Canada Bay is an estuarine bay on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

, in the inner-west 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 the innermost inlet of the larger Hen and Chicken Bay. Two other bays to the north of Canada Bay are two other bays named for Canadian internment camps for convicts involved in the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

: * Exile Bay – surrounded by Massey Park Golf Club and Prince Edward Park * France Bay – surrounded by residential area of

Cabarita, New South Wales Cabarita is a bayside suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabarita is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...

Location and features

The shoreline of Canada Bay is largely open parkland, with some residential use to the north and east. The

City West Link Road City West Link is a link road connecting Parramatta Road and the Western Distributor through the Inner West suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was bypassed by the WestConnex project upon its completion in November 2023. This na ...

, a major arterial road, runs along the southern shore of the bay. A

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 ...

on the shore of the bay is named after it, as is the

City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Municipality of Concord, Concord an ...

, 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 ...

encompassing a large portion of inner-western Sydney.

History

The name Canada Bay honours a link between Australia and Canada. Following the

of 1837 to 1838, two Irish and 58 French Canadian rebels were deported to Australia. At the request of the local

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, they were brought to Sydney. Imprisoned at Longbottom Stockade (which was located at what is now

Concord Oval Concord Oval (also Waratah Stadium) is a rugby football stadium in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Concord, Australia. The stadium can hold 5000 people, as of November 2022, down from 20,000 when it opened in 1985. , it is used mostly for r ...

), the convicts broke stone for the construction of

Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. S ...

and collected

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

shells for making

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

. In 1842, the

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

were allowed to work outside the prison. Between 1843 and 1844, all received pardons and, except for two people who died and one (Joseph Marceau) who settled in

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...

all returned to Canada. After the rebellions, the Australian

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

and High Commissioner to Canada recommended that

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

grant responsible self-government to the

Union of Upper and Lower Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Repo ...

. In the 1850s, the Australian colonies achieved responsible government and

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

. Many parts of Canada Bay are a reminder of this history: Exile Bay, France Bay, Durham Street, Marceau Drive, Polding Street and Gipps Street. Bayview Park, occupying the headland at the northern end of the bay, has a plaque that honours the exiles and marks the point of disembarkation.

References

Bays of New South Wales Parramatta River {{Sydney-geo-stub