Sydney Cove (called
Warrane by the indigenous
CadigalThe Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal, are a group of Aboriginal Australians who originally inhabited the area that they called 'Cadi', part of which later became known as the Marrickville Local Government Area of Sydney. Cadigal territory lies south of Port Jackson and stretches from South Head to...
people) is a small bay on the southern shore of
Port JacksonPort Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
(commonly but incorrectly called Sydney Harbour), on the coast of the state of
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Sydney Cove was named after the British
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
,
Thomas Townshend, Lord SydneyThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC , was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century...
, it was the site chosen by Captain
Arthur PhillipAdmiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British naval Admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the site which is now the city of Sydney....
on 26 January 1788 (now commemorated as
Australia DayAustralia Day, also known as Anniversary Day and Foundation Day, is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the unfurling of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British...
) for the British penal settlement which is now the city of
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
.
Phillip's instructions were to establish the settlement at
Botany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
, a large bay further down the coast.
Sydney Cove (called
Warrane by the indigenous
CadigalThe Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal, are a group of Aboriginal Australians who originally inhabited the area that they called 'Cadi', part of which later became known as the Marrickville Local Government Area of Sydney. Cadigal territory lies south of Port Jackson and stretches from South Head to...
people) is a small bay on the southern shore of
Port JacksonPort Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
(commonly but incorrectly called Sydney Harbour), on the coast of the state of
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
History of Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove was named after the British
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
,
Thomas Townshend, Lord SydneyThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC , was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century...
, it was the site chosen by Captain
Arthur PhillipAdmiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British naval Admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the site which is now the city of Sydney....
on 26 January 1788 (now commemorated as
Australia DayAustralia Day, also known as Anniversary Day and Foundation Day, is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the unfurling of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British...
) for the British penal settlement which is now the city of
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
.
Phillip's instructions were to establish the settlement at
Botany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
, a large bay further down the coast. Botany Bay had been discovered by Captain
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS RN , was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy...
during his voyage of discovery in 1770, and was recommended by the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied Captain
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS RN , was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy...
, as a suitable site for a settlement. But Phillip discovered that Botany Bay offered neither a secure anchorage nor a reliable source of fresh water. Sydney Cove offered both of these, being serviced by a fresh water creek which was soon to be known as
Tank StreamThe Tank Stream is a fresh water course which empties into Sydney Cove in New South Wales, Australia. Today it is little more than a storm water drain, but originally it was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in the late 18th century...
.
Today the Tank Stream is encased in a concrete drain beneath the streets of the central business district and all native bushland has been cleared. The head of the cove is occupied by the Circular Quay ferry terminal. On Bennelong Point at the northern end of the eastern shore of the cove stands the
Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who in 2003 received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour...
. On the western shore is the historic district known as
The RocksThe Rocks can refer to:*The Rocks, Inc. Military Officers non-profit*The Rocks, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia*McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, goes by the nickname "The Rocks"....
.