9. Village of North Harbour 
North Harbour Reserve 

Historically, this area is one of the oldest parts of Manly, dating back to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Manly derives its name from Captain Arthur Phillip's description of the 'manly natives' that greeted him, and a subsequent map by Captain John Hunter placed Manly Cove off North Harbour reserve. Surveyor John Oxley noted in 1827 that the land in North Harbour had "long been pointed out as a proper situation to be reserved for the site of a village". It was particularly attractive because three fresh water streams could supply the potential village and one of them, the waterfall flowing beneath the bridge at Gourlay Avenue, can still be seen. The village was laid out in 1828 but the area had attracted settlement well before then. The map below shows a small hut once occupied by John Fincham who had arrived with the Third Fleet in 1791, and he was subsequently granted Lot 19 in the Village. Improved roads and reliable motor transport in the 1920s contributed significantly to the changes that turned the Village of North Harbour into the suburb of Balgowlah. In 1938 the large sandy bay which had originally extended to Condamine Street was reclaimed and made into the present park. 

Courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW 

10. Dalley's Castle 

In Gilbert Park near Tower Street An imposing residence called Marinella, or place by the sea, more popularly known as Dalley's Castle, once occupied the site of the flats opposite the position of this plaque. William Bede Dalley (1831-1888) has a statue in Hyde Park and memorials in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney and St Paul's Cathedral, London dedicated to him. He was born in Sydney of an English Protestant father and Irish Catholic mother, both ex-convicts. His intellect and powerful oratory were noticed by his mentor, Archbishop Polding, who encouraged him to enter journalism, law and politics. He became NSW Attorney-General and in 1885 served as Acting Premier.

Photographer Leon Cayley Courtesy: Manly Library 

Dalley had a passion for grand homes. He built the mansion Clairvaux, overlooking Rose Bay, with its great view of Sydney Harbour. He sold it immediately after his wife's early death on 17 January 1881, which left him with five young children under eight years old. He bought the site opposite on 15 December 1882 erecting the building shown in the photograph. Despite its imposing appearance, other photographs taken at the rear suggest that it was only partially completed. He owned the property for a mere five and a half years. Dogged by sickness he sold it in 1888 and died five months later in Sydney, at the relatively young age of 57. His funeral was attended by 6000 people and among the floral tributes was a wreath of flannel flowers collected at Manly and presented by the Municipality. Dalley's Castle was owned by the McGaw family for many years and then in the 1930s it became the Camden Grammar School. It was eventually demolished in 1939. Part of the land was acquired by the Housing Commission, and the flats Marinella were erected and opened by the Minister for Housing, Clive Evatt, on the 3rd of June 1950. 

Dalley Park 
(On reverse of 'Dalley's Castle' plaque) 

The original name of Dalley Park was Tower Hill Park, a name that is still used on formal land records. This older name goes back to Manly's earliest beginnings when Henry Gilbert Smith laid out Manly much as it is today. Several parks and open spaces were incorporated into the design. An 1855 plan shows this area as Tower Hill Park with a tower marked thereon. This tower was in fact a Camera Obscura. This was a novelty of the time where, in a darkened room, optical images of the surrounding countryside were projected on to a screen. The above photograph of the tower was taken shortly before its demolition and does not show the original dome that housed the viewing lens. 15 10 The current name Dalley Park is misleading in that the park was never owned by William Dalley who built Dalley's Castle which once stood nearby. (see reverse plaque). Manly Council was constituted in 1877 and in 1879 H.G. Smith generously donated many of Manly's parks and open spaces to Manly Council including this park. A small parcel of land embracing the tower and adjacent cottage was excised from the park and sold by H.G. Smith in 1878. For some years this was part of the Dalley's Castle estate, but was eventually bought by Council in 1920 and is now incorporated in the park.

Photograph by Frank Bell Courtesy: Manly Art Gallery & Museum

Manly Lagoon, described on the reverse of this plaque, forms the northern boundary of the Manly local government area. It could only be crossed at the entrance at low tide. In 1885 a footbridge was constructed across the lagoon entrance by real estate developers which facilitated land sales in the Queenscliff area by improving access to Manly. The lagoon then was extensive and there were few houses in the vicinity. The words of Francis Myers author of Beautiful Manly reveal this. He recommended stopping on the bridge to admire the view. He said: It is most divine on an afternoon with the sun well down the hills, and a silvery light upon all the broad water. The wet rocks then upon the Queenscliff side glisten through all their gleaming leaves, and there is a glory upon the pines that clothe the little convent hill, and far up the flat the light sprays of the oaks are as feathers of gold above the swart growth of 17 scrub and ti-tree. With a sufficient light through their shadowy depths the forest-bearing hills shut the picture in. The convent hill mentioned above was the Star of the Sea Convent which was located on a property purchased by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Order in 1881. The land extended along the banks of Manly Lagoon and from the ocean front to Pittwater Road. Much of the land was later subdivided and sold. The original stone house was replaced in 1931 and the name of the school latinised to Stella Maris. In 1918 Manly and Warringah Councils replaced the footbridge with a vehicular bridge which was widened in the 1930s and eventually replaced with the present one in 1990. 

