North Shore (Sydney)
The
North Shore (or
Northern Suburbs) is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area of northern
Sydney, in the state of
New South Wales,
Australia. It usually refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of
Sydney Harbour between
Middle Harbour and the
Lane Cove River but is often used as a description for the whole northern district.
The
Lower North Shore usually refers to the suburbs which are adjacent to the harbour such as
Mosman,
Cremorne,
Cammeray,
North Sydney,
Lane Cove and
Gladesville. The Lower North Shore has an eastern boundary adjacent to Middle Harbour, or at the Roseville Bridge in the quiet bushy suburbs of Castle Cove and Roseville Chase. The
Upper North Shore usually refers to the suburbs north-west of
Chatswood in the upper reaches of
Ku-ring-gai and including suburbs such as
St. Ives,
Pymble and
Turramurra.
After the establishment of
Sydney in
1788, settlement of the North Shore of the harbour was quite limited. The first settler was James Milson. 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 chopping down many of the tall trees which grew there, boatbuilding, and some orchard farming in the limited areas of good soil. The
North Shore Line was originally built in the
1890s to link the settlements in the area, and suburban development gradually expanded. However access to
Sydney, located on the southern shore of the harbour, remained very limited. The completion of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge in
1932 marked the commencement of a massive expansion of suburbs on the North Shore between
1932 and the
1970s.
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 and
abseiling and
bouldering around
Lindfield.
The main transport routes on the North Shore are the
Pacific Highway and the
North Shore Line which provide access to downtown
Sydney over the
Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Significant commercial and retail centres on the North Shore include
North Sydney,
Crows Nest,
Chatswood,
St Leonards,
Gordon, and
Hornsby.
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North Shore Granny Murders
