Suburb Profiles

Beacon Hill is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the  state of New South Wales, Australia. Beacon Hill is located 17 kilometres
north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government  area of Warringah Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region. Beacon  Hill was given the title when the Department of Lands built a trigometric  beacon there in 1881. Many of the streets in Beacon Hill are named after  notable battles, military men or places where Australian troops served in World
War II. Daniel Egan, a member of the NSW Parliament, purchased two 40-acre parcels of land on 5 October 1857. By 1932 the following families were living in Beacon Hill: Adams, Blackford, Brightwell, Brooker, Brown, Carney, Clarke, Cornish, Daines, Graham, Hayles, Hood, Hopkins, Jack, Kemp, Keys, King, Lornham, McConnell, Murphy, Newling, Pope, Prescott, Reynolds, Rose, Saunders, Silverthorne, Sims, Smith, Spilstead, Thew, Wheatley, White, Wilson and Woolfe. Of these names, the Brooker, Cornish, Daines, Reynolds, and Spilstead families have local streets named after them. Most of the houses in the suburb were built in the boom days after World War II, in the 1950s and 1960s.

Governor Phillip Lookout

This lookout is located atop Beacon Hill itself. Views of almost the entire eastern half of the Sydney region may be had from the summit which is approximately 152 metres (500 ft) above sea level. Views extend from the southern outskirts of Sydney, west to the Blue Mountains and north to Gosford and the Central Coast. The skyline of the city is to the south. Ships, pleasure craft and occasional migratory whales can be seen out to sea in the east. The lookout is popular with locals on New Year’s Eve when the firework displays across Sydney Harbour are clearly visible, approximately 11 kilometres to the south. The lookout may be reached via Warringah Road. There is a small parking area adjacent to the road with stairs leading to a pathway and the summit.

RED HILL

Red Hill, not to be confused with Beacon Hill, is located at the northern end of the suburb behind the former Beacon Hill High School site. From here there are views across to the Governor Phillip Lookout, and onwards to the city. The views to the north are over the eastern sections of the Garigal National Park, to Cromer and beyond into the Pittwater Council areas of Elanora, Narrabeen and Ingleside. Red Hill played a part in many childhood adventures of the locals over the years. The hill was latticed with many tracks, caves and “hideouts”. On the southern side of the hill between Reynolds Crescent, Spilstead Place and a point approximately half way up the hill stood an old house. The house burnt down in the 1970s and (from all accounts) was uninhabited. Known locally as “the house”, it was ringed by a small dirt track that had worn away in the river sand lining the banks of South Creek. During the period of the early 1970s this track had become popular with local mini bike enthusiasts.

Children also played many other games during the school holiday periods including “playing soldiers” in and out of the wash aways across the top of the hill. Adjacent bushland (which still survives today on the northern side of the hill) provided local children with many adventures over the years. There are several bush tracks which connect the Cromer Valley with the hill and back over the other side to the residential area of Beacon Hill itself. One of the first meetings of the Beacon Hill Bushfire Brigade took place in a cave on Red Hill. Now Red Hill as it is locally known to be a housing development site that was built in the 1990s. Many of the streets in Red Hill are named after notable ships and boats of the British settlement. These include Endeavour Drive, Golden Grove, Scarborough Place, Supply Avenue, Lady Penrhyn Drive, Fishburn Place, Charlotte Place, Friendship Place, Sirius Parade and Borrowdale Place.

Governor Phillip Lookout Trust

The trust was gazetted on 9 December 1966 and was charged with the responsibility not only of protecting and developing the area as an historical feature of the district, but also for the preservation and propagation of the native flora and fauna that surrounds the lookout. The first meeting took place on 10 April 1966. Members of the trust were Mr R.O. Healey, M.L.A. Patron, Mrs M Smith, Mrs D. Wilson, Mr K.M. Rabbidge, Mr K. Watts, Mr M. Thornley, Mr C.E. McDonald and Mr N.R. Wilson.

BROOKVALE

Brookvale is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Brookvale is located 16 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region. The first development in the area was in 1836 when 64 hectares of farmland was granted to William Frederick Parker. In this period further land was sold to the Malcolm, Burns and Miles families. In 1883, Sydney Alexander Malcolm built what became known as ‘Brookvale House’. It eventually was sold in 1961 to the Hooker Investment Corporation paving the way for the construction of Warringah Mall, which is the largest shopping complex in the area. After World War II, much of the surrounding land was bought by immigrants, many of whom were Italian. The Curulli, Caputo and Bombardier families own a large percentage of the land in Brookvale. Brookvale developed from farmland to manufacturing, warehousing, and in recent years there has been significant office space development.

Brookvale has a fast-growing business community, and is a major industrial area. Warringah Mall is located at Brookvale; it has two department stores, several supermarkets, and about 300 other retailers and restaurants. A number of car dealerships and related vehicle services are located in Brookvale.

Brookvale Oval is the home ground of the Manly- Warringah Sea Eagles National Rugby League team. Manly Leagues Club is located nearby. Brookvale also has a soccer team known as Brookvale FC.

The nearest police station is in Frenchs Forest. The nearest ambulance station is in Belrose. The nearest fire stations are in Dee Why or Beacon Hill (RFS).