NSWRail & telegraph
Narrabeen
A lagoon-side holiday place that the Manly tram made a suburb.
1913Tram reaches Narrabeen Bridge
WHAT STARTED IT
Narrabeen sits where the road north from Manly to Pittwater crosses the mouth of Narrabeen Lagoon. A bridge carried the mail road over the lagoon by the 1880s, and coaches stopped at the Narrabeen Hotel beside the lakes. In December 1913 the government tramway from Manly was extended to Narrabeen Bridge, and the suburb grew around the terminus.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Through the nineteenth century the lagoon and beach drew picnic parties, campers and anglers rather than residents. In 1912 the tramway from Manly reached Collaroy Beach, and on 8 December 1913 it opened through to Narrabeen Bridge, putting the lagoon within easy reach of day-trippers from the city. Trams ran along Pittwater Road from Manly to Narrabeen until 1939.
TURNING POINTS
1883A deputation asks the Colonial Secretary to repair the Narrabeen road from Manly to Pittwater, and is told a bridge over the lagoon is coming.
1889Floodwater in a gale rises over the rails of Narrabeen Bridge on the Manly mail road.
1893The Illustrated Sydney News recommends the coach trip from Manly, with a stop at the Narrabeen Hotel near the lakes.
1913Trams start running from Collaroy Beach to Narrabeen Bridge on 8 December; the extension is formally opened on 13 December.
1939The Manly–Narrabeen tram service ends.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A residential beach suburb between the ocean and Narrabeen Lagoon, on the main road to Pittwater. The lagoon is still used for fishing, paddling and camping.
KEEP READING · SOURCESTrove · NSW Government Gazette, 10 December 1913, ‘Opening of Extension—Collaroy Beach to Narrabeen’Trove · The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 December 1913, ‘Narrabeen Tram. Opened to Bridge.’Trove · The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 1883, ‘Deputations. The Narrabeen-Road.’Trove · The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 May 1889, ‘Broken Bay.’Trove · Illustrated Sydney News, 25 November 1893, ‘A Christmas Holiday Trip.’Northern Beaches Council · Restored vintage tram and café now open (2018)