Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour,

Middle Harbour Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi–mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Austra ...

, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

(part of the South Pacific Ocean). It is the location of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney. Port Jackson, in the early days of the colony, was also used as a shorthand for Sydney and its environs. Thus, many botanists, see, e.g, Robert Brown's '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'', described their specimens as having been collected at Port Jackson. Many recreational events are based on or around the harbour itself, particularly Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations. The harbour is also the starting point of the

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately . The race is run i ...

. The waterways of Port Jackson are managed by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales ...

Sydney Harbour National Park The Sydney Harbour National Park is an Australian national park comprising parts of Port Jackson, Sydney and its foreshores and various islands. The national park lies in New South Wales and was created progressively, from 1975. The nationa ...

protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks and picnic areas.

History

At the time of the European arrival and colonisation, the land around Port Jackson was inhabited by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal,

Cammeraygal The Cammeraygal, variously spelled as Cam-mer-ray-gal, Gamaraigal, Kameraigal, Cameragal and several other variations, are one clan of the 29 Darug tribes who are united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunt ...

, and

Wangal The Wangal people ( Wanegal or Won-gal,) are a clan of the Dharug ( ?) Aboriginal people whose heirs are custodians of the lands and waters of what is now the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, centred around the Municipality of Strathf ...

. The Gadigal inhabited the land stretching along the south side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head, in an arc west to the present

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

. The Cammeraygal lived on the northern side of the harbour. The area along the southern banks of the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Se ...

to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora inhabited Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), south to the Georges River and west to Parramatta.

Cook's naming of Port Jackson

The first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour was by Lieutenant

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

in 1770. Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson, one of the Lords Commissioners of the British Admiralty, and Judge Advocate of the Fleet. As the ''Endeavour'' sailed past the entrance at Sydney Heads, Cook wrote in his journal "at noon we were...about 2 or 3 miles from the land and abrest of a bay or harbour within there appeared to be a safe anchorage which I called Port Jackson."

First Fleet

Eighteen years later, Port Jackson saw the arrival of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

. On 21 January 1788, after arriving at

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to sound the entrance and examine Cook's Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed overnight at Camp Cove, just inside the South Head, then moved up the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove and then Manly Cove, before returning to Botany Bay on the afternoon of 24 January. Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender '' Supply'' on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney. In his first dispatch from the colony back to England, Governor Phillip noted that: Port Jackson was described as a "capacious harbour, equal, if not superior to any yet known in the world", that "sheltered

anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

for the ships" and provided "a suitable landing place on rocks on the western side of the cove, relatively level land at the head of the cove, and a run of fresh water", in addition to it being "capable of affording security to a much larger fleet than would probably ever seek for shelter or security in it." Royal Navy officer David Blackburn also described it as a "fine Harbour as Any in the World, with water for any Number of the Largest ships."

Later events

The

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was ...

, the United States Navy battle fleet, arrived in Port Jackson in August 1908 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. From 1938, seaplanes landed in Sydney Harbour on Rose Bay, making this Sydney's first international airport.

Attack on Sydney Harbour

In 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay to the

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

at Georges Head, on the other side of the harbour. On the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom net's central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process. A second midget submarine came to grief in Taylor's Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS ''Chicago'' (both missed) before leaving the harbour. In November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydney's Northern Beaches. The

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

boom net was demolished soon after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, which can be viewed on Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay. Today, the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the midget submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island, Sydney.

Fortifications

Fort Denison is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Harbour. There are fortifications at Sydney Heads and elsewhere, some of which are now heritage listed. The earliest date from the 1830s, and were designed to defend Sydney from seaborn attack or convict uprisings. There are four historical fortifications located between Taronga Zoo and Middle Head, Mosman, they are: the

Middle Head Fortifications The Middle Head Fortifications is a heritage-listed former defence establishment and military fortifications and now public space located at Middle Head Road, Middle Head, in the Mosman Council local government area of New South Wales, Austr ...

, the Georges Head Battery, the

Lower Georges Heights Commanding Position The Lower Georges Heights Commanding Position is located in the urban locality of Georges Heights in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Lower Georges Heights Commanding Position was con ...

and a small fort located on

Bradleys Head Bradleys Head is a headland protruding from the north shore of Sydney Harbour, within the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after the First Fleet naval officer William Bradley. The original Aboriginal inha ...

, known as the Bradleys Head Fortification Complex. The forts were built from

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

quarried on site and consist of various tunnels, underground rooms, open batteries and casemated batteries, shell rooms,

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications ...

s, barracks and trenches.

Geography

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 million cubic metres. The perimeter of the estuary is 317 kilometres. According to the

Geographical Names Board of New South Wales The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority of the Department of Customer Service in the Government of New South Wales, is the official body for naming and recording details of places and geographical names in the s ...

