Beacon Hill, New South Wales

Beacon Hill Sydney, New South Wales
File:FM3006482.jpg Beacon Hill Summit from Beacon Hill Oval
Population	5,994
Postcode(s)	2100
Location	17 km (11 mi) north-east of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	Warringah Council
State electorate(s)	Wakehurst
Federal division(s)	Mackellar, Warringah
Suburbs around Beacon Hill: Oxford Falls Oxford Falls Cromer Frenchs Forest Beacon Hill Narraweena Allambie Heights Allambie Heights Brookvale

Beacon Hill is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Beacon Hill is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region.

History

Beacon Hill was given the title when the Department of Lands built a trigometric beacon there in 1881. Many of the streets in Beacon Hill are named after notable battles, military men or places where Australian troops served in World War II. These include Owen Stanley Avenue, Kokoda Crescent, Goroka Place and Lae Place. Beacon Hill had a high school until 2002: Beacon Hill High School (New South Wales).

Aboriginal culture

Little is known of local aboriginal culture in the Beacon Hill area but other local areas towards the sea have a rich and diverse aboriginal background. There are some aboriginal carvings in rocks to the north of Red Hill.

European settlement

Daniel Egan, a member of the NSW Parliament, purchased two 40-acre (16 ha) parcels of land on 5 October 1857.

By 1932 the following families were living in Beacon Hill: Adams, Blackford, Brightwell, Brooker, Brown, Carney, Clarke, Cornish, Daines, Graham, Hayles, Hood, Hopkins, Jack, Kemp, Keys, King, Lornham, McConnell, Murphy, Newling, Pope, Prescott, Reynolds, Rose, Saunders, Silverthorne, Sims, Smith, Spilstead, Thew, Wheatley, White, Wilson and Woolfe. Of these names, the Brooker, Cornish, Daines, Reynolds, and Spilstead families have local streets named after them. Most of the houses in the suburb were built in the boom days after World War II, in the 1950s and 1960s.

Transport

Beacon Hill is serviced by Sydney Buses. For many years there have been plans put forward, then withdrawn again for a heavy rail line to be added to the CityRail network to service the northern beaches. Most residents therefore drive motor vehicles to get around.

Since 1980 traffic congestion has steadily increased on the roads around Beacon Hill. Some road closures have been implemented, notably the closures of Tristram Road and Boyer Road, to prevent through traffic. Traffic calming devices were installed and remain an issue for local transportation reliant primarily on private motor vehicles.

In recent years, with the opening of new schools and facilities in the Oxford Falls valley area (to the west and north west of Beacon Hill), traffic volume has increased on the very narrow and dangerous Oxford Falls Road. This has become an increasing concern for local residents of the area as the population has increased and medium density housing policies deployed.

Landmarks

Governor Phillip Lookout

This lookout is located atop Beacon Hill itself. Views of almost the entire eastern half of the Sydney region may be had from the summit which is approximately 152 metres (500 ft) above sea level.

Views extend from the southern outskirts of Sydney, west to the Blue Mountains and north to Gosford and the Central Coast. The skyline of the city is to the south. Ships, pleasure craft and occasional migratory whales can be seen out to sea in the east.

The lookout is popular with locals on New Year's Eve when the firework displays across Sydney Harbour are clearly visible, approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south.

The lookout may be reached via Warringah Road. There is a small parking area adjacent to the road with stairs leading to a pathway and the summit.

Red Hill

Red Hill, not to be confused with Beacon Hill, is located at the northern end of the suburb behind the former Beacon Hill High School site. From here there are views across to the Governor Phillip Lookout, and onwards to the city. The views to the north are over the eastern sections of the Garigal National Park, to Cromer and beyond into the Pittwater Council areas of Elanora, Narrabeen and Ingleside.

Red Hill played a part in many childhood adventures of the locals over the years. The hill was latticed with many tracks, caves and "hideouts". On the southern side of the hill between Reynolds Crescent, Spilstead Place and a point approximately half way up the hill stood an old house. The house burnt down in the 1970s and (from all accounts) was uninhabited. Known locally as "the house", it was ringed by a small dirt track that had worn away in the river sand lining the banks of South Creek. During the period of the early 1970s this track had become popular with local mini bike enthusiasts.

Children also played many other games during the school holiday periods including "playing soldiers" in and out of the washaways across the top of the hill. Adjacent bushland (which still survives today on the northern side of the hill) provided local children with many adventures over the years. There are several bush tracks which connect the Cromer Valley with the hill and back over the other side to the residential area of Beacon Hill itself. One of the first meetings of the Beacon Hill Bushfire Brigade took place in a cave on Red Hill.

Now Red Hill as it is locally known to be a housing development site that was built in the 1990s. Many of the streets in Red Hill are named after notable ships and boats of the British settlement. These include Endeavour Drive, Golden Grove, Scarborough Place, Supply Avenue, Lady Penrhyn Drive, Fishburn Place, Charlotte Place, Friendship Place, Sirius Parade and Borrowdale Place

Note: Despite the belief by some individuals, this suburb does not exist.

Community services and organisations

The nearest police station is in Frenchs Forest. The nearest ambulance station is in Belrose. The nearest fire stations are in Dee Why (69) or Beacon Hill (RFS).

Governor Phillip Lookout Trust

The trust was gazetted on 9 December 1966 and was charged with the responsibility not only of protecting and developing the area as an historical feature of the district, but also for the preservation and propagation of the native flora and fauna that surrounds the lookout. The first meeting took place on 10 April 1966.

Members of the trust were Mr R.O. Healey, M.L.A. Patron, Mrs M Smith, Mrs D. Wilson, Mr K.M. Rabbidge, Mr K. Watts, Mr M. Thornley, Mr C.E. McDonald and Mr N.R. Wilson.

Beacon Hill Bushfire Brigade

The first meeting of what was to become the Beacon Hill Bushfire Brigade took place in October 1948.

External links

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