Blackburn Gardens, Double Bay

Blackburn Gardens, set above Redleaf Pool and Seven Shillings Beach, where we have visited in the past two days. The young man with the towel over his shoulder (he'd probably just had a swim) was inspecting the sundial.

The name comes from Blackburn Cove, the setting of Seven Shillings Beach. David Blackburn was sailing master of the HMS Supply, one of the two warships accompanying the First Fleet to Sydney in 1788. The gardens were originally part of St Brigid's, bow Woollahra library. They were landscaped and opened to the public in 1955.

Seven Shillings Beach, Point Piper

I acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. Along this shore, now mostly destroyed, or, apparently, hidden from view, boarded up under the foundations of the houses are Aboriginal stone engravings and carvings.

There are several stories as to how this harbourside beach in the exclusive suburb of Point Piper got its name:
1. Named as such when a Mrs Busby gave an Aboriginal seven shillings compensation for fishing rights, or for a catch of fish;
2. A nurse, employed by Captain Piper, lost a purse containing 'seven shillings' on the beach.

Seven Shillings Beach is not one of Sydney's most beautiful, but it is certainly one of its most disputed. Private bbeaches are not meant to exist in Australia, or so we like to believe. However, some of the country's most well-heeled live in this little enclave (ghetto?) of Sydney and don't take too kindly to people who are not "us" gaining access.

Walking volunteer, Graham Spindler (2007 ) *explains that restrictions limit access to "below mean high water mark during daylight hours", as he calls it "a classic piece of legal compromise".

Spindler continues wryly: "...the beach remains privately owned, although glances across into the private realms are permitted (or inevitable), some of the backyards having long been owned by the fairfax family."

Point Piper
Now here's a classic Sydney story of wealth, harbour views, a beyond-their-means lifestyle, and corruption. But there wasn't an ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) 180 years ago!

Graham Spindler again: " Point Piper's European history began as part of a 76ha land grant by Governor Macquarie to Captain John Piper in 1820. Piper had had control of customs and all harbour matters, a lucrative position which enabled him to vastly increase the size of his land holding and build the finest house then in Sydney on the point. He named it Henrietta Villa, after the second name of Gov Macquarie's wife, Elizabeth, and it quickly became the most prestigious social venue in town. However, the flamboyant and extravagant lifestyle exceeeded even his resources and he was soon deeply in debt. In 1827 it became apparent that he had embezzled 13 000 pounds from the customs revenues which together with other debts amounted to millions in modern value. The mortified Piper made a curiously grand suicide attempt, having himself rowed out into the harbour, and to the strains of his naval band, jumping overboard. He survived to retire to a more modest rural life." (near Bathurst) More here.
More about Captain Piper (and below, a portrait)

* Thanks Graham, with whom I trained as a school teacher-librarian in 1981!

Redleaf Pool, Double Bay

A lovely harbour pool at the end of Seven Shillings Beach. Foot access only, down the stairs behind the Woollahra Council Offices on New South Head Road.

The small island is Clark Island. It's part of Sydney Harbour National Park. It can only be accessed by private vessel. You can book it for weddings and other functions. In 1789, Lieutenant Ralph Clark, a marine on the First Fleet, tried to cultivate a vegetable garden on this one hectare island. He abandoned the idea when his crops were repeatedly stolen.

There's more pictures of Redleaf pool here on my "Swimming" blog.