Shelly Beach

Shelly Beach is about one kilometre south of Manly Beach, in the suburb of Manly. It sits inside Cabbage Tree Bay, on the northern side of the North Head headland, where the coast curves to form a sheltered cove. The beach faces west, which is unusual for a Sydney ocean beach, where beaches face east into the Pacific. It is much smaller than Manly Beach and is bordered by bush-covered headlands, walking tracks and parkland. The water is calm, and the beach is used by swimmers, snorkellers, divers and families.

History

• Before European settlement, the Gayamaygal people, the traditional custodians of the area, fished and gathered shellfish along this coast.
• Middens and rock engravings in the region show Aboriginal people lived here for thousands of years. How the clan fits into the wider groupings of the Sydney coast is recorded differently across sources.
• The beach is named for the shells that once covered the sand and shoreline. Over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries most of these shells were removed, and the beach no longer carries the cover it was named for.
• As Manly grew into a seaside resort, Shelly Beach stayed quieter, attracting people who came to swim, fish and explore the rocks.
• In 2002 the New South Wales government declared Cabbage Tree Bay a no-take aquatic reserve, which protects the marine life and habitats around the beach.

Beach Characteristics and Facilities

• The shape of the bay shelters the beach from open-ocean swell, so the waves are usually much smaller than at Manly and the water stays calm for much of the year.
• This makes it one of Sydney's main spots for snorkelling and scuba diving, helped by clear water and a maximum depth of about 12 metres.
• Divers and snorkellers often enter from the rocks on either side of the bay, where the reefs hold fish, octopus, rays and other marine life.
• Behind the sand is a grassy park with picnic tables, gas barbecues, showers, toilets and a kiosk, and the Boathouse café and restaurant overlooks the bay.
• A paved path, Marine Parade, runs along the shore and links Shelly Beach with South Steyne at the southern end of Manly Beach; part of it is the Cabbage Tree Bay Eco-Sculpture Walk.
• A paid car park sits on the headland above the bay, and a bush track leads up from there into Sydney Harbour National Park.
• The bay has no built rock pool; the whole cove works as a natural swimming area.

Facts and Curiosities

• Shelly Beach faces west, and is often described as the only west-facing beach on the New South Wales coast. This makes it one of the few places on Sydney's ocean coastline where you can watch the sun set over the water.
• The beach sits within the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, which covers about 20 hectares from the southern end of Manly Beach to the Shelly Beach headland.
• Because fishing and collecting are banned, fish come close to shore, even in shallow water. The reserve holds more than 150 species of fish, along with giant cuttlefish, wobbegong sharks, weedy seadragons and a resident green turtle.
• Just off the headland on the northern side of the bay is a surf break known as the Bower, a right-hand point break over a shallow rock reef.
• A track climbs from the southern end of the beach to the Shelly Headland lookout, with views over the ocean, Manly, North Head and Sydney Harbour.