The wharf has been redeveloped a number of times since the first structure was constructed in 1856.[1] New facilities were added in the early 20th century, and it was rebuilt in a modernist style in the early 1940s, the basic form of which remains today. The wharf was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 April 2000.[2]
In addition to passenger services, a cargo service was also run to Manly until the 1928-opening of the Spit Bridge.[3] Following the closure of the cargo service, an amusement park, Manly Fun Pier, was opened on the east wharf in 1931 which closed prior to the 1990 redevelopment of the wharf.
To the south west of the main wharf is the Manly Hotel Wharf also known as the East Wharf, which from a transport perspective is regarded as part of Manly Wharf.[4] Services from that wharf are shown as operating from platform 3 in the services below.
Keolis Downer Northern Beaches operates bus services from The Esplanade and Belgrave Street.[10] In the 1980s, a bus interchange was built outside the wharf.[11] It was demolished when the wharf was redeveloped and the stops moved further away.
Manly ferry wharf circa 1890 - 1910 showing paddle-steamer ferries Fairlight (left) and Brighton
The first wharf was constructed in 1856 on the same site as the present wharf.[1] Lumby (2016) says the date was 1855, and the wharf built by English-born merchant and Manly enthusiast, Henry Gilbert Smith, who envisaged the place as a seaside resort. Smith bought up land in 1853 and eventually acquired an interest in steam ferries serving the locality. As well as building a house known as "Fairlight", Smith was responsible for cottages, a hotel, church, school, pleasure grounds and swimming baths. He also had much to do with planting the first Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) on the ocean front.[2][12]:1
In 1896, the first film ever made in Australia was Marius Sestier's Passengers Alighting from Ferry Brighton at Manly. The film, consisting of footage of the PS Brighton arriving at the wharf, premiered at the Salon Lumière on Pitt St (Australia's first cinema) on 27 October 1896. No copy is known to have survived.[13]
Prior to the construction of the first Spit Bridge in 1928, retired passenger ferries were used as cargo carriers.[3] Following the closure of the cargo service, an amusement park, Manly Fun Pier, was opened on the east wharf. The amusement park closed in 1989 and the two wharf structures were redeveloped in 1990.
Steam ferry Dee Why approaching Manly Wharf, early 1940s which is being rebuilt. Image shows the older Edwardian structure being replaced by the current modernist structure. On the left is the east wharf which was a cargo wharf until 1928 and then an amusement park until 1989
Improvements were made to the wharf in the first half of the 20th century. These were swept away at the end of the inter-war era after the Maritime Services Board decided to construct an "imposing" new wharf during 1938 following several years of local agitation. A fire at the wharf in 1939 precipitated further action.[2][12]:1,2
The Maritime Services Board engaged gifted young modernist architect Arthur Baldwinson (1908–68), not long after his return from several years working in England, to design major reconstructions of the ferry wharves at Manly and Circular Quay.[2][12]:1,2
The wharf was built in a modernistic transport idiom with typical stylistic features of era such as play of circular and rectangular geometric terms, bayed facade to the water (marine connotations), wide arc plan at entrance, clock tower with "fins", flat roofing marked by wide fascia board. The current entrance was originally designed as a tram terminus and turning area. The structure was subjected to major alterations to the wharf wings involving a T-shaped clerestorey.[2][14] The works were completed in 1941.[2][12]:2[14]
Until the mid-1960s, ferries docked at both sides of the wharf. When the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company introduced hydrofoils to the Manly service in the mid-1960s, a pontoon was attached to the eastern side to allow the hydrofoils to berth without their foils fouling the wharf. This was removed when the hydrofoils were replaced by JetCats in 1991. When the Freshwater class ferries were introduced in the 1980s, the western berth was rebuilt to accommodate their onboard gangways.
The wharf complex has a number of retail outlets and restaurants.[15] In 2014, plans were lodged to add a second storey to the wharf.[16][17]
A broad wharf supported on timber piers and with a concrete platform. The superstructure is constructed of steel and timber. The facade and side walls form an important architectural design, similar to the Circular Quay ferry terminals.[2][18]
The original part of the wharf was built in a modernistic transport idiom, with typical stylistic features of era including play of circular and rectangular geometric terms, bayed facade to the water (marine connotations), wide arc plan at entrance, clock tower with "fins", flat roofing marked by wide fascia board. The current entrance was originally designed as a tram terminus and turning area. Timber clad framed structure opening and large internal spaces, concrete deck to west enclosed by "ship" railing. Some original shop fittings, signage etc. Subjected to major alterations to the wharf wings involving a T-shaped clerestorey.[2][14]
Modifications and dates
Additions to the wharf include the hydrofoil pontoon c.1968, and the more recent elevated platforms for new ferries.[2][18]
As at 11 April 2001, the wharf was considered of environmental significance as a visually prominent man-made feature; and of historical significance for its associations with the maritime activities at Manly as a tourist destination and suburb of Sydney, dependent on the ferry link to the CBD.[2][1]
Together with Circular Quay, the wharf is the only substantial older style ferry wharf surviving in Port Jackson: association with Manly's history as a recreational centre.[2][18]
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
Of historical significance for its associations with the maritime activities at Manly as a tourist destination and suburb of Sydney, dependent on the ferry link to the Sydney CBD.[2][1]
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
Of environmental significance as a visually prominent manmade feature.[2][1]
The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
Of social significance as the ferry link to Sydney CBD by commuters and visitors.[2]
Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the Sydney central business district on Sydney Cove, between Bennelong Point and The Rocks. It is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.
