Nielsen Park

About

Nielsen Park is a heritage-listed historic site, park and nature reserve located at Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The traditional lands of the Birrabirragal people, the park was designed by John Frederick Hilly, James Barnet and the Office of the New South Wales Government Architect. It is also known as Vaucluse Estate, Greycliffe Estate and Greycliffe House. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 August 2017. Nielsen Park is a part of Sydney Harbour National Park. It is a popular recreation area and beach, known as Shark Beach, on Port Jackson. The kiosk is dated from 1914.

Nielsen Park is part of the traditional land of the Birrabirragal people, an Aboriginal people. The site was an attractive occupation site due to its accessibility, supply of fresh water and fishing resources. Extensive archaeological evidence at Nielsen Park demonstrates use of the land for camping and fishing over an extended period. To date there are 14 recorded Aboriginal sites within the park, each containing middens, rock shelters and various aesthetic pieces. Archival records attest to the continuing use of the land by Aboriginal people post-European contact. For example, during the Wentworth family occupation of the site 1827-1911 Aboriginal people were recorded to be camping at the site. The recorded sites and potential unknown archaeological deposits link the Birrabirragal peoples of the past to Aboriginal peoples of the present. The landscape continues to be of cultural value for Aboriginal people.

With the arrival of the Colonists the land comprising Nielsen Park went through several phases of private ownership. In 1793 Governor John Hunter made a grant to Thomas Laycock, Deputy Commissionary - General Quartermaster in the NSW Corps of 32 hectares (80 acres). Three years later in 1797 the land was purchased by Capt. Thomas Dennett and named Woodmancote. Six years later in 1803 Sir Henry Brown Hayes purchased the land along with another 40 acres and together the lands formed the Vaucluse Estate. Hayes built a house and cleared the land; 20 hectares (50 acres) for cattle, orchards and vegetables. Hayes also leased the land to Samuel Breakwell who in turn leased it to Sir Maurace O'Donnell, who then leased it to Captain John Piper. Piper went on to purchase some of the estate until in 1827 his economic circumstances took a downturn and he sold the land to William Charles Wentworth who was granted another 150 hectares (370 acres) bringing the Vaucluse Estate to 208 hectares (515 acres).

Previously part of the Wentworth Estate, the area which became Nielsen Park was once owned by William Wentworth. It was disused since 1898 after the death of Wentworth's last surviving unmarried daughter Eliza Sophia Wentworth, at a time when little of Sydney Harbour's foreshore was accessible to the public. From the 1890s, pressure built to buy back private land, and following agitation by the Harbor Foreshores Vigilance Committee (sic), the New South Wales Government took control of 9.3 hectares (22.9 acres) of the Vaucluse estate on 6 July 1910. Known as Vaucluse Park, it was soon renamed Nielsen Park in honour of The Hon. Niels Nielsen, the Secretary for Lands from 1910 to 1911, once an additional 21 hectares (51 acres) were added in 1911.

The historic 1851 residence Greycliffe House lies within its grounds, and after 1911 served as a neonatal hospital and mothercraft residence before its eventual function as an office for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and visitors centre for the Sydney Harbour National Park. Nielsen Park is part of the traditional land of the Eora or Birrabirragal people. Shell middens lie on the walk west of Nielsen Park towards Rose Bay.

Main article: Vaucluse House William Charles Wentworth, explorer, author, barrister, landowner, and statesman was born to Catherine Crowley, a convict and D'Arcy Wentworth. William Wentworth, Gregory Blaxland, and William Lawson are credited with making the first major colonial exploration by crossing the Blue Mountains in 1813. As a reward he was granted 400 hectares (1,000 acres) in addition to an earlier grant of 710 hectares (1,750 acres) on the Nepean River. Wentworth travelled to England in 1816 to study law and became an advocate for political reform in NSW. Together with Robert Wardell, Wentworth founded The Australian newspaper. After his father's death in 1827 William Charles gradually purchased land on Sydney Harbour which he combined to create his Vaucluse Estate. The estate included the land from the Macquarie Lighthouse on South Head to the eastern heights of Rose Bay, with the land currently known as Nielsen Park forming a part. The focal point of the estate was Vaucluse House that he built for his family. William and his wife Sarah had seven daughters and three sons.

- Main article: Greycliffe House In 1847, one of William Charles Wentworth's daughters, Fanny Katherine Wentworth (1829–1893), married John Reeve, a wealthy pastoralist from Gippsland. In 1850 Reeve purchased 14 acres of the Vaucluse Estate fronting Shark Bay from his father-in-law. Reeve commissioned architect John Frederick Hilly to design a villa at Shark Bay which was completed in 1851 and called Greycliffe. The villa demonstrates the characteristics of the Rustic Gothic design through its steeply pitched roofs and its location in a picturesque landscape. The house was oriented to the harbour front, with a vast portion of cleared land opening views to the water. The building included a detached sandstone coach house with staff quarters in the attic. Another, smaller, building was also built at this time as an estate cottage which became known as the Gardener's Cottage. Also designed by Hilly, the cottage reflects a pattern book design as the basis of its planning. Is shown in early photographs to have been located near a substantial kitchen garden, with open paddocks surrounding. In 1854 the Reeves left for England and did not return. The house was then leased by a succession of distinguished persons including Lt. Col. J. G. N. Gibbes, Collector of Customs, Fitzwilliam Wentworth, Attorney General William Bede Dalley, Premier Sir John Robertson and Lady Isabella Martin. In February 1897, whilst the house was occupied by Fitzwilliam Wentworth, a very extensive fire damaged much of the house and its interior. Wentworth had it rebuilt largely to its original design but with some with alterations. By May 1898 Mary and Fitzwilliam Wentworth were once again occupying the house and continued to do so until it was resumed by the NSW Government. During the private ownership phase in the 19th and early 20th centuries the beachfront of Shark Bay remained in its natural state apart from a small change shed and piled swimming cage located at the eastern extent of the bay for the use of Greycliffe residents.