, Port Jackson is "a harbour which comprises all the waters within an imaginary line joining North Head and South Head. Within this harbour lies North Harbour, Middle Harbour and Sydney Harbour." Port Jackson extends westward from the single entrance known as Sydney Heads (North and South Heads) and encompasses all tidal waters within North Harbour,

, Sydney Harbour,

and Lane Cove River. 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. Many of these bays include

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...

. The

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...

extends from Circular Quay.

Headlands and peninsulas

East to west, north side: * North Head * Dobroyd Head * Middle Head * Georges Head *

Cremorne Point Cremorne Point is a harbourside suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cremorne is located 6 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Cremor ...

Kurraba Point Kurraba Point is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore (Sydney), North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kurraba Point is located 4 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australi ...

* Kirribilli * McMahons Point * Balls Head * Berry Island East to west, south side * South Head *

Point Piper Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra. Point Piper has been historically ...

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local government area of Municipali ...

Potts Point Potts Point is a small and densely populated suburb in inner-city Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Potts Point is located east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Pott ...

* Bennelong Point *

Dawes Point Dawes Point is a suburb of the City of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dawes Point is located on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, at the southern end of Sydney Harbour Bridge, adjacent to The ...

Millers Point Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks and is part of the local government area of the City ...

* Pyrmont * Balmain PortJackson2022OSM

Islands

There are several islands within the harbour, including Shark Island, Clark Island, Fort Denison,

Goat Island Goat Island (or Goat Islands) may refer to: Arts * Goat Island (performance group), a Chicago-based company * ''Goat Island'' (play), ''Delitto all'isola delle capre'', by Ugo Betti Places Australia * Goat Island (Port Jackson) in Sydney Harbou ...

, Cockatoo Island, Spectacle Island, Snapper Island and

Rodd Island Rodd Island is a island on the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia. It lies in the centre of Iron Cove, between the suburbs of Drummoyne, Russell Lea, Rodd Point, Haberfield, Lilyfield and Leichhardt. It is located west of the Sydney ...

. Some other former islands, including Garden Island, Glebe Island and Berry Island, have been linked to the shore by land reclamation, though their names often still contain the word "island". Two other former islands, Bennelong Island and Darling Island, are similarly now linked to the mainland, but rarely mentioned as islands. The former Dawes Island was joined to another small island to create Spectacle Island. Exposed at low tide is

Sow and Pigs Reef Sow and Pigs Reef is a rocky reef in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. The reef is situated on the eastern side of the main shipping channel between Middle Head and South Head. It is long and up to wide. Originally the reef was exp ...

, a well-known navigation obstacle near the main shipping lane.

Tributaries and waterways

Tank Stream The Tank Stream is a heritage-listed former fresh water tributary of Sydney Cove and now tunnel and watercourse located in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The ...

was a freshwater course emptying into

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...

. Today it is little more than a stormwater drain but originally it was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales. It originated from a swamp to the west of present-day Hyde Park and at high tide entered Sydney Cove at the intersection of

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

and Pitt Streets. *

is the northern arm of Port Jackson. It begins as a small creek (Middle Harbour Creek) at St Ives. It joins the main waterway between two headlands, Middle Head and Grotto Point Reserve, west of Sydney Heads. *

is the western arm of Port Jackson. The river begins at the confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek west of Parramatta and joins the main waterway between Greenwich Point, Greenwich, and Robinsons Point, Birchgrove. * Lane Cove River rises near Thornleigh and flows generally south for about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). Its catchment area is approximately 95.4 square kilometres (36.8 sq mi). * Tarban Creek, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, enters Port Jackson at Hunters Hill. * Johnstons Creek rises in Stanmore and flows in a generally northward direction, passing through the inner-western suburbs of Forest Lodge, Annandale and Glebe. The creek passes beneath the stands of the now demolished Harold Park Paceway prior to emptying into Rozelle Bay at Bicentennial Park, Glebe. Orphan School Creek is a tributary. * Duck River is a perennial stream and southern tributary of the Parramatta River.

Climate

Port Jackson has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen: ''Cfa'') with warm, somewhat humid summers and mild to cool winters, with moderate rainfall spread throughout the year. Due to its exposed proximity to the Tasman Sea, it is slightly cooler, wetter and windier than Observatory Hill to the west. In addition to featuring the lowest maximum summer temperatures in the Sydney region (averaging just 24.4 °C (75.9 °F)), Port Jackson is also least affected by extreme heat due to frequent

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes a ...

s. Conversely, winter nights are among the warmest in Sydney, and rarely dip below , although

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

often occurs and may be disruptive. Port Jackson's weather station is located within a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

just south of Georges Head at

Georges Heights Georges Heights is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman, adjoining Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Georges Heights is located in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North ...

in Mosman and is adjacent to the suburbs of

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Point Piper Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra. Point Piper has been historically ...

and Watsons Bay, which are on Port Jackson's east side towards the Pacific Ocean.

