List of foreshore industrial sites on Sydney Harbour

This is a list of industrial sites on or adjacent to the foreshore of Port Jackson, including Sydney Harbour, North Harbour, Middle Harbour, Lane Cove River, Parramatta River, and the islands within those waterways. Sydney now has relatively few foreshore industrial sites compared with earlier times, and this list is mainly of historical interest.

This list may not include all existing and former industrial sites on or near the foreshore. It covers the period commencing from colonisation of Sydney in 1788.

The Parramatta River, although for the most part tidal, is defined as commencing at a line between Mann's Point, Greenwich and Long Nose Point, Birchgrove.

Northern foreshore Sites are shown in order of location on the northern foreshore, running generally east to west. Suburb/Locality Company/Site Industry/Function Years of operation Current land use / Replaced byNorth HeadNorth Head Quarantine StationQuarantine station for passengers arriving on ships with notifiable diseases. It had its own wharf for landing quarantined passengers from ships.1832—1984Heritage site with 'Q-Station' accommodation.Manly / Little Manly PointManly Gas Co.Gasworks and coal unloading wharf.1885—1964Gasworks buildings were demolished in 1971 but the site remained vacant for nearly 20 years, until its decontamination. It is now Little Manly Point ParkMiddle Harbour / Bantry BayBantry Bay Explosives DepotDepot for the safe storage of explosives.1915—1974Heritage site since 1999.Middle Harbour / CammerayMetropolitan Board of Water Supply and SewerageFolly Point Sewage Treatment Works1891—1927Primrose Park, with some remnants of the sewage works structures.Clifton Gardens / Chowder Bay / Georges HeightsMilitary ForcesSubmarine Mining Depot until 1922 and later Army Maritime School, also naval refuelling facility1889—1997Heritage site and hospitality venues.MosmanGovernment of New South WalesAnimal quarantine station (transferred from Shark Island) In 1917, a new quarantine station was opened at Abbotsford.c1899—c.1916Taronga ZooMosman / Mosman BayArchibald Mosman's whaling stationWhaling station and wharf.1831—1840sRemaining building in Avenue Rd is The Barn Scout Hall now used by 1st Mosman Scouts.Harnett's Sandstone QuarryQuarry and wharf1878—1889Mosman Rowing Club and houses and stone wharf remnants. A narrow reserve and flights of stairs follow the old alignment of an inclined cable tramway.Kurraba PointThrupp's QuarrySandstone quarry. Before being quarried for stone blocks, Kurraba Point was used as a source of ballast for sailing ships.1860—1862Soap and oil factory (see below). Stone from the quarry was used to build the tower and buildings of Fort DenisonPatrick HayesSoap and oil factory—c.1883Land sold in 1883 for ferry base (see below)Port Jackson & Manly Steamship CompanyFerry base and engineering workshop.c.1883—1964When the ferry company was acquired by the NSW Government in 1974, the land was included and it became Kurraba Point Reserve.Neutral BayBenjamin BoydWoolstore of three storeys constructed of sandstone, and reservoir for wool washing, adjacent to Boyd's house 'Craignathan', on the foreshore at what is now Hayes St, Neutral Bay.From a sepia sketch of 'Craignathan' by Samuel Elyard held in the collection the Mitchell Library (State Library of New South Wales)1840sThe disused woolstore building was demolished, in 1884, but some remnants exist of the store and reservoir. During the 1920s, the house became a private hotel. 'Craignathan' remains the name on an apartment complex there.Lars Halvorsen SonsBoat building yard (relocated from Drummoyne in 1925) and, from 1937, a boat servicing facility after boat building was relocated to Kissing Point. 1925—until after 1946 at leastNorth Shore Gas CompanyGasworks and coal unloading wharf.1876—1937World War II torpedo factory. (See below).Royal Australian NavyTorpedo factory1942— c. 1945Naval workshops (See below)Royal Australian Navy Torpedo Maintenance Establishment (RNTME). Naval workshops servicing Royal Navy submarines and destroyers.1946— 1967Submarine base and submarine school. (See below)HMAS Platypus - submarine base, submarine school and torpedo workshop1967— 1999From 2005, redeveloped as 'Sub Base Platypus' by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.KirribilliRobert CampbellOne of Australia's first shipyards was located at Wudyong Point on the eastern side of Kirribilli.1807—?Since 1902, the site has been occupied by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.Pastoral Finance AssociationWool warehouse, meat cold store and wharf. Its generators supplied electricity to customers on the north side of the harbour. Its capacity was 26,000 bales of wool and 60,000 sheep carcasses. There was a wharf of 20,000 sq. feet in area, with 40 feet of water depth, and a barge canal that ran 50 feet inside the building. It was adjacent to Admiralty House, extending to Beulah Street.1890—1921The seven-storey building was destroyed by fire in December 1921, and the land was sold off in 19 allotments, in 1925. Later redeveloped as blocks of apartments.Sydney Harbour Trust / Sydney Ferries LimitedVehicular ferry wharf, located between Jeffrey Street and Admiralty House.1924—c.1932Used during construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and closed after its opening in 1932.Milsons PointSydney Harbour Trust / Sydney Ferries LimitedVehicular ferry wharf, located at the end of Alfred Street.By 1892 —1924Closed, in 1924, to allow construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with vehicle ferries relocated to Kirribilli.Dorman Long & CompanyWorkshops for construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge.c. 1923—c.1932Luna Park since 1935.Sydney Ferries LimitedFerry depot prior to completion of Sydney Harbour Bridge.—c.1932Sydney Ferries LimitedLarge ferry wharves at former tram terminus and train terminus before Harbour Bridge. Associated with the original Milson's Point station.Until 1932Luna Park, and smaller ferry wharf reflecting reduced scale of ferry operations after 1932.Lavender BayGeorge Alderton / Alderton's Lime Works'Bee hive' style lime kilns, using shells harvested in Middle Harbour and shells carried by two ketches from Brisbane Water.—c.1890The railway yard constructed for the original North Shore line (see below). A bottle-shaped brick and cement syphon tank still stood in the yard in 1908, and there may have been remnants of the kilns there as late as 1924.Sydney TrainsLavender Bay train storage yard, known as North Sydney Electric Car Sidings.1890— nowOriginally part of the main North Shore line leading to the first Milson's Point station, it became a train storage yard, after the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened.(Various)Small-scale boat building and repair1860s—2005McMahons PointSydney Ferries LimitedLarge ferry wharves at the former tram terminus used before the Harbour Bridge.Until 1932Smaller wharf reflecting reduced scale of ferry operations after 1932.Sydney Ferries LimitedBlue's Point Ferry DepotUntil 1932Foreshore park and on part the boat shed below.Griffin's boatshed Boat shed with two slipways on Henry Lawson AvenueStructures will be demolished, adding to existing Henry Lawson Reserve.Blues PointSydney Ferries LimitedVehicular ferry loading point.Until 1932The access points for the vehicular ferries still exist, at the end of Blues Point Road, atop the seawall east of Blues Point Tower.McMahons Point / Berrys BayJohn W. Eaton Ltd (Timber Merchants)Power house, two sawmills, engineers shop, joinery shop, blacksmiths shop and wharf and crane.1880— c.1980Sawmillers Reserve, public open space.Watty Ford's shipyard / Walter McFarlane FordBoatyard that made ferries and other vessels. Ford was also well-known as an owner and sailor of 18-footer skiffs.1870—1930Site reused by Stannards (see below)Stannards Marine / now Noakes & Rosman CruisesBoatyard that made ferries and other vessels. The company had tugboat operations, and still does in some other Australian ports.1958—nowModern boatyard and residential apartments, 'The Waterman', after c.1979.Waverton / Berrys BayBPCrude and refined oil terminal1922—1993Carradah Park - Public open space with industrial remnantsWoodleys ShipyardShipbuilding and repair yard. This business relocated from Millers Point in 1906. 1906—2012The buildings and infrastructure were largely intact in 2023, but the site had been cleared by the late February 2026.Quarantine Launch DepotDepot, refuelling facilities and houses for the crew of vessels Pasteur and Jenner, which were used to ferry sick passengers from ships to the North Head Quarantine Station.1912—1988In 1988 the site was transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum.Australian National Maritime MuseumMaintenance facility used by the museum to maintain its heritage fleet.1988—recentTwo houses on the site have been purchased by North Sydney Council, with rest of site under Transport for NSW control and affected by future Western Harbour Tunnel project.Waverton / Balls Head BayBalls Head Coal LoaderCoal unloader, stockpile and ship-loader.1920—1993Public space with remnants, and interpretive signs.Department of Public Works, NSW Quarry for sandstone rock that was used to connect Garden Island to the mainland during the construction of the graving dock.1930s—1942Naval base (see below) sited below the artificial sheer cliff created by the quarrying.Royal Australian NavyNaval base, HMAS Waterhen1943—nowRemains in use.Waverton / Balls Head Bay

