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North Head Quarantine Station Sydney

RMS Niagara Carving North Head Quarantine Station

North Head Quarantine Station

An important part of Sydney’s past, North Head Quarantine Station once protected the city from disease by acting as the quarantine station from early in the colonies founding until 1984.

Although now disused, and renamed Q Station, it contains accommodation and a restaurant, while preserving the historical significance of the area.


Getting to The Quarantine Station

Driving

Located outside the Visitor Centre is a car park, which makes driving yourself a convenient option.

Public Transport

From the Manly Ferry Wharf, bus 135 takes 10 minutes to drive to Q Station. This bus runs every hour and connects well with the ferry arriving and departing Manly. Located outside the main entrance, the bus stop is easy to find.

Ferries to Manly run from Circular Quay, taking around 30 minutes for the trip. Alternately, the Manly Fast Ferry takes 20 minutes, but is more expensive. There is a Fast Ferry service to Q Station Wharf, if you want to start here instead of in Manly.

Walking

Taking 30 minutes, the shortest walk winds through Manly’s streets, to the Q Station car park.

Shuttle Bus

A shuttle bus operates from the main entrance, down to the wharf area, removing the need for a steep walk. Running all day, the bus makes getting around far quicker than walking. Walking from the entrance to the wharf area takes around 10 minutes.

The Stairs Down to Q Station
The Stairs Down to Q Station
The Stairs Down to Q Station
The Stairs Down to Q Station

An interesting walk connects Q Station to North Head winding through coastal Australian bushland. This is a well structured path with lots of signs. The path also passes the third quarantine station cemetery which is an interesting place to walk around and view the old grave sites.

Guided Tours of the Quarantine Station

Tours of the historical buildings are available and can be booked online. The meeting point for the tour is near the wharf at the visitor centre. If you are not staying on site this means that you will walk though other old buildings on your way giving you a great overview of what is there (alternately, you can catch the shuttle bus).

You get to walk around the hospital, grounds, decontamination rooms, fumigation rooms and various other areas. The walk to the hospital at the top of the hill is very steep.

Starting at the wharf, the guide explained the use and history of the station before showing us the plaques carved into the rock face by ship’s passengers, many of which are quite artistic.

RMS Lusitania Carving North Head Quarantine Station
RMS Lusitania Carving
Ship Carving North Head Quarantine Station
Ship Carving
RMS Niagara Carving North Head Quarantine Station
RMS Niagara Carving

Our first stop was the decontamination rooms where patients were showered before entering the facility. We then saw the fumigation rooms where their belongings were placed in larger chambers and decontaminated. Several old suitcases and trolleys are set up to show how they were used.

Shower Cubicles
Shower Cubicles
Fumigation Chamber
Fumigation Chamber

Our last stop was the hospital at the top of the hill, where the sick were cared for.

Hospital
Hospital
Hospital Ward
Hospital Ward

Wharf Precinct

There is a little museum at the wharf, which is where you will find the ship’s plaques. This was a really interesting tour, and the guide had a lot of knowledge about the working and history of the fascility.

The area provided several magnificent views over Sydney Harbour and towards the city. Quarantine Beach sitting next to the wharf is a nice area with views back to the wharf and across the harbour to the city.

Quarantine Beach North Head Quarantine Station
Quarantine Beach
Door Decoration Q Station
Door Decoration Q Station
Door Decoration Q Station
Door Decoration Q Station

The Third Quarantine Cemetery

At the end of the guided tour, we walked to the Third Quarantine Cemetery where the headstones are still standing amongst the Australian bush with views over the harbour.

Headstones in the third Quarantine Cemetery
Headstones in the third Quarantine Cemetery
Headstones in the third Quarantine Cemetery
Headstones in the third Quarantine Cemetery

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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Sphinx Memorial Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

The Sphinx Memorial

Sphinx Memorial Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Located near the North Turramurra Gate and the Lady Davidson Private Hospital, the Sphinx Memorial commemorates the fallen soldiers of World War One. Restored and rededicated in 1995, the memorial now has had a new lease of life.

Made from local sandstone by 5756 Private W. T. Shirley as a memorial to fallen A.I.F. comrades, the Sphinx is approximately 1/8th the size of the Great Sphinx, located on Egypt’s Giza Plateau. William Shirley was a patient of the Lady Davidson Convalescent Hospital for returned World War One Australian veterans. Not only suffering from gassing, he had the complication of tuberculosis.

