Manly Beach

Manly Beach is about 17 kilometres north-east of the city centre (CBD). It sits on an isthmus: the Pacific Ocean is on the eastern side and Sydney Harbour on the western side. The beach curves for about two kilometres and is split into three sections. From north to south these are Queenscliff, North Steyne and South Steyne, with a rocky headland at each end. A promenade lined with Norfolk Island pines runs behind the sand, backed by cafés, shops and apartment buildings. It is one of Sydney's best-known beaches and draws both residents and visitors.

History

• Before European settlement, the Gayamaygal people, also recorded as the Kayimai, lived in the Manly area.
• They lived by fishing, gathering shellfish and hunting.
• How the clan fits into the wider groupings of the Sydney coast is recorded differently across sources, and the language-group labels often applied to the region are contested.
• The name "Manly" comes from Captain Arthur Phillip. In January 1788, while exploring Port Jackson, he met Aboriginal men near the shore and named the spot Manly Cove after their confidence and bearing.
• European settlement was slow at first. In the 1850s, Henry Gilbert Smith bought land across the peninsula and set out to turn it into a seaside resort for Sydney.
• He built a pier, laid out streets, planted Norfolk Island pines along the shore and started ferry services to Circular Quay.
• The ferry trip became part of the appeal, bringing people over for swimming, picnics and holidays.
• By the late nineteenth century, hotels and guest houses had made Manly one of Sydney's main seaside destinations.

Beach Characteristics and Facilities

• The beach faces east into the ocean swell. The sand is fine and the surf is consistent, which makes it popular with surfers, bodyboarders and swimmers.
• Surf Life Saving patrols run during the swimming season, and flags mark the safest areas. Conditions shift through the day with the tides, currents and waves.
• A paved promenade follows the sand, shaded by Norfolk Island pines. It is shared by walkers, runners and cyclists, with parks and picnic areas behind it.
• Amenities along the foreshore include change rooms, showers, toilets, drinking fountains, bike paths and volleyball nets, and there are three surf lifesaving clubs, at South Steyne, North Steyne and Queenscliff.
• The Manly Surf Pavilion, one of the area's older buildings, stands at the southern end.
• From the southern end, a path along the rocks leads to Shelly Beach. On the way is the Fairy Bower rock pool, a saltwater pool built by local residents in 1929 in Cabbage Tree Bay.
• It is triangular, about 20 metres long, with calmer water than the open beach and good snorkelling nearby. On its edge sit the Oceanides, or Sea Nymphs, sculptures by Helen Leete from 1997.
• The originals were ceramic; after a storm damaged them in 2016 they were recast in bronze and put back in 2017. They are one of the area's best-known landmarks and are photographed often.

Facts and Curiosities

• The ferry between Circular Quay and Manly Wharf is one of Sydney's best-known trips. It covers about seven nautical miles across the harbour in around 30 minutes, or about 18 minutes on the fast ferry. From the wharf it is a few minutes' walk across the peninsula to the beach.
• In 1903, Manly was one of the first places in Australia to allow daytime sea bathing, overturning rules that had limited swimming to night-time.
• In 1964, the beach hosted the first World Surfing Championships. Australians won both titles: Midget Farrelly took the men's and Phyllis O'Donell the women's, in front of a crowd of about 60,000.
• The waters off the southern end are part of the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, where fishing is banned to protect marine life, including blue groper, wobbegong sharks and sea dragons.
• The beach also connects to the Manly to Spit Walk, a coastal track that runs past beaches, bushland, lookouts and parts of Sydney Harbour National Park.