NSWRail & telegraph
Cronulla
A long surf beach that waited for a tram.
1899Village of Gunnamatta offered for sale
WHAT STARTED IT
A long ocean beach and the sheltered bays of Port Hacking lie at the tip of a sandy peninsula. Once the Illawarra railway reached Sutherland in 1885, visitors could come by coach, and from 1911 by tram.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Captain Joseph Springall opened the Oriental Hotel in 1888, but growth stayed slow while access was difficult, and the peninsula’s Crown land was only released for sale late in the 1890s. The 1911 steam tram from Sutherland turned a weekend resort into a town, and surf bathing drew new residents.
TURNING POINTS
1885The Illawarra railway reaches Sutherland, giving visitors a road route to the beach.
1888Captain Joseph Springall builds the Oriental Hotel, Cronulla’s first hotel.
1899The peninsula is opened for sale as the Village of Gunnamatta.
1911The steam tram from Sutherland to Cronulla opens for traffic on 12 June.
1939Governor Lord Wakehurst opens the electric railway from Sutherland to Cronulla in December.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A beachside suburb and holiday destination, served by the electric railway opened in 1939. Its main shopping street became a pedestrian mall in 1988.