, a bay in Port Jackson's west side that includes Circular Quay, is more proximate to the Observatory Hill weather station, and therefore the climate data below does not apply to that vicinity.

Infrastructure

Bridges

Port Jackson is bridged from north to south by the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Gladesville Bridge, the

Ryde Bridge The Ryde Bridge(s), also called the Uhrs Point Bridge, are two road bridges that carry Concord Road, part of the A3, across Parramatta River from in the northern suburbs of Sydney to in Sydney's inner west, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

, and the

Silverwater Bridge Silverwater Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge that spans the Parramatta River west of the central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge carries Silverwater Road (A6) over the river to link Silverwater i ...

. Other bridges spanning Port Jackson waterways are Pyrmont Bridge spanning Darling Harbour; the Anzac Bridge (formerly known as the Glebe Island Bridge), spanning Blackwattle Bay; the Iron Cove Bridge spanning Iron Cove; the Spit Bridge spanning Middle Harbour; the

Roseville Bridge The Roseville Bridge, is a pre-stressed concrete box girder road bridge that carries Warringah Road, part of the A38 across Middle Harbour, located adjacent to the suburb of , in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge is one of two c ...

spanning Middle Harbour; the

Tarban Creek Bridge The Tarban Creek Bridge is a prestressed concrete arch bridge that carries the Burns Bay Road across the Tarban Creek, located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The bridge is situated between the Gladesv ...

spanning Tarban Creek. The original Meadowbank

carried two railway tracks, now reduced to pedestrian traffic only. The new Meadowbank

carries two railway tracks with piers suitable for four tracks. There is a single track rail bridge on the Clyde to Carlingford railway line crossing the Parramatta River near

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controve ...

. A new bridge over

Homebush Bay Homebush Bay is a bay on the south bank of the Parramatta River, in the west of Sydney, Australia. The name is also sometimes used to refer to an area to the west and south of the bay itself, which was formerly an official suburb of Sydney, ...

connects

Wentworth Point Wentworth Point is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, on the eastern edge of the local government area of City of Parramatta. It is on the we ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Punts

Mortlake Ferry The Mortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, is a cable ferry that runs across the Parramatta River in Sydney, connecting Hilly Street in Mortlake and Pellisier Road in Putney. History and heritage The vehicular ferry between Mortlake an ...

Weir

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

between Queens Avenue and Charles Street, Parramatta, called Charles Street Weir, separates the saltwater and tidal waters to the east from the freshwater and non-tidal waters to the west. The weir is marked right near the western (left) edge of the detailed map above.

Tunnels

A road tunnel, the

Sydney Harbour Tunnel The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel was completed and opened to traffic in August 1992 to provide a second vehicular crossing of Sydney Harbour to alleviate congestion on the Sydney Harbour Brid ...

passing underneath the Harbour to the east of the bridge was opened in August 1992. In 2005, 2010 and in 2014 the NSW Government proposed a rail tunnel be constructed to the west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Construction of an extra pair of road tunnels to the west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as part of the

Sydney Metro The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stat ...

project, was approved in January 2017 while the Harbour tunnelling was completed in March 2020. The Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link is planned to offer another motor vehicle tunnel in 2026.

Cruise ship terminals

Permanent cruise ship terminals are located at the

Overseas Passenger Terminal The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping opera ...

at Circular Quay,

and at the

White Bay Cruise Terminal The White Bay Cruise Terminal is a terminal for cruise ships on Sydney Harbour. The terminal is located at the eastern end of the White Bay wharves, on the northern shore of White Bay. It opened on 15 April 2013 as a replacement for Wharf 8 on ...

at White Bay. White Bay's evolution to a cruise terminal came with the closure of Darling Harbour terminal to make way for the Barangaroo development.

Other port facilities

White Bay and adjacent Glebe Island have been working ports since the mid-1800s, handling just about everything from timber and paper, coal, sugar and cement to cars and containers. The NSW Government identified both as vital to the City's economy and in March 2013 announced its commitment to maintaining both as working ports as it frees up neighbouring bays for public access. Glebe Island is Sydney's last remaining deepwater port able to supply the City's ongoing demand for dry bulk goods such as sugar, gypsum and cement. Most of Sydney's port infrastructure has moved south to Botany Bay since the construction of the first container terminals there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Military installations

Former: *

Dawes Point Battery The Dawes Point Battery remains is a heritage-listed former artillery fortification and now visitor attraction located adjacent to the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Hickson Road in inner city Sydney, on the boundary between Daw ...