Only able to work one to two hours a day due to his condition, the Sphinx took one and a half years to complete. William Shirley laboured at creating his personal memorial to his fallen A.I.F comrades from 1926 to 1928.

What did We Think?

This was a very interesting monument to visit, because it is a personal tribute to fallen comrades. The subject of the sphinx is also unusual but relevant to all the servicemen who fought in the desert.

Sydney Morning Herald Tribute To the Sphinx Memorial

Mr. William T. Shirley, creator of the rock carving, “The Sphinx,” in Kuring-gai Chase, died at the Prince of Wales Hospital on Tuesday. The carving stands as a permanent memorial to the skill and patience of a brave sufferer, who contracted tuberculosis, following on war service.

Mr. Shirley was a stonemason before he left for the war. At the Lady Davidson Home, Turramurra, which he entered for treatment, the ordinary hospital occupations did not seem to appeal to him. As he was not strong enough to return to his trade, it was suggested that he should carve a rock in Kuring-gai Chase on the model of the Great Sphinx of Giza, which guards the entrance to the Nile Valley. He had seen the Great Sphinx before he went to France, and eagerly set about carving one of much smaller dimensions. On account of his health, Mr. Shirley was not allowed to work more than a couple of hours a day, sometimes less, but he made excellent, progress in cutting down the great rock, and within several months the form of The Sphinx took shape.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 29 August 1929

The Gosford Petroglyphs or Hieroglyphs

For another story about Australia’s connection to Egypt, read about the Gosford Glyphs. Located an hour’s drive from the sphinx the glyphs are interesting, along with the many other attractions around Gosford.

Mainmast of HMAS Adelaide

Sitting next to the Sphinx Memorial is the mainmast of HMAS Adelaide. It is dedicated to World War Two soldiers, sailors, and airmen who died as a result of tuberculosis. The nearby Lady Davidson Repatriation Hospital treated returned servicemen with this condition.

A dedicatory plaque and a plaque explaining the role played by HMAS Adelaide accompany the mast. The plaque makes the presence of the mast clearer as it provides interesting information.

The Ship’s plaque reads:

The IMPROVED TOWN Class light cruiser HMAS ADELAIDE was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 5th August 1922. Built at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney, HMAS ADELAIDE was active with the Australian Fleet until paid off into reserve in 1928. During the ship’s first commission, HMAS ADELAIDE participated in the 1924/25 world cruise as part of the Royal Navy’s Special Service Squadron and in 1927 proceeded to the Solomon Islands on a peacekeeping cruise.

During 1938/39 the cruiser was modernised to meet the threat from more capable aircraft and recommissioned for service on 13 March 1939.

In the Second World War, HMAS ADELAIDE operated along the Australian eastern and western coasts. During September 1940 she proceeded to the French colony of New Caledonia to help in the transfer of formal control from Vichy to Free French forces and on 28 November 1942, the cruiser sank the German ‘blockade runner’ Ramses.

HMAS ADELAIDE provided gunfire support to landings in Ambon in 1944, before returning to Sydney for duties as a submarine depot ship. On 26 February 1946 HMAS ADELAIDE paid off from naval service and on 21 March 1947 was sold to be broken up in Port Kembla.

The ship’s mainmast was erected adjacent to the Sphinx Memorial in Ku-ring-gai National Park in about 1950.

To commemorate the end of the Second World war as part of the ‘Australia Remembers’ year, the mast was restored and on 9 November 1995, rededicated at an official ceremony.

The Ship’s Plaque

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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Hunter Wetlands Centre Newcastle

Birds at Hunter Wetlands Centre

Hunter Wetlands Centre

Located in Shortland just outside of Newcastle, the Hunter Wetlands Centre is a community based project returning this once industrial wasteland back to important wetlands. Numerous migratory birds pass through here as well as local birds that use it as a nesting place.

There is ample parking and a café provides snacks for either before or after your visit.

Several short walks wind around the ponds and stands of trees, providing different aspects of the area and differing habitats for birds. We found the tracks very easy to negotiate and well maintained.

After our walk we sat in the café overlooking the central pond and watched the birds as they flocked around the central pond..

For other stories about Newcastle and the Hunter Region, please click on this link.

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