NSWPlanned settlement
North Sydney
A small grid of Crown lots across the harbour grew into a business centre.
1838Township of St Leonards gazetted
WHAT STARTED IT
The township was laid out on a rectangle of Crown land above Lavender Bay, part of a reserve for the extension of Sydney on the nearest heights across the harbour. Ferries from Milsons Point linked it to the city.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Half-acre lots offered from 1838 sold slowly, with larger Crown sales in the 1850s. A cable tramway from the Milsons Point ferry wharf up Miller Street boosted a town centre in the 1880s, and three boroughs united as North Sydney in 1890.
TURNING POINTS
1838The Township of St Leonards is gazetted, and 48 half-acre allotments are offered for purchase.
1840Deeds are issued for two-rood St Leonards lots to buyers including William Charles Wentworth.
1869The Borough of St Leonards is formed to administer the township.
1886A post office, court house and police station designed by James Barnet open at Miller and Mount streets.
1890The boroughs of St Leonards, East St Leonards and Victoria amalgamate and adopt the name North Sydney.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
One of Australia’s largest commercial centres, with office towers along the old Miller Street grid, alongside long-established schools and St Leonards Park.