In 1870 part of the Greycliffe Estate was set aside for defence purposes. At this time Britain had withdrawn the last of its garrisons from Sydney and the government again ordered a serious re-evaluation of Sydney's Harbour defences. A Royal Commission into the defence of the Colony found that there was a need for coastal and Harbour defence and decided to build batteries at Middle Head, Georges Head, South Head, Bradley's Head, and Shark Point on Sydney Harbour. Shark Point, now known as Steele Point, was one of this system of artillery batteries at the entrance to Port Jackson. One acre, one rood and 10 perches at Steele Point was resumed at this time to build a battery. The battery, designed by James Barnet, is of sandstone construction and is made up of a series of gun pits with connecting trenches and tunnels. A timber cottage near to the portal entrance of the Battery was built in 1880 as a two-roomed Gunners' Barracks. A store shed, which was likely used for early storage of artillery, and later vehicle storage, was also built in the 1880s.

In 1942, 3.6 hectares (9 acres) of the broader site was occupied by the Army as Sydney Harbour's anti-aircraft defences. A light AA gun was placed at Steele Point, air raid shelters were built and the 61st Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Company (an all-women unit) occupied the area between the Gardeners Cottage and the avenue of small fig trees to its south. A brick emplacement was constructed at Bottle and Glass Point for use by volunteer 15–16-year-old boys of the Marine Bomb Spotting Squad.

Resumption and establishment of Nielsen Park

The Harbour Foreshores Vigilance Committee, with William Notting as secretary, formed in 1905 to secure parks on Harbour foreshores for public use. William Notting was a tireless campaigner against the alienation of Harbour foreshore lands and had been agitating for the resumption of land at Parsley Bay since 1900. Notting was a keen sailor who urged that "steps must be taken to prevent Sydney Harbour becoming a private lake, commenting that it is little better than a pond in a privately owned paddock". The Committee played a significant role in the emergence of a public movement to protect the remaining natural foreshores of the harbour. As a result, the Foreshore Resumptions Scheme was established in 1911 and Nielsen Park was created and named in honour of the Minister for Lands Mr. Niels R W Nielsen, the Secretary for Lands. The Hermitage Foreshore Reserve and Strickland House were also reclaimed at this time. The newly created Nielsen Park Reserve was a total of 51 acres of land and it included: Shark Beach, Bottle and Glass Point and the W C Wentworth Trustee's land around Mount Trefle as well as a parcel of land belonging to George Donaldson containing a house and stables at the summit of Mount Trefle.

Greycliffe was not included in the first resumption. The public praised the resumption of part of the foreshore but pressed for the acquisition of Greycliffe. In 1911, the Greycliffe Estate was resumed.

In 1914 Greycliffe House with a two-acre curtilage was added and dedicated for hospital purposes with its first role as the Lady Edeline Hospital for Babies. The Battery at Steele Point remained in Commonwealth of Australia ownership.

Management under the Nielsen Park Trust (1912–1967)

Care and control of Nielsen Park was entrusted to the Nielsen Park Trust who held their first meeting on 24 May 1912. The first committee members included E.M. deBurgh, the Chief Engineer for NSW Public Works for Harbours and Water Supply (President); James Macarthur-Onslow, the Member for Waverley ; and Mr O'Keefe (Secretary and Treasurer). There were numerous structures constructed by the Trust between 1914 and 1965. Most of these structures, constructed by the NSW Government Architect's Office, were located along the foreshore, and some were constructed using labour from the Unemployed Relief Work Fund which employed builders during the Depression. The site became a popular picnicking area and the ferry wharf, built at the southern end of the beach in 1916, resulted in increased Park patronage.

Although resumed for a public reserve, swimming at Shark Beach was initially discouraged by the Trust due to the danger of shark attacks. A small sea wall and fence along the beachfront was provided in c. 1918. By 1930, to accommodate the increased patronage, the Trust decided to build the first triangular swimming enclosure. This was quickly replaced by a larger enclosure in 1931 with a central diving tower and fixed piled platforms and pontoons.

When the small sea wall and fence along the beachfront was provided in c. 1918 the upper level promenade was built named "Notting Parade". Along this, the W. A. Notting Memorial is sited immediately west of the Kiosk. The large curved masonry stuccoed Roman Seat was erected in 1927 by the Nielsen Park Trust, with a plaque honouring William Albert Notting, who was instrumental in having the reserve established through his involvement with the Harbour Foreshore Vigilance Committee. A second plaque at the western end of the memorial, honouring Niels Nielsen, was added in 1995.

The Park Kiosk dates from 1914 and was the first building commissioned by the newly formed Nielsen Park Reserve Trust to provide refreshment facilities for visitors, reflecting the new status of the park as a recreation ground. Its original form was an octagonally shaped pavilion and in c. 1925 wings were added each side. A small cottage and garage was built adjacent for the Kiosk lessee.

A men's dressing shed with stone turreted walls built in 1920 to the Government Architect's design. This structure adjoined an earlier timber and fibro shed sited on the beach. The new dressing sheds were opened on 21 October 1921 and in 1924 a Life Saving and Swimming Club was formed that used part of the original dressing shed. In 1931 the public works department undertook works to accommodate locker and toilet facilities for men in this building.

A small western toilet block was built in c. 1920 as a Ladies Toilet block, with rusticated sandstone walls. Another small toilet block, completed in 1965 was one of the last buildings to be constructed under the Trust administration. Built to a Government Architect design using stone walls but in a contemporary architectural idiom, it was discretely sited at the on the hill at the western end of the beach behind vegetation.