(the part of it previously known as Oyster Bay or Cove and Kerosene Bay) Robey's Sugar WorksSugar refinery. This company had financial problems and was bought by CSR in 1859.c.1857—1859Kerosene Works (see below)Australian Mineral Oil Co.Shale oil refinery and handling of imported 'case oil' The first shale came from Stony Creek near 'West Maitland', (probably near modern-day Farley). Later shale seems to have come from Hartley Vale.c.1865—c.1867It was this industry that gave the waterway its earlier name 'Kerosene Bay'. Site reused by Peruvian Oil Company (see below)Peruvian Oil CompanyThe above works, known as the 'North Shore Kerosene Works', was used to process imported crude oil from Peru.January 1868 to at least November 1868.Buildings taken over by an explosive works (see below).Neokratine Safety Explosives Co.Works making 'Neokratine' brand explosive1889—1891North Shore Gas Company (see below)North Shore Gas CompanyGasworks and wharf After coal gas production ceased, during the period 1971–1973, the artist Brett Whitely used the disused coal store building as a studio for creating large artworks.1917—1987Residential development 'Wondakiah', with some public open space. Some of the old gasworks buildings have been repurposed.MillarsTimber yard and wharf1930sNow a bushland reserve, Badangi Reserve. A history of the timber yard and wharf appears on signage there.Greenwich /