Photograph courtesy: Manly Art Gallery & Museum 

11. Manly Lagoon 
(On reverse of 'Queenscliff Bridge' plaque) 

Early maps name this area Curl Curl Lagoon but the name was later changed to Manly Lagoon. Manly Lagoon is fed by a large catchment area including the areas of Warringah Mall and Manly Dam. Much of this area was marshy wetlands. A large part of the low lying land has been reclaimed particularly in the 1920s by Mr A.T. Keirle, a one time Mayor of Manly, after whom Keirle Park is named. The areas reclaimed also include Manly Golf Course, Lagoon Park, Hinkler Park, Warringah Golf Course (south of Kentwell Road) and Nolan Reserve. Market gardens sprang up along the creeks which fed into the lagoon at Manly Vale and Brookvale. Hinkler Park was originally an island and the lagoon flowed either side of it. In the 1950s, the southern flow was infilled as part of roadworks to accommodate Pittwater Road. Urban growth has resulted in increased pollution of the lagoon. This problem is being addressed jointly by Manly and Warringah Councils. 

Photograph courtesy: Manly Library

This plaque overlooks the southern end of the early road from North Harbour, Balgowlah, to Long Reef, Collaroy. Even today Condamine Street, Old Pittwater Road and Pittwater Road mark much of the old route. The road and its thirteen bridges were built in 1826 by James Jenkins (1776-1835) at a personal cost of £300. He needed the road to transport produce from his Long Reef farm to North Harbour for the water crossing to Sydney's markets. On shore below this plaque, Jenkins built a small stone house and a landing place for his boat. The choice of this location was no doubt influenced by the presence of a constant flowing stream. When he petitioned Governor Darling for this land in March 1827 he reported that he needed these facilities because leaving his horse tied to a tree, its harness secreted in the bush, and his cart out in the open, meant that "any malicious or felonious person" could steal them. He worried, too, about his boat and its usefulness to "every fugitive convict or other evil disposed persons." Jenkins himself, was a convict who arrived in Sydney on the Coromandel in 1802. In the space of a few years he established himself in boat building, stonemasonry and farming. He lived with his family in Kent Street, Sydney, and owned 1740 acres (704 hectares) of land extending from Mona Vale to Dee Why and 2½ acres at North Harbour. A substantial part of the Jenkins estate was given to the Salvation Army by his daughter Elizabeth who died in 1900. When King Avenue was built in 1920, the site of Jenkins's stone house became 3 King Avenue. 

13. Bridging the Spit 
Spit Bridge, Avona Crescent 

As early as 1829, there was a rowing boat service to ferry passengers across Middle Harbour. In about 1850, Peter Ellery began a hand operated punt service. This proved inadequate and in 1888-89, proposals for a low level bridge at The Spit which could be opened for yachts was submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works to the Legislative Assembly. Plans were also prepared for a steam punt designed to carry eight ordinary sized buggies in one trip with a crew of two. It was planned that this punt would operate until the bridge was completed and then be removed to another site. A high level bridge to take a railway line across Middle Harbour was also proposed at the time.

Photograph courtesy: Manly Art Gallery & Museum

The steam punt, introduced in 1889 became a reality. The low level bridge was to follow 35 years later. The high level bridge and railway to this day have not eventuated. Public demand for a tram service to connect Manly to North Sydney via The Spit resulted in a Spit to Manly service being established in 1911. Passengers coming from North Sydney on the tram service had to alight at the Mosman side of The Spit, transfer to the punt on foot, then join another tram for the trip to Manly. Although the punt 'bridged' The Spit, it was a drawnout journey and unpleasant in inclement weather. In 1922 Manly Municipal Council Alderman A.A. Kemp proposed that Manly and Mosman Councils in conjunction with the Tramways Department build a low level bridge with tolls levied to pay for it. The most favoured design would carry two lines of tramway and cost £150,000. Timber was to be used in the construction of what was intended to be a temporary structure. However, the bridge actually built was without the tramlines and cost about £70,000. The bridge was opened on 23rd December 1924 by Premier Sir George Fuller. The toll ceased in March 1930 and from that date the bridge was maintained, managed and administered by the NSW Public Works Department With the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the land north of Middle Harbour was becoming more closely settled, the Spit Bridge could no longer cope with the volume of traffic using it. A new bridge was needed, but the outbreak of World War II delayed its construction. It was not until 1958 that a replacement bridge was constructed. Unfortunately, future growth in population and car traffic were not addressed in planning the new bridge. The Spit Bridge was designed as a low level bridge with an opening span.