Avalon Beach
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Avalon Beach is a northern beachside
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, in the state of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia. It is 28 kilometres north of the
Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, 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 ...
, in the
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of
Northern Beaches Council The Northern Beaches Council is a local government areas of New South Wales, local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the a ...
, in the
Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...
region. The area was previously called Avalon, with the name Avalon Beach being assigned during a change in boundaries and names in the Pittwater region in 2012.


History

The Pittwater and Northern Beaches area was formerly inhabited by the Garigal or Caregal people in a region known as Guringai country.


European settlement

Avalon was named after the mythical
Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...
, a legendary island in
Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...
mythology. According to legends, Avalon was an earthly paradise and the final resting place of
King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
.''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia , page 13 The first land grant in the area was to John Farrell in 1827. In 1833 a land grant was made to Australia's first Catholic priest, John Joseph Therry, by Governor Bourke. A further grant of 280 acres made in 1837 meant that Therry's holdings covered most of the peninsula from Newport to Whale Beach. He built a church in this area but his plans for a settlement never eventuated. After he died, the land was left to the Jesuit order and was then sold to help finance the rebuilding of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. In the 1920s, the area was still known as 'Priest's Flat'. Arthur J Small handled a subdivision in 1921 and chose the name Avalon. Lots were sold for £100 each and included two year's free membership in the local golf club. Significant housing developments took place during the 1920s. The architect Alexander Stewart Jolly designed a number of houses that were built in the Avalon area in that period. '' Loggan Rock'' was a flamboyant log cabin combined with a stone tower; the combination of logs and rocks gave rise to the name. The house is heritage-listed. ''Careel House'' is a bungalow made of stone that was quarried in the area. Nowadays it is on the Whale Beach side of the boundary. It is also heritage-listed. ''Hy Brasil'', located near Clareville, was built in 1936, but was originally known as ''The Gem''. Later it was bought by Ted Herman, son of the painter Sali Herman, who changed the name, using the name of a mythical island west of Ireland. It is heritage-listed. A sandstone cottage known as ''Wickham'', designed by
Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...
, was demolished with council approval in 1994. Another significant development was the creation of Ruskin Rowe in 1950. This street was designed as an estate by the architect Harry Ruskin Rowe, son of the architect Thomas Rowe. Rowe created covenants to preserve the character of the estate, but they have been ignored to an extent over the years. Nevertheless, the estate is heritage-listed because of its historic significance, as well as its scientific significance in preserving the bushland environment of the area.


Early subdivision plans

File:Avalon Beach Estate Plateau Rd, Park Reserve, 1921-1926.jpg, Avalon Beach Estate Plateau Rd, Park Reserve, 1921–1926 File:Avalon Beach Central Estate, Avalon Pde, Barrenjoey Rd, 1921-1926.jpg, Avalon Beach Central Estate, Avalon Pde, Barrenjoey Rd, 1921–1926 File:Avalon Beach Estates, Central Rd, Plateau Rd, 1921-1926.jpg, Avalon Beach Estates, Central Rd, Plateau Rd, 1921–1926 File:Avalon Sanctuary Estate, Park Ave, 1921-1926.jpg, Avalon Sanctuary Estate, Park Ave, 1921–1926


Heritage listings

Avalon Beach has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 32 Plateau Road: Walter Burley Griffin Lodge * 111 Whale Beach Road: Loggan Rock


Demographics

According to the of population, there were 10,379 residents in Avalon Beach. 74.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 9.5%, New Zealand 1.9% and United States of America 1.4%. 91.0% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 53.5%,
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
16.7% and
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
15.2%.


Commercial areas

Avalon Beach features an RSL club, a surf club, bowling and sailing clubs; a golf club, a supermarket, shops, offices, cafes and a cinema. Cuisines include French, Vietnamese, Italian, Mexican, American Diner, Japanese, Thai and other Asian. There is a book shop, hairdresser, artisan bakery, petrol station, Red Cross Shop, bottle shop, many real estate agents, hardware store, florists and many homewares and dress shops. It is unique in that this large commercial centre is separated from the beach only by the road, a fact which until recently was used to argue against commercialisation of the beach side buildings themselves as restaurants and cafes were already so close to the beach.


Sport and recreation

Avalon Beach is a
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
beach and has a 25-metre salt water rock pool at the south end. It is renowned for its rich orange-coloured sand (that indicate the presence of
iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...
), which contrasts to the typical yellow coloured beaches in the eastern suburbs. Avalon Beach SLSC members patrol Avalon Beach. Several former surfing world champions are also past or current Avalon residents, including Ben Player. Avalon Soccer Club, established 1982, has over 80 teams and 1000 registered players. Avalon Junior Rugby League Club has contributed several players active in the Australian National Rugby League. Avalon also has a small nine-hole
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
course. The former Pittwater Council created the Bangalley Headland Bicentennical Walk, which goes through part of the Careel Headland Reserve. The track starts at Whale Beach Road and goes to Marine Parade. The council also proposed a Plan of Management for the Bicentennial Walk in 2001, and adopted it in 2002. St Michaels Cave is an interesting coastal feature.


Schools

* Barrenjoey High School * Avalon Public School * Maria Regina Catholic Primary School * Montessori public school on the former grounds of Barrenjoey Highschool


Culture/politics

An episode of the American
television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...
'' was shot at Avalon Beach in the late 1990s. Producers of the show, seeking to relocate from their
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
n base due to cost constraints, proposed a full relocation to Avalon and promised an upgrading of the SLSC in return, painting a huge sign saying "Avalon Beach" across the surf club. However, following complaints from residents (supported by former world surfing champion and local property owner Mark Warren), the series moved instead to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. The anti-''Baywatch'' supporters were led by former Pittwater mayor Alex McTaggart, who was subsequently elected to NSW State Parliament for two years. In 2011–13 there was a move by the Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving club officials, led by Christine Hopton, to replace the existing surf club. The development went ahead despite opposition from local residents in the land and environment court. Australian drama series '' Blue Water High'' was set at Avalon Beach, and the series was filmed there.


Gallery

File:(1)Loggan Rock-1.jpg, ''Loggan Rock'', designed by Alexander Stewart Jolly File:(1)Careel Head-2.jpg, Careel Head File:(1)Bangalley Head.jpg, Bangalley Head File:(1)St Marks Avalon.jpg, St Mark's Church File:(1)Baptist Church Avalon.jpg, Baptist Church File:(1)Whale Beach Road house-1.jpg, Home in Whale Beach Road designed to blend in with the bush File:Avalon township-1w.jpg, Avalon Beach town centre


Notable residents

* Yahoo Serious (1953-), actor and
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
* Mandy Zieren (1978-), competitive bodyboarder


References

{{Beaches of New South Wales Suburbs of Sydney Beaches of Sydney Surfing locations in New South Wales Northern Beaches Council