(1791) * Fort Macquarie (1798) *

(1801) * Fort Phillip (1804) *

(1826) * Bradleys Head Fortification Complex (1840) * Admiralty House (1856) * Fort Denison (1857) * Georges Head Battery (1871) *

Steel Point Battery The Steele Point Battery is a small fort, on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. History Talk of the need for harbour defences was noted as far back as 1857, while referencing ...

(1874) *

North Fort North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

(1936) * Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net (1942) * HMAS Platypus (1967) Current: * HMAS Kuttabul * HMAS Penguin * HMAS Waterhen * HMAS Watson

Maritime transport

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport a ...

operate services from Circular Quay to Manly, Mosman,

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. It ...

, Watsons Bay, Rose Bay, Barangaroo, Balmain, Parramatta,

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Mi ...

and other destinations. Water taxi and water limousine operators offer transport not restricted by timetables or specific routes, and can also provide a service to or from private wharfs and houses on the waterfront. Sightseeing harbour cruises are operated daily from Circular Quay. Whale watching excursions are also operated from Port Jackson. The

, also known as the Putney Punt, crosses the Parramatta River, connecting Mortlake and Putney.

Maritime heritage

Sydney Heritage Fleet Heritage dock Rozelle

Australian National Maritime Museum, at

, has themed exhibitions ranging from Indigenous lore and European seafaring to aquatic sport and maritime defence.

Sydney Heritage Fleet Sydney Heritage Fleet, is the trading name of Sydney Maritime Museum Ltd., a public (non-profit) company in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Fleet restores and operates a number of historic vessels including the barque ''James Craig ...

is a largely volunteer organisation dedicated to the restoration and operation of heritage vessels. The barque '' James Craig'' of the SHF sails regularly from Port Jackson. RAN Heritage Centre at Garden Island has many exhibits, artefacts and documents relating to the history of the Royal Australian Navy. Port Jackson is associated with the voyages of

Richard Siddins Richard Siddins (1770–1846) was an Australian master mariner, harbour pilot and lighthouse keeper. Biography Richard Siddins was born in 1770 (the exact place and date of birth is unknown) and died on 2 July 1846 in New South Wales, Aus ...

Heritage listings

Port Jackson has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Fort Denison *

* SS ''South Steyne'' * Bradleys Head: Bradleys Head Light Tower

Derivative unit of measure

A Sydharb is a unit of volume used in Australia for water, especially in dams and harbours. One sydharb (or sydarb), also called a ''Sydney Harbour'', is the amount of water in the Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson): approximately .

Image gallery

File:Clifftop, hilly homes in Vaucluse in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia.png, Sydney Harbour in distance as seen aloft from Tasman Sea, overlooking the clifftop suburb of

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.QE2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

docked at Sydney Harbour, looking towards Circular Quay and the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...

. File:Sydney Harbour New Years Eve 2012-2013.jpg, Sydney Harbour on New Year's Eve File:Portjackson.jpg, View of Port Jackson and Sydney's CBD. File:Sydney Harbour from Circular Quay in 2012.jpg, Sydney Harbour File:Sydney Harbour Bridge from the air.JPG, Sydney Harbour and Port Jackson displaying aerial views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the

. The CBD is located to the far left of the photo. File:Sydney Harbour, from Dumaresq Road, Rose Bay, New South Wales (2011-01-05) 03.jpg, Port Jackson, as seen from Rose Bay. File:Sydney Harbour panorama view from Millers Point.jpg, This is the view of Sydney Harbour from

. File:Sow and Pigs Reef Marker.jpg, East Channel Marker in Sydney Harbour, colloquially called the East Wedding Cake. File:View of Sydney Harbour.jpg, View of the harbour and the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Vaucluse File:Amazing sunset view from Macquarie's Chair.jpg, View of the harbour from the

rocks in Mrs. Macquarie's Chair File:Observatory Hill Sydney.jpg, View over the Harbour from Observatory Park

References

External links

*
ABC Radio National: "A Living Harbour"
– ''a history of Sydney Harbour''.
Official New South Wales Maritime Authority website

Sydney Harbour Guide from Sydney.com
* Maps maintained by the

New South Wales Maritime Authority NSW Maritime, the trading name of Maritime Authority of New South Wales, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia responsible for marine safety, regulation of commercial and recreational boating and oversight of port operati ...

(legal owner of the harbour bed): *
Port Jackson—east of Harbour Bridge
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Port Jackson—west of Harbour Bridge
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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.''
Sydney Ports
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CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...

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