Location
Avalon Beach is a northern beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 37 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beaches region. The area is also known as Avalon, with the name Avalon Beach being assigned during a change in boundaries and names in the Pittwater region in 2012. (Wikipedia)
History
The Pittwater and Northern Beaches area was formerly inhabited by the Garigal or Caregal people in a region known as Guringai country.
Avalon was named after the mythical Avalon, a legendary island in Celtic language mythology. According to legends, Avalon was an earthly paradise and the final resting place of King Arthur.
The first land grant in the area was 60 acres to John Farrell in 1827. A 400-acre land grant was made to Father John Joseph Therry in 1833, who fought hard for the recognition of the Catholic Church in the colony. He built a church in this area but his plans for a settlement never eventuated. In the 1920s, the area was still known as ‘Priest’s Flat’. Arthur J Small handled a subdivision in 1921 and chose the name, Avalon.
Significant housing developments took place during the 1920s. The architect Alexander Stewart Jolly designed a number of houses that were built in the Avalon area in that period. Loggan Rock was a flamboyant log cabin combined with a stone tower; the combination of logs and rocks gave rise to the name. The house is heritage-listed. Careel House is a bungalow made of stone that was quarried in the area. Nowadays it is on the Whale Beach side of the boundary. It is also heritage-listed. Hy Brasil, located near Clareville, was built in 1936 but was originally known as The Gem. Later it was bought by Ted Herman, son of the painter Sali Herman, who changed the name, using the name of a mythical island west of Ireland. It is heritage-listed. A sandstone cottage known as Wickham, designed by Walter Burley Griffin, was unfortunately demolished with council approval in 1994.
Another significant development was the creation of Ruskin Rowe in 1950. This street was designed as an estate by the architect Harry Ruskin Rowe, son of the architect Thomas Rowe. Rowe created covenants to preserve the character of the estate, but they have been ignored to an extent over the years. Nevertheless, the estate is heritage-listed because of its historic significance, as well as its scientific significance in preserving the bushland environment of the area. (Wikipedia)
Places of Interest
No Data Uploaded