Bronte
Our journey today started at Bronte, named for Horatio Nelson, who captured Bronte in Sicily and was created Duke of Bronte of the Kingdom of Sicily by King Ferdinand III of Sicily. Bronte Beach sits on Nelson Bay (also named for Horatio), surrounded by Bronte Park and is located 7 kilometres from the city.
The first nations people were probably the Gadigal people, but some sources name the Bidjigal people as well. Most of them were killed by smallpox and forced to move inland so there’s little cultural knowledge of the area.
Bronte House
Our first stop, Bronte House, 470 Bronte Road, was designed by the Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis and built by Robert and Georgina Lowe. Mortimer had been granted 12 acres of beach front land and started building the house in 1838. However, under financial duress he sold it to Robert Lowe who completed it in 1845. Georgina Lowe was a skilled watercolour artist, botanist and gardener, providing the first sketches of the house and area, now kept in the State Library. She developed the garden, which was neglected over the years until Leo Schofield moved to the property in 1994 and is credited with restoring it. I can recall articles he wrote about the house, talking about the cannas he had planted and wondering what they were. The property is owned by Waverley Council and leased to private tenants, who are expected to maintain the house and gardens. Maintenance costs in 2012 were $200,000 per annum.
It is open to the public a few times a year; not that day though, we resorted to sticking our phones over the fence – glad no one was around!
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![Bronte House]()
Bronte House from over the fence
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![Bronte House]()
A section of the garden at Bronte House
Bronte Park
Off back down the hill to the beautiful Bronte Park, originally part of the land granted to Mortimer Lewis.
Bronte Beach and Pool
We walked along the beach, closed due to rough weather (and a body found very early that morning), and past the Bronte rock pool, constructed in 1887. It is empty of water and being cleaned, with workmen shovelling sand out of the bottom of the pool. A rare event!
Waverley Cemetery
We climbed the steps to the parking area across the road from the Bronte Road café strip. Turning left, we commence the Bronte to Coogee part of the Coastal walk up through a steep cutting (the tram line passage) until we reach Calga reserve offering great views. We pass by Waverley Cemetery, where tours are held Saturdays at 9:00am. It is the final resting place for more than 100,000 people including several notable people from literary, business, arts, political and sporting backgrounds, a handful of them are:
Dame Constance Elizabeth D’Arcy, obstetrician and gynaecologist from 1905. She had to complete her residency in Adelaide as neither Sydney teaching hospital (RPA and Sydney Hospital) would accept a woman
Henry Lawson, poet and author
Dorothea Mackellar, poet and author of ‘My Country’
Sir Francis Forbes, first NSW Chief Justice who helped shape the constitution and opposed continued transportation
Sarah ‘Fanny’ Durack, first Australian woman to win Olympic gold
William Dymock, founder of the long-term bookselling business
George Freeman, a 1970s and 80s ‘colourful racing identity’
We continued to Clovelly.
References
https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/cemeteries