Vorlage:Otheruses Pittwater is a body of water extending south from Broken Bay, New South Wales, Australia parallel to the coast.
The waterway was surveyed by crew members of HMS Sirius in 1788, and named Pitt Water after British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger.[1] The first regular water transport across Pittwater was the cutter Francis which carried settlers and farm produce from Sydney between 1793 and 1800.[2] By 1803 a fleet of privately-owned coasters had begun operating between Pittwater, Cowan Creek and Berowra Waters, usually travelling in convey to reduce the risk of piracy by escaped convicts living along the shore. These vessels were generally built on Scotland Island and were not sufficiently seaworthy to leave Broken Bay and traverse the ocean coastline. A customs house operated from Pittwater between 1843 and 1900, and a government-built sandstone lighthouse was completed at Barrenjoey in 1881.[2]
Shipping declined as a transport medium following road and rail construction through the region between 1850 and 1890, especially the construction of a rail bridge over the waterway in 1899. The last locally-constructed shipping vessel was launched from a shipyard at Blackwall in 1912, and scheduled shipping services ceased in 1914.[2]
It gives its name to:
References
- ↑ Pittwater History
- ↑ a b c Mary Clark: Ships, Shores and Trading Ports. Waterways Authority of NSW, 2001, ISBN 0-7313-8898-4, S. 107–108.