af015 Circular Quay - Kirribilli
Enter the Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway via the Cahill Expressway or the steps in Cumberland Street. The views from the bridge are spectacular all the way across to Milsons Point. You get a higher perspective by going to the Pylon Lookout ($9 entry).
Towards the end of the Bridge walkway you look down on Kirribilli shopping centre and St John the Baptist Church built in 1884. After you go down the steps turn left into the Milson's Point pedestrian subway at Milson's Point Railway Station and then head north theough the park that runs along the east side of Alfred Street South. Note the old church which is now the Chinese Christian Church.
At the end of the park turn left down Lavender Street for two blocks and into Clark Park, named in honour of Edward Mann Clark, a former Mayor of North Sydney. Make your way through the park until you reach the steps going down to the railway underpass. Go through the underpass and out to the Lavender Bay waterfront. Lavender Bay was named after George Lavender, the bosun on the convict prison hulk Phoenix in 1829. He married Billy Blue's (Blues Point) oldest daughter Susannah in 1835. See Lavender and Blue on the North Shore.
Follow the pathway around the Bay past Luna Park and under the Sydney Harbour Bridge into Bradfield Park named after John Job Crew Bradfield the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney's city rail system. Note the bow of the original HMAS Sydney (famous for her victory over the German cruiser SMS Emden) attached to the sandstone retaining wall. Follow the shoreline around to Jeffreys Street Wharf. It was here, in 1901, that the vehicular ferry service came into operation, with three punts conveying horse-drawn vehicles and motor cars across the harbour to the city. [Dewhurst and White, p. 91.]
Continue along the new foreshore walkway to Dr Mary Booth Reserve. No.1 Waruda Street was the first block of flats built on the North Shore. It was built in 1908 by Mrs James White, the owner of Melbourne Cup winner Carbine. [ Dewhurst and White, p.91.] Walk along Waruda Street and turn right at Beulah Street down to the Beulah Street Wharf for glorious views of the Opera House and city.Climb back up the steep hill and right into Kirribilli Avenue. Continue along Kirribilli Avenue past the Governor General's residence, Admiralty House, and the Prime Ministers residence, Kirribilli House, then down the steep steps to Lady Gowrie Lookout.
Climb the stairs back to Kirribilli Avenue and follow it to the Carabella Street corner. Follow Carabella Street to Holbrook Street which has some beautifully-restored houses on the right hand side, at the top of the steps leading to Kirribilli Wharf.
Retrace your steps to Carabella Street and turn right down Peel Street past the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron to Colindia Reserve for views across Neutral Bay. Turn back to Carabella Street again and continue until you come to the newer buildings of Loreto Convent. Just opposite Loreto, on the corner of Carabella and Parkes Street is "Burnleigh", a magnificent two-storey Victorian sandstone mansion, built by Nicholas McBurney in 1846. Further along, opposite the intersection of Fitzroy Street and Carabella Street is "Elamang", built by James Milson in 1851 as a wedding present for his son, James junior. It is now the main building of Loreto Convent.
Cross Carabella Street and walk up Fitzroy Street. Opposite the Jeffrey Street intersection, in a beautifully-restored two-storey Victorian house, is the Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre. Walk through to Bligh Street. On the corner of Carabella and Bligh Streets is a large two-storey Victorian house called "Balaclava", formerly known as "Berowra". Its original owners were John Scott Gray, a Yorkshireman, and his Irish wife Jane. Their eldest daughter Jane, who was known as Jinny, married John Evatt. The best known of Jinny's sons was Dr Herbert Vere Evatt, the controversial Labor leader who dominated the framing of the United Nations Charter, was first President of the United Nations Assembly and who announced the Declaration of Human Rights. [Dewhurst and White, pp. 95-96.]
Continue down Carabella Street, turn right into Willoughby Street, walk down the hill to the waterfront at Wrixton Park. Then go back and turn right into McDougall Street. The Ensemble Theatre is on the right-hand side of the street. It is one of Sydney's most innovative theatres, established in 1960 by American born director Hayes Gordon. The Sydney Flying Squadron next door is Sydney's oldest 18-foot sailing club, founded in 1890.
Continue into Milson Park. The park is on reclaimed land from the Careening Cove foreshores. In the early days of the colony, fresh water from Rainbow Creek flowed into the cove from the heights of North Sydney, and it was an excellent place for fishing and gathering oysters. In the 1830s whaling ships were careened here. [Dewhurst and White, pp. 95-96.] Walk across Milson Park to a set of stairs leading up to High Street. Turn right and walk down to the North Sydney (High Street) Wharf where you can catch a ferry back to Circular Quay. - a 4.5 mi walking route in Sydney, Australia
Route Location
Start Lat/Lng: (-33.8611327494526, 151.210927963257)
City: Sydney
Country Name: Australia
Country Code: AU
State Code:
State Name:
Postal Code:
Route Stats
Activity: Walking
Distance: 4.5 mi
Max Elevation: 49.699999999999996 meters
Elevation Gain / Total Ascent: 120920.2 meters
Data Source: MapMyRun
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