Natural Patterns Of Gordon's Bay (Gadigal Country, New South Wales)

Gordon's Bay, located in the suburb of Coogee, Eastern Sydney, was named after Lewis Gordon who was the Government Surveyor granted land here in the mid-19th century. The bay was also known as Thompson's Bay after John Thompson, who built Cliffbrook, the first house overlooking the bay in 1859 on an estate of 11 acres, part of the former Gordon grant.

Eora/Gadigal Occupation:

The original Aboriginal inhabitants of the City of Sydney local area are the Gadigal people. The territory of the Gadi (gal) people stretched along the southern side of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) from South Head to around what is now known as Petersham. Their southern boundary is the area that now forms the Alexandra canal and Cooks River.

There are about 29 clan groups of the Sydney metropolitan area referred to collectively as the Eora Nation. The ‘Eora people’ was the name given to the coastal Aboriginal peoples around Sydney. ‘Eora’ means ‘here’ or ‘from this place’. The Gadigal are a clan of the Eora Nation.

Following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the British encountered Aboriginal people around the coves and bays of Port Jackson. Aboriginal communities here were both generous and combative towards the colonisers. Many places around the harbour remained important hunting, fishing and camping grounds long after Europeans settlement, and continue to be culturally significant today.

Despite the destructive impact of first contact, Gadigal culture survived. As the town of Sydney developed into a city, the Gadigal were joined by other Aboriginal people from around NSW to live, work and forge relationships with the urban Aboriginal community.

Sydney’s inner suburbs have long been a magnet for Aboriginal peoples seeking work opportunities, shelter and connections with community and family. The ‘big smoke’ provided work opportunities shelter and reinforced community connections.

There was a growing political activism within Sydney’s Aboriginal community over the 20th century, which led to the development of support systems and facilities for urban Aboriginal people.

The suburb of Redfern was a particular focus for activism around civil and land rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Education and schooling nurtured and empowered Aboriginal people living in Sydney in the 20th century. With the growing self-determination movement in the late 1960s, Aboriginal people created and managed their own learning opportunities and initiatives.

For Sydney’s Aboriginal community, sporting and leisure activities have been a way to reinforce social connections, but they also had a political dimension.

Music, dance and theatre are an important means of cultural, political, and spiritual expression for urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Many artists and performers have been supported and encouraged by Aboriginal organisations. Visual and artistic expression have been integral to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Training opportunities in Sydney have led to an extraordinary range of art practices, exhibitions, galleries and artists’ cooperatives.

Research into Aboriginal people’s history in Sydney is continuously being carried out by the City’s History Unit in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel, which feeds into and supports the Eora Journey.

Cliffbrook:

John Thompson, Mayor of Randwick in 1873, enjoyed this wonderful location for over 20 years until the property was sold to John Wilson in 1881. When George Hill bought Cliffbrook in 1889 he began to enlarge the house into a 30-room classic Italianate mansion, extravagance he could perhaps not afford. The Bank of New South Wales (NSW) took over the estate in 1899 when Hill went bankrupt, and a caretaker was installed.

From 1907 to 1922 Cliffbrook was occupied by Denison Miller, later Sir Denison Miller, first governer of the Commonwealth Bank. Miller's purchase of the property in 1916, the year the bank opened its head office in Martin Place, ushered Cliffbrook's "heyday", when lavish garden parties were held on its landscaped lawns and terraces overlooking the bright blue waters of the bay.

Subdivision of the estate began in 1918 and the land between Beach Street and Gordon Avenue was sold. The lots on the lower side of Gordon Avenue were sold later and the foreshore strip was purchased by Randwick Council. In 1921 Miller built the second Cliffbrook mansion, now 45 Beach Street, in Edwardian style on the site of the original house's stabled. He then sold the original Cliffbrook in 1922.

There is now nothing left of elegant old Cliffbrook. In poor condition, it was demolished in 1976 for townhouses. For many years it had been occupied by Miss Ella Schiller, who lived a secluded existence in an upstairs room while the house crumbled around her. Second Cliffbrook came into the ownership of the Commonwealth Government, and was the headquarters of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission from 1953 - 1982, falling vacant when it moved out. Unable to attract a buyer, it become an increasing embarrassment for the government, and debate swirled over its future development for residential use, public housing, or open space. It was eventually purchased by the University of New South Wales in 1993 for restoration as a historic building.

Source: Sydney Coast Walks, Randwick City Council, City of Sydney (www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/history/aboriginal-histories)

Taken on: January 1, 2018

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Camera: Nikon D5500, f/9.0, 1/400 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5500
Lens:	TAMRON AF 18-270mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD B008N
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.1 (Windows)
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