Goat Island from Balmain

Goat Island is a rocky island in Sydney Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. The island is some 400m by 200m in size and is located north-west of the Sydney central business district. Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge located on Port Jackson Port Jackson, also known as Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. ... Emblems: Floral - Waratah (Telopea speciosissima); Bird - Kookaburra (Dacelo gigas); Animal - Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus); Fish - Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis) Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Const. ... The Sydney central business district (CBD) is, commercially, the most important in Australia. ...

Goat Island lies off the shores of the Sydney suburbs of Balmain and Millers Point, at the junction of Darling Harbour with the main channel of Sydney Harbour. Over the years Goat Island has served as a quarry, convict stockade, explosives store, police station, fire station, boatyard and film set. Today the island forms part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Millers Point is an inner-city suburb right next to the city of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Darling Harbour is a large recreational pedestrian precinct situated on the western edge of central Sydney, Australia. ... Parts of Sydney Harbour, its foreshores and various islands make up a national park. ...

History

Confusingly, some early maps of Sydney Harbour show the current Goat Island with the name Cockatoo Island, whilst the current Cockatoo Island is named Banks Island. However by the late 1820s the naming of the two islands had stabilised at the current situation.^[1] Cockatoo Island at night. ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ...

Whilst the use of Goat Island as both a naval arsenal and a convict stockade were discussed during the late 1820s, the first use of the island was in 1831, as a sandstone quarry. This use set the tone for much of the later life of the island, with the first of many bureaucratic disputes between the colony's local civil government and the local military establishment who reported directly to the War Office in London. In this case the Surveyor General, Major Thomas Mitchell, objected to the quarrying on the grounds that what was being quarried away was a valuable point for the purpose of defence, and quarrying soon ceased.^[2] Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Old War Office Building, Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Surveyor General of New South Wales is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in New South Wales. ... Major Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell (June 16, 1792-1855), surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. ...

By the early 1830s there was considerable concern about the amount of military explosives being stored in the Commissariat in The Rocks district of central Sydney. In 1833 gangs of convicts started work quarrying stone and levelling ground on a site at the south-western side of the island. The powder magazine was completed by January 1839, and is a substantial, stone-built, bomb-proof construction. It was during this original period of construction that the convict Charles Anderson was said to have been kept chained to a rock for two years. A stone cut couch, with fixing points for a platform and the wooden lid said to have provided him with shelter, can still be seen.^[3] Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta in south-west Nigeria... George Street, the main street of The Rocks The Rocks is a tourist precinct and historic area near the central business district (CBD) of Sydney, Australia. ... Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Anderson was an Australian convict who was chained to Goat Island in Sydney Harbour for two years. ...

Also in the late 1830s, a water police station was built on Goat Island. This was constructed at the north-eastern tip of the island and at the opposite end from the magazine. For defensive reasons, and to provide a clear boundary between the domain of the police, part of the colonial civil government, and that of the military magazine, a water level ditch was cut to separate the north-eastern tip of the island from the bulk of the island. This 'cut' can still be seen today.^[4] Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta in south-west Nigeria...

In 1854 a new Colonial Magazine was constructed to the north of the existing magazine, which became known as the Queen's Magazine. This was a building of much lighter construction, and was intended for the storage of civilian explosives belonging to the colonial government and local merchants. In 1864 the police station was converted into a laboratory for the preparation of cartridges, requiring the building of a bridge over the cut. The water police were moved to Kirribilli. In the 1870s magazines were built on the east side of the island to house the new explosive dynamite. By this time most of the storage of propellant powders and cartridge manufacturing had moved to nearby Spectacle Island.^[5] 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Kirribilli is a harbourside suburb of Lower Northern Sydney (the Sydney Lower North Shore), Australia. ... // Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin using diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ... Spectacle Island is an island in Sydney Harbour, Australia. ...

In 1900 all explosives were removed from Goat Island. The island is believed to have been used for a period in that year as a bacteriology station, for the investigation of the major outbreak of bubonic plague in the nearby Rocks district, but firm evidence for this usage is lacking. What is certain is that by 1901 the island had become the depot for the Sydney Harbour Trust, responsible for the maintenance of that body's significant fleet of tugs, dredgers and other floating plant. Over the following years until the mid-1920s, the island saw the construction of a harbour master's house on the highest point of the island, together with four cottages for married members of the fireboat crew stationed on the island, and a barracks for the unmarried members of the same crew.^[6] 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... Bubonic plague is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease plague, which is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Le Four manoeuvering in Brest harbour A tugboat, or tug, is a boat used to manoeuvre, primarily by towing or pushing other vessels (see shipping) in harbours, over the open sea or through rivers and canals. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The 1920s was a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... The fireboat Guardian was a gift of survivors of the Loma Prieta earthquake to supplement San Franciscos fireboat Phoenix. ...

Between 1925 and 1931 the magazine area to the south-weat of the island was converted into a shipyard for the repair of the trusts vessels and floating plant. Over the following years this has grown to include four slipways, of 500 ton, 150 ton and 12 ton (x2) capacity respectively, plus a 770 foot wharf. The Colonial Magazine was recycled as a shipwright's workshop, whilst the Queens Magazine became a general store. In 1936 the Sydney Harbour Trust was replaced by the New South Wales Maritime Services Board, but the island retained its role.^[7] 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... A slipway inside the Cobb at Lyme Regis, England A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. ... Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Maritime Services Board finally relinquished control of the island in 1995, and Goat Island became a unit of the Sydney Harbour National Park.^[8] 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Parts of Sydney Harbour, its foreshores and various islands make up a national park. ...

During the mid to late 1990s, the island was used as a film-set for the Australian television series Water Rats. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the very late 1980s and from 2000 and beyond. ... Water Rats was an Australian TV police drama broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. ...

The island has also played host to rock concerts from Midnight Oil in 1985 and Green Day in 2000. Both were presented by radio station Triple J. Midnight Oil was an Australian rock band known for their driving hard rock sound, intense live performances and their overt left-wing political activism. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Green Day is a musical trio from East Bay, California, consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Tré Cool (drums, backing vocals). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Triple J (JJJ) is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). ...

Goat Island is currently closed for maintenance. There is no advertised date as to when the work will be completed and tours reinstated. [9]

References

• ↑  James Semple Kerr (1985). Goat Island - An investigation for the Maritime Services Board of NSW. The Maritime Services Board of NSW. ISBN 0-7305-1261-4.. Sketch map on page 2 and quotation at head of page 3.
• ↑  ibid. Page 3.
• ↑  ibid. Pages 4 to 11.
• ↑  ibid. Pages 14 to 15.
• ↑  ibid. Pages 16 to 30.
• ↑  ibid. Pages 32 to 37.
• ↑  ibid. Pages 38 to 43.
• ↑  New South Wales Department of Environment and Conservation (2005). Sydney Harbour National Park - Culture & history. Retrieved October 10, 2005.

Ibid (Latin, short for ibidem, the same place) is the term used to provide an endnote or footnote citation or reference for a source that was cited in the last endnote or footnote. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Coordinates: -33.852° 151.197° Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
• Goat Island, Sydney Harbour from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.