Fingal Bay is the easternmost suburb of the
Port Stephens 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 ...
in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
[ The only population centre is the township of the same name, which itself is named after the adjacent, small, semi-circular bay.]
2021 census
the population of the town was 1,635.[
Except for the township, most of Fingal Bay is included in the Tomaree National Park, which includes forested areas, coastal scrubland, beaches and most of the Fingal headland. The suburb does not include the bay itself.]
Fingal Bay
Fingal Bay is about across at its widest point and from the mouth to the beach.[ The northeastern head of the bay is the Point Stephens headland, which is connected to the mainland via Fingal Spit, a ]sand spit
A spit (cognate with the word for a rotisserie bar) or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drif ...
about long.[ Waters to the northeast of the spit are known as "Fly Roads". Crossing between the mainland and the headland along the spit is considered dangerous. According to a sign on the beach, people have died crossing the spit, which is covered by breaking waves at high tide. The south-western head of the bay is Fingal Head, which is located southeast of the town. Between the two heads, the mouth is over wide.][ The bay includes a sandy beach about long.][
]
History
The bay was originally known as "False Bay", because it could be mistaken for the entrance to Port Stephens. The name "Fingal Bay" appeared on an 1845 map prepared by Captain Phillip Parker King
Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts.
Early life and education
King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coo ...
.[
]
Heritage listings
Fingal Bay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Point Stephens Light on Point Stephens, or Fingal Island.
Tourism campaign
Fingal Spit was a location for the 2006 " So where the bloody hell are you?" advertising campaign filmed for Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is a corporate portfolio agency of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and ...
and appears at the end of the advertisement.
Headland and Point Stephens
The irregularly shaped headland, also known as Fingal Island, covers an area of approximately , most of which is part of the Tomaree National Park, and reaches in height.[ Point Stephens was connected to the mainland prior to the "Maitland gale" in 1891. The southeasternmost point of the headland was named "Point Stephens" by ]Captain Cook
Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...
when he passed on 11 May 1770, honouring Sir Philip Stephens who was Secretary to the Admiralty
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
...
. Stephens was a personal friend of Cook and had recommended him for command of the voyage. It seems Cook's initial choice had actually been Point Keppel (named after Augustus Keppel, a Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty
The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...
), but instead he used Keppel later when he named Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay is a bay in Central Queensland, Australia, at the mouth of the Fitzroy River on the coast of the Coral Sea.
Extent
Keppel Bay extends from Station Point on Curtis Island () in the Gladstone Region to Zilzie Point at Zilzie () ...
. The name first appeared on chart 1070, prepared by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1845.[
]
Lighthouse
As early as 1857, the need for a lighthouse on Point Stephens was identified, due to the proximity to the entrance of Port Stephens, and the dangers of the local coastline to ships. A high stone lighthouse was subsequently constructed in 1862.above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
and has a range of .
Transport
Port Stephens Coaches
Port Stephens Coaches is an Australian bus company operating services in Port Stephens Council, Port Stephens and the Hunter Region.
History
In the 1940s, the Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle to Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Nelson Bay ser ...
operate local services to Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
as well as an express service to 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 ...
.Bus Timetables
Port Stephens Coaches
Notes
References
External links
Coastal Explorer Pacific Touring Route Sydney to Brisbane, Cartoscope, 4th edition, 2004
{{Bays of New South Wales , state=autocollapse
Bays of New South Wales
Headlands of New South Wales
Suburbs of Port Stephens Council
Towns in the Hunter Region
Beaches of New South Wales