The Sutherland Shire, is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River. The administrative centre of the local government is located in the suburb of Sutherland, with council chambers located in Eton Street.
It is known as the Birthplace of Modern Australia, as it was the first landing site of Captain James Cook, who went ashore onto what is now the suburb of Kurnell on 29 April 1770. It was originally intended to be the site of the first British Settlement, before Sydney Cove was chosen as the location during the First Fleet.
With a Population of 219,828, it is the second most populous Local Government Area in Sydney & New South Wales (behind The City of Blacktown), and the 8th largest overall in Australia. It is 26 km (16 mi) south of Sydney CBD, and is bordered by LGA's, The City of Bankstown, The City of Liverpool, The City of Hurstville and The City of Campbelltown. The Sutherland Shire is also known simply as "The Shire".
Overview
The Sutherland Shire is predominantly a residential area but also has substantial industrial, commercial and rural areas. The major commercial areas of the shire are located in the suburbs of Sutherland, Miranda (home to a large Westfield shopping centre, traditionally known as Miranda Fair), Cronulla, Caringbah, Menai and Engadine.
The Sutherland Shire also includes the village of Kurnell, close to the first landing site of James Cook, Sydney's oil refinery and Towra Point Nature Reserve, a wetland of international importance. The Sutherland Shire is also where Australia's first and only nuclear facility is based, at Lucas Heights. The reactor, run by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) does not produce electricity but is used for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, for research and irradiation.
There are four national parks partially in the Sutherland Shire: Georges River National Park, Botany Bay National Park, Heathcote National Park and the Royal National Park. The isolated bayside suburbs of Bundeena and Maianbar are situated between the northern edge of the Royal National park and Port Hacking. They are only accessible through the park or by the ferry from Cronulla (see above).
Aboriginal heritage
The original inhabitants of the Sutherland area were some clans of the Dharawal people. Archaeological work in the Sutherland Shire has revealed evidence for Aboriginal settlement dating back at least 8,500 years. The original coastline around Sydney has retreated about 20 km and that those flooded coastal plains may hold evidence showing occupation of this area going back well beyond the 8,500 years revealed in the 1966 Archaeological exploration.
Within the Royal National Park, field surveys have revealed many hundreds of Aboriginal rock shelters. In other locations (The Military Area near Holsworthy and Darkes Forrest) there are thousands of sites, camping areas and sacred places. These areas mentioned have not been affected greatly by European occupation and building and may give a clearer example for the quality of life and abundance of resources in Sutherland/Liverpool areas.
Since 1966 when there was an Archaeological dig in Cabbage Tree Basin archaeologists have uncovered parts of an extensive open-air midden or cooking and camp sites. Successive layers of habitation show the diet of the native Aborigines - oysters, mussels, snapper, bream, and Sydney cockle. There is also evidence of seal, dolphin, a range of marsupials, dingo and even whale. Several edge-ground axeshave also found.
There are many existing sites where paintings and engravings of great age show changes in art style over thousands of years. Some of these changes can be linked to the extinction of some animals in the area and also with the coming of Europeans to Sutherland. Some have interpreted these changes in style to changes in culture and people which would indicate that there have been a number of changes of communities over time.
European settlement
European discovery of what is now Sutherland Shire was made by Cook, who entered Botany Bay on 29 April 1770. Cook and his party explored around , and left the bay on May 6. During their brief stay, a Scottish seaman named Forbes Sutherland died of tuberculosis. In his honour, Cook named the northwest point of the peninsula Point Sutherland.
The British government needed a new site for transported convicts as they had lost their American colonies following defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Botany Bay was chosen as the new penal settlement and the First Fleetunder Governor Arthur Phillip anchored off Kurnell on 18 January 1788. After sending a party to clear land for settlement, Phillip soon realised the area was unsuitable. There was lack of shelter for ships, inadequate water and poor soil. On 24 January, two French ships were sighted off the coast, causing Phillip to raise English colours near Sutherland Point. Governor Phillip sailed north to explore Port Jackson, and eventually settled at Sydney Cove.
The first landowner in Sutherland Shire was James Birnie, a mercantile trader who was granted by promise 700 acres (2.8 km²) at Kurnell in 1815. After the completion of official surveying, a large part of what is now Sutherland Shire was proclaimed as the Hundred of Woronora by Governor Richard Bourkein 1835. Title to land was not granted by the Crownuntil 1856, before which there was practically no settlement. Timber cutting was the primary industry, supplemented by shell gathering in the Port Hacking area.
With the opening of Crown Lands sales in the Shire, Thomas Holt purchased 12,000 acres (49 km²). His developmental projects included oysterfarms, cattle grazing, and coal mining. The investment which proved profitable however, were his timber leases. He constructed a magnificent manor on the foreshores of Sylvania, called Sutherland House, based on English feudal lines.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Shire