Manly Guide
April 23rd 2007 05:06
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It was recognized very early that Manly had tremendous potential to be a beachside getaway for people living in the city of Sydney. At the time, there were very few people living in the area, and the only way to get there was to use your own boat. Manly has always had a village mentality, and even today, residents affectionately call it The Village.
When Captain Arthur Phillip first set out, in 1788, to find a suitable settlement location, he was impressed by the group of Aboriginal tribes on the northern shores of the Sydney Harbour. They stood on the shores, muscularly built and unimpressed by his ship, waiting for him to try and invade their land. Their manly appearance convinced Phillip to name the area Manly Cove out of admiration for the Aboriginal tribe.
The city of Sydney was the first colonization site in Australia, but imagine how different things would be if Phillip had decided to settle at Manly. The idyllic beach community would have been razed, skyscrapers pushing up to the sky, blocking out all natural light. Traffic and congestion would be constantly clogging roadways, and the exhaust from all these vehicles would starve the air of oxygen. A train system would shuttle in thousands of visitors, consumers and workers everyday, increasing the strain on the natural ecosystem.
Luckily for those happy-go-lucky Manly residents, that didnt happen. Luckily, those manly Aboriginals gave Captain Phillip a hostile and threatening glare, perhaps forcing him to swallow in slight trepidation and shout All hands! Back to Port Jackson!.
Manly remained a small, isolated cove for several years, and it would not be until the 1820s before settlers started building small estates on the rocky shores, among the giant Norfolk Pines. In the 1850s, an English businessman named Henry Gilbert Smith visited Manly and noted that it was a spectacular area, with ocean beaches, and a sandy cove facing the harbour; he had the brilliant idea that the area would be an excellent nearby vacation area for wealthy Sydneysiders. He started buying land, and encouraged the city to start a ferry service to Manly, which was completed in 1856, with daily trips out to the northern beach.
Smith built several hotels and piers built at Manly, and it became quite fashionable for Sydneysiders to venture out to Manly for recreational activites, buying property there and owning a small piece of paradise. Smith encouraged growth in the area, too, donating land for parks and community groups. By 1877, Manly had become a centre of population and was chartered with a Local Government, with tourism and recreational activities on the rise. Public bathing was illegal in Australia at the time, but Manly was the first beach to allow daytime swimming in 1903.
Today, Manly is one of the most popular beaches in Sydney, and by extension, one of the most popular beaches in Australia; over 6 million people visit annually. Backpackers come from all over the world to sit around and do nothing on this beach, and on the weekends, the municipality will be pulsating with the heartbeat of a vitalized community.
The main drag along the beach is known as the Corso, and is lined with cafes, trendy shops and bars, catering to all ages and demographics. On the weekend, this busy walkway is packed with tourists and sunseekers, and its fairly common to see half-naked youths trying on clothes or sharing a bowl of noodles.
It would be a shame to visit Sydney and not have the Manly Beach experience; take the ferry from Circular Quay, a slow, relaxing journey through the gasp-provoking Sydney Harbour, to Manly Wharf and then stroll down to the beach. Theres a different vibe at Manly compared to the city, and Sydneysiders love to shift down and live like hedonists.
When Captain Arthur Phillip first set out, in 1788, to find a suitable settlement location, he was impressed by the group of Aboriginal tribes on the northern shores of the Sydney Harbour. They stood on the shores, muscularly built and unimpressed by his ship, waiting for him to try and invade their land. Their manly appearance convinced Phillip to name the area Manly Cove out of admiration for the Aboriginal tribe.
Luckily for those happy-go-lucky Manly residents, that didnt happen. Luckily, those manly Aboriginals gave Captain Phillip a hostile and threatening glare, perhaps forcing him to swallow in slight trepidation and shout All hands! Back to Port Jackson!.
Manly remained a small, isolated cove for several years, and it would not be until the 1820s before settlers started building small estates on the rocky shores, among the giant Norfolk Pines. In the 1850s, an English businessman named Henry Gilbert Smith visited Manly and noted that it was a spectacular area, with ocean beaches, and a sandy cove facing the harbour; he had the brilliant idea that the area would be an excellent nearby vacation area for wealthy Sydneysiders. He started buying land, and encouraged the city to start a ferry service to Manly, which was completed in 1856, with daily trips out to the northern beach.
Smith built several hotels and piers built at Manly, and it became quite fashionable for Sydneysiders to venture out to Manly for recreational activites, buying property there and owning a small piece of paradise. Smith encouraged growth in the area, too, donating land for parks and community groups. By 1877, Manly had become a centre of population and was chartered with a Local Government, with tourism and recreational activities on the rise. Public bathing was illegal in Australia at the time, but Manly was the first beach to allow daytime swimming in 1903.
Today, Manly is one of the most popular beaches in Sydney, and by extension, one of the most popular beaches in Australia; over 6 million people visit annually. Backpackers come from all over the world to sit around and do nothing on this beach, and on the weekends, the municipality will be pulsating with the heartbeat of a vitalized community.
The main drag along the beach is known as the Corso, and is lined with cafes, trendy shops and bars, catering to all ages and demographics. On the weekend, this busy walkway is packed with tourists and sunseekers, and its fairly common to see half-naked youths trying on clothes or sharing a bowl of noodles.
It would be a shame to visit Sydney and not have the Manly Beach experience; take the ferry from Circular Quay, a slow, relaxing journey through the gasp-provoking Sydney Harbour, to Manly Wharf and then stroll down to the beach. Theres a different vibe at Manly compared to the city, and Sydneysiders love to shift down and live like hedonists.
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