Phillip Bay, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Phillip Bay
city = Sydney
state = nsw


caption = Yarra Bay at Phillip Bay
lga = City of Randwick
postcode = 2036
pop =
area =
est =
propval =
stategov = Maroubra
fedgov = Kingsford Smith
dist1 = 13
location1= Sydney CBD
near-nw = Matraville
near-n = Matraville
near-ne = Chifley
near-w = Port Botany
near-e = Little Bay
near-sw = Port Botany
near-s = "Botany Bay"
near-se = La Perouse
near-se =
dist1 = 13
dir1 = south-east
location1= Sydney CBD

Phillip Bay is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Phillip Bay is located 13 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. The postcode is 2036.

Phillip Bay is a small suburb on the northern shore of Botany Bay, behind Yarra Bay. It features a small residential area, a beach and recreational areas at Yarra Bay. Yarra Bay House sits on Yarra Point.

History

Aborigines

Aboriginal people were the first to live at Phillip Bay and La Perouse. Their presence was recorded by a French expedition in 1812. A camp was established in 1883, under the Aborigines Protection Board. The settlement has been run by a variety of church and welfare groups over time. The reserve was moved back from the unstable sand to around the Elaroo Avenue area, at the end of the 1920s. The area is now owned by Aboriginal people, as is Yarra Bay House and the headland between Frenchmans Bay and Yarra Bay.

Europeans

The area around La Perouse developed as many seaside suburbs did through outdoor pastimes and weekend visitors, especially after the tram line was built in around 1900. During the Great Depression, in 1920s and 1930s, the area was home to many unemployed people who built make-shift houses there. To the north there was the mostly white 'Happy Valley' and 'Hill 60' and to the south 'Frog Hollow' which mostly housed Aborigines.

Yarra Bay House

Yarra Bay House was built in 1903 as an addition to the Cable Station at La Perouse. When a second cable was laid in 1890, extra room was needed to house the workers. When the Cable Station became obsolete after 1917, the house was home to various government departments including the Director of Public Instruction (later the Education Department) and the Department of Youth and Community Services.

In 1985 the title was given to the Aboriginal Land Council. A freshwater billabong has been constructed at the Back of Yarra Bay House to encourage the return of local frogs and birdlife.

Landmarks

* Yarra Bay House, Yarra Bay Sailing Club
* Yarra Bay, Yarra Point, Bumborah Point, Bicentennial Park.

References

* [http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/default.php?id=65 City of Randwick: A-Z People and Places]

External links