Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing
Sydney Harbour, is the
natural harbour of
Sydney,
Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the
Sydney Opera House and
Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of European discovery and colonisation by various tribes including the
Gadigal,
Cammeraygal,
Eora and
Wanegal peoples. The Gadigal people are said to have occupied the land stretching along the south side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head, in an arc west through to
Petersham. The Cammeraygal lived on the northern side of the harbour. The area along the southern banks of the Parramatta River, west of Petersham to
Rose Hill, was reported to belong to the Wanegal. The Eora people lived on the southern side of the harbour, close to where the First Fleet settled.
The harbour's discovery by Europeans is credited to Lt
James Cook in
1770, although he did not enter it. Cook named the harbour after Sir
George Jackson,
Judge Advocate of the Fleet at the time; he noted in his log that "there appears to be a good anchorage". Captain
Arthur Phillip established the first colony in Australia at
Sydney Cove inside Port Jackson in
1788 which was to become the city of Sydney. In his first dispatch from the colony back to England letter noted that "...we 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..."[
1].
Geologically, Port Jackson is a drowned river valley, or
ria. It is 19 km long with an area of 55 km². The estuary's volume at high tide is 562,000 megalitres. The perimeter of the estuary is 317 kilometres.
According to the
Geographical Names Board of NSW, Port Jackson is "a harbour which comprises of all the waters within an imaginary line joining North Head and South Head. Within this harbour lies North Harbour, Middle Harbour and Sydney Harbour." These three harbours extend from the single entrance (known as
Sydney Heads (North and South Heads)). North Harbour is the shortest, and is really just a large bay extending to
Manly. Middle Harbour extends to the north-west. It is bridged at
The Spit and
Roseville. Its headwaters lie in
Garigal National Park. The longest arm, Sydney Harbour, extends west as far as Balmain, where it is fed by the estuaries of the
Parramatta and
Lane Cove rivers. Port Jackson is bridged by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the
ANZAC Bridge (formerly known as the Glebe Island Bridge). A tunnel, the
Sydney Harbour Tunnel passes underneath the Harbour, to the east of the bridge, and in 2005 it was proposed that a third harbour crossing, this time a railway line, be constructed to the west of the bridge. 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. Sydney's major
central business district begins at
Circular Quay, a small bay on the south side that has, over time, had its semi-circle reclaimed by land to the point where it is a rectangular quay. The northern side of the harbour is mainly used for residential purposes.In Australia the size of many bodies of water are referenced back to the size of Sydney Harbour, that is a body of water
x is
y times the size of the Sydney Harbour. For example:
Lake Argyle, the Ord river dam and Australia's largest lake, is variously described as "18 times that of Sydney Harbour" [
2], "8-13 times the size the volume of Sydney Harbour." [
3], and "nine times the size of Sydney Harbour" [
4].
Warragamba Dam in New South Wales and Sydney's major water supply is described as being "4 times the size of Sydney Harbour" [
5]. Lake Eucumbene, one of the major dams in the
Snowy Mountains Scheme, "holds nine times the volume of Sydney Harbour" [
6], or perhaps thirteen times [
7]. The comparison is not confined to dams.
Jervis Bay in New South Wales is "at least 6 times bigger in volume (and 4 times bigger in area) than Sydney Harbour" [
8]; and Boston Bay in
South Australia, on which
Port Lincoln is located, is three and a half times larger than Sydney Harbour.
Port Jackson is maintained by the New South Wales Maritime Authority and the
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.
Islands
There are several islands within the harbour, including
Shark Island,
Clarke Island,
Fort Denison,
Goat Island,
Cockatoo Island,
Spectacle Island,
Snapper Island and
Rodd Island. Some other former islands, including
Bennelong Island and
Garden Island, have subsequently been linked to the shore by land reclamation.
 |
Port Jackson from a helicopter |
Sydney Ferries is a state-owned corporation of the
New South Wales Government providing commuter and tourist passenger
ferry services in
Sydney Harbour.
*
Transport in Sydney*
Sydney Ferries*
NSW Maritime Authority*Maps maintained by the New South Wales Maritime Authority, which legally is the owner of the harbour bed:
**
Port Jackson—east of Harbour Bridge**
Port Jackson—west of Harbour Bridge*
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Established by the Australian Government to plan for the future of former Defence and other special Commonwealth Lands around Sydney Harbour.
*
Geographic Names Board of New South Wales reference to Port Jackson
