south by theSydney Harbour Bridge, theGladesville Bridge, theRyde Bridge, and theSilverwater Bridge.
Other bridges spanning Port Jackson waterways arePyrmont Bridge spanning Darling Harbour; theAnzac Bridge (formerly known as the Glebe Island Bridge), spanning Blackwattle Bay; theIron Cove Bridge spanningIron Cove; theSpit Bridge spanning Middle Harbour; theRoseville Bridge spanning Middle Harbour; theTarban Creek Bridge spanning Tarban Creek.
The originalMeadowbank Railway Bridge carried theMain Northern railway line, now reduced to pedestrian traffic only. The replacementJohn Whitton Bridge carries two railway tracks with piers suitable for four tracks.
There is a double track light rail bridge on theParramatta Light Rail crossing the Parramatta River nearCamellia.
Bennelong Bridge overHomebush Bay connectsWentworth Point andRhodes.
Aweir between Queens Avenue and Charles Street, Parramatta, called Charles Street Weir,[23] separates the saltwater and tidal waters to the east from the freshwater and non-tidal waters to the west. The weir is marked right near the western (left) edge of the detailed map above.
A road tunnel, theSydney Harbour Tunnel passing underneath the Harbour to the east of the bridge was opened in August 1992.
In 2005, 2010 and in 2014, the NSW Government proposed a rail tunnel be constructed to the west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Construction of a pair of rail tunnels to the west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as part of theSydney Metro project, was approved in January 2017 while the Harbour tunnelling was completed in March 2020.[24][25] The line opened on 19 August 2024.
TheWestern Harbour Tunnel is planned to offer another motor vehicle tunnel in 2026.
Permanent cruise ship terminals are located at theOverseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay,Sydney Cove and at theWhite Bay Cruise Terminal atWhite Bay. White Bay's evolution to a cruise terminal came with the closure of Darling Harbour terminal to make way for theBarangaroo development.[26]
White Bay and adjacent Glebe Island have been working ports since the mid-1800s, handling just about everything from timber and paper, coal, sugar and cement to cars and containers. The NSW Government identified both as vital to the City's economy and in March 2013 announced its commitment to maintaining both as working ports as it frees up neighbouring bays for public access. Glebe Island is Sydney's last remaining deepwater port able to supply the City's ongoing demand for dry bulk goods such as sugar, gypsum and cement.[26]
Most of Sydney's port infrastructure has moved south to Botany Bay since the construction of the firstcontainer terminals there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Former:
Current:
Sydney Ferries operate services fromCircular Quay toCockatoo Island,Double Bay,Manly,Mosman,Neutral Bay,Parramatta,Pyrmont Bay,Taronga Zoo andWatsons Bay.
Water taxi and water limousine operators offer transport not restricted by timetables or specific routes, and can also provide a service to or from private wharfs and houses on the waterfront. Sightseeing harbour cruises are operated daily from Circular Quay. Whale watching excursions are also operated from Port Jackson.
TheMortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, crosses the Parramatta River, connecting Mortlake and Putney.
Australian National Maritime Museum, atDarling Harbour, has themed exhibitions ranging from Indigenous lore and European seafaring to aquatic sport and maritime defence.[27]
Sydney Heritage Fleet is a largely volunteer organisation dedicated to the restoration and operation of heritage vessels. The barqueJames Craig of the SHF sails regularly from Port Jackson.[28]
RAN Heritage Centre atGarden Island has many exhibits, artefacts and documents relating to the history of the Royal Australian Navy.[12]
Port Jackson is associated with the voyages ofRichard Siddins.
TheSydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) has done a great deal of work focused on habitat restoration and restoring the biodiversity of the harbour, including a major program called the Sydney Harbour Research Program around 2012, led byEmma Johnston.[29]Project Restore is an ongoing large-scale project by SIMS and its partner universities that aims to restore different habitat types at the same time, to restore seascapes in Sydney Harbour.[30][31] It encompasses four projects already under way, including the "Living Seawalls" project, which entails covering parts of the harbourseawalls with specially designed tiles that mimic naturalmicrohabitats – with crevices and other features that more closely resemble natural rocks.[32] Project Restore is partly funded by the NSW Government.[33]
Port Jackson has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
ASydharb is a unit of volume used in Australia for water, especially in dams and harbours. One sydharb (or sydarb), also called aSydney Harbour, is the amount of water in the Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson): approximately 500 gigalitres (410,000 acre⋅ft).[38]
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Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence.
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