Circular Quay railway station is a heritage-listed elevated railway station that is located on the City Circle line, serving the Circular Quay precinct of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is served by Sydney Trains' T2 Leppington & Inner West Line, T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line and T8 Airport & South Line services.
King Street Wharf is a mixed-use tourism, commercial, residential, retail and maritime development on the eastern shore of Darling Harbour, an inlet of Sydney Harbour, Australia. Located on the western side of the city's central business district, the complex served as a maritime industrial area in the early and mid 20th century. It was redeveloped as part of extensive urban renewal projects around Sydney Harbour in the 1980s and 90s. The complex is host to a cluster of nine wharves, with the first two wharves currently in use by private ferry operator Captain Cook Cruises and a third decommissioned by Sydney Ferries.
Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Manly has a long-standing reputation as a tourist destination, owing to its attractive setting on the Pacific Ocean and easy accessibility by ferry.
Circular Quay ferry wharf is a complex of wharves at Circular Quay, on Sydney Cove, that serves as the hub for the Sydney Harbour ferry network.
Milsons Point ferry wharf is located on the northern side of Sydney Harbour serving the Sydney suburb of Milsons Point. It is next to Luna Park and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is served by Sydney Ferries Parramatta River and Pyrmont Bay services operated by First Fleet and RiverCat class ferries.
Balmain East ferry wharf is located on Sydney Harbour serving the Sydney suburb of Balmain East.
Manly ferry services operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
Pyrmont Bay ferry wharf is located on the western side of Darling Harbour serving the inner-city Sydney suburb of Pyrmont. It is located adjacent to the Australian National Maritime Museum and close to The Star Casino.
Rose Bay ferry wharf is located on the southern side of Sydney Harbour serving the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay.
The SS South Steyne is a former Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour. She was the world's largest steam-powered passenger ferry and operated on the service from 1938 to 1974. Restored in the 1980s, she served as a restaurant ship in Newcastle in the 1990s, and in 2000 was moved back to Sydney and open to the public at Darling Harbour. Since April 2016 she has been stored at Berrys Bay. She was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Sydney Fast Ferries operated high-speed ferry services on Port Jackson between Circular Quay and Manly from April 2010 until March 2015.
Manly Fast Ferry is an Australian ferry operator that services the areas of Botany Bay and Port Jackson.
Barangaroo ferry wharf is a ferry wharf located on the eastern side of Darling Harbour, in Sydney, Australia. The wharf is the major public transport link of the Barangaroo precinct, situated west of the Sydney central business district. The complex consists two wharves, with provision for a third wharf in the future. It is serviced by Sydney Ferries' F3 Paramatta River and F4 Pyrmont Bay services. It opened on 26 June 2017.
The Pyrmont Bay ferry service, officially known as F4 Pyrmont Bay, is a commuter ferry service in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the Sydney Ferries network, it is operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries and services the Lavender Bay and Darling Harbour areas. It began operation on 25 October 2020, and replaced the western half of the F4 Cross Harbour ferry service. Emerald-class ferries and SuperCat ferries operate the service.
The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping operations on and around the site date from 1792, the current primary structure and waterfront promenade date from 1958, with subsequent on-going alterations and land reclamation throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The current design retains the black steel portal frame trusses of the original 1958 structure, with major additions completed in 1988 in the Post-War International Style through the collaboration of Sydney architects Lawrence Nield and Peter Tonkin.
The Freshwater class is a class of ferry operating the Manly ferry service between Circular Quay and Manly on Sydney Harbour. The ferries are owned by the Government of New South Wales and operated by the franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries under the government's Sydney Ferries brand.
The Sydney Cove railings are heritage-listed railings located at the Circular Quay concourse, Circular Quay east and west, in the inner city Sydney suburbs of Dawes Point, The Rocks and the CBD, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. These were built from 1900. The railings were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.
Sydney Harbour ferry services date back to the first years of Sydney's European settlement. Slow and sporadic boats ran along the Parramatta River from Sydney to Parramatta and served the agricultural settlements in between. By the mid-1830s, speculative ventures established regular services. From the late-nineteenth century the North Shore developed rapidly. A rail connection to Milsons Point took alighting ferry passengers up the North Shore line to Hornsby, New South Wales via North Sydney. Without a bridge connection, increasingly large fleets of steamers serviced the cross harbour routes and in the early twentieth century, Sydney Ferries Limited was the largest ferry operator in the world.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 Anglin Associates (1990). Maritime Services Board Heritage and Conservation Register: Sydney Harbour. p.2033.
Wharves and services in italics are planned or under construction
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Manly Wharf
