New views of North Head's old stuff

We've all been to North Head, driven out to the lookouts for the spectacular views across to South Head or up the Harbour. Or we might have strolled up by foot from Manly via Shelly Beach, and through that hole in the wall.

Well I've only recently discovered that the experience is now far richer than that. There's now a North Head Sanctuary, there's open public access to lots of historic treasures, and there's a big network of new walking tracks, lookouts, and information centres.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a bushwalking group that did a 13km circuitous 'circuit' around the peninsula, and I was astonished at all the new stuff I got to see. I hadn't bothered to switch on my GPS tracker. Thought I'd have no trouble locating our route afterwards. But I became gloriously disoriented. That bugged me a lot, and so I just had to return a few days later, to explore it all a bit better, and to map  out my wanderings. I found myself going around in circles a couple of times, but eventually sorted it out, over what turned out to be a 17km course starting and finishing at Manly Wharf.

Among the highlights:

The old St Patricks seminary, now the International College of Management. The grounds of this fine old building are open to the public.

The Barracks Precinct, formerly the School  of Artillery, with its enormous parade ground.

The old Quarantine Cemetery, where 240 people are buried, presumably ones who never made it out of the Quarantine Station.


Then there's the Quarantine Station itself, with museum, and renovated or rebuilt accommodations for functions and things.



Here's the old Quarantine hospital, and its doctors' and nurses' quarters.

















There are very solid stone walls everywhere, dividing all the bits from each other.

There's Australia's Memorial Walkway, which 'honours those who have served and supported the defence of Australia in peace or in war'. And you get to explore the North Fort, and some of the old gun emplacements, which were part of the country's WW2 defences.

Below: the famous 'hole in the wall', and a very crowded Shelly Beach.