There are some beautiful little islands scattered throughout Sydney Harbour. All of these islands offer picturesque views of the harbour, city skyline and the idyllic waterways of Sydney Harbour.
Water Taxis can take you to and from any of the Sydney Harbour islands for an island picnic, BBQ or function.
Goat Island
The Aboriginal name for Goat Island is Me-mel. It was claimed by Bennelong to have been owned by his father and in the early years of the colony Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo were often seen on the island.
In the early 1830s with concern growing about the amount of military explosives stored in the Commissariat in The Rocks, work started on Goat Island to build a massive powder magazine complex. The huge magazine was capable of holding 3,000 barrels of gunpowder and together with a second magazine added in 1853, was used to store explosives throughout the 19th Century.
In the late 1830s a Water Police Station was also built on the north-eastern tip of the island and it was from this vantage point that an eye was kept out for smugglers and escaped convicts.
In the years to follow, Goat Island took on many functions, including use as the Sydney Harbour Trust Depot, a shipyard, a home for the Harbour Master, and the harbour’s fire brigade. The Harbour Master’s grand residence and crew cottages still remain today!
In 1995, Goat Island became part of Sydney Harbour National Park. Goat Island can be visited on guided tours and for special events and is accessible by water taxi and water limousine. It is also a fantastic location for watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks as it is directly in front of the Harbour Bridge and is very close by.
Shark Island
Shark Island was named because its shape sort of resembles a shark, rather than the wildlife that may patrol the surrounding waters! It was those shallow waters that presented a constant danger to the many ships entering the harbour, especially with the growth of trade in the early 19th Century.
Between 1880 and 1975, Boam-billy – as Shark is known by local Aboriginal people – was used as an animal quarantine area and a naval storage depot.
Parts of Shark Island were set aside as a public recreation reserve as early as 1879 and in 1975, the island became a part of Sydney Harbour National Park.
You can visit Shark Island on a water taxi or a water limousine. Shark Island is accessible for picnics, functions, special events and is a great spot to go for New Year’s Eve.
Clark Island
Clark Island, or Billong-olola, as the island is known to local Aboriginal people, was named after marine officer Lieutenant Ralph Clark, who arrived in Sydney with the First Fleet in 1788.
In 1789, Lieutenant Clark tried to cultivate a vegetable garden on this one-hectare island. He abandoned the idea when his crops were repeatedly stolen.
Well before Lieutenant Clark’s arrival however, the island was an established meeting place and food source for local Aboriginal tribes, with a special channel on the eastern side of the island acting as a natural fish trap.
Clark Island became part of Sydney Harbour National Park in 1975.
Clark is accessible via water taxi or water limousine for picnic bookings, functions and special events. The island is also an excellent spot for New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Fort Denison
Fort Denison, the iconic sandstone sentinel in the middle of Sydney Harbour, features the last remaining Martello Tower in Australia.
When the First Fleet arrived Fort Denison, known by local Aboriginal people as Mattewai, was a small rocky outcrop rising some 25 meters above sea level.
What you see today was built from 8,000 tonnes of sandstone quarried near Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay. Completed in 1857, the Fort was named after Sir William Denison, then Governor of New South Wales. Fort Denison became part of Sydney Harbour National Park in 1992.
You can visit Fort Denison by water taxi or water limousine for a meal at the restaurant. The island is also available for functions and special events, and offers one of Sydney’s most exclusive New Year’s Eve experiences.