Walsh Bay

33°51′16″S 151°12′16″E / 33.8545°S 151.2045°E / -33.8545; 151.2045EtymologyHenry Deane Walsh^[1]Part ofSydney Harbour

Walsh Bay is a bay within Port Jackson, about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) south of the suburb McMahons Point. It is named after Henry Deane Walsh, Engineer-in-chief of the Sydney Harbour Trust.^[1] Walsh Bay is officially defined as that body of water that stretches from the Dawes Point (Aboriginal: Tar-ra) in the north east, to the Millers Point (Aboriginal: Coodyee) in the southwest and the original shoreline has been altered to include developments now known as Piers 1 to 9.^[2]

In more recent times, Walsh Bay refers to the Walsh Bay Wharves Precinct or the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, a harbour-side area in Sydney, located next to the neighbouring suburbs of Dawes Point and Millers Point that historically was a working port. The wharves were converted to apartments, theatres, restaurants, cafes and a hotel,^[3] and in 2015 was designated as a major arts precinct.^[4] Much of the precinct is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.^[3]

The bay was first named in 1918 on drawings of a major new ‘wharfage scheme’ to modernise all Sydney's docks to handle steamships and motor vehicles. The rejuvenation was planned by Henry Deane Walsh as engineer-in-chief of the Sydney Harbour Trust. Its then-chairman, Robert Rowan Purdon Hickson, lent his name to Hickson Road, the new freight thoroughfare around this headland.^[5]

History

The precinct was originally known by the Aboriginal names of Tar-ra and Tullagalla.^[6] The wharf was constructed from 1912 to 1921.^[3]

See also

• The Hungry Mile
• Barangaroo
• http://walshbayhistory.net/

References