Cronulla is the southernmost coastal suburb of Sydney, Australia, & sits at the mouth of the Hacking River. It boasts surf beaches, safe (& unsafe!) swimming spots & reef breaks, which attract both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Located 26 km south of the Sydney central business district, the suburb is in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.
Cronulla is situated at the southern end of a peninsula the northern end of which frames the southern half Botany Bay. Bate Bay opens on its eastern front while Port Hacking and Gunnamatta Bay lie behind it south & west. Neighbouring suburbs include Woolooware and Burraneer. The Kurnell headland, the site of the first landfall on the eastern coastline made by Captain James Cook in 1770, lies 8 km northeast of Cronulla & is served by Captain Cook Drive.
History
The name 'Cronulla' is derived from the Aboriginal word , meaning "place of the small pink seashell" in the language of the area's Indigenous inhabitants, the Gweagal, who were a clan of the Tharawal (or Dharawal) people. They inhabited the southern reaches of Sydney & were displaced by the establishment of the British penal colony, owing to the Terra nullius mentality that has obtained since 1788. Significantly, the last camp of full blood Aborigines was located at Kurnell late in the 19th century. The beaches were named by Surveyor Robert Dixon who surveyed here in 1827-28 and, by 1840, the main beach was already known as Karranulla.http://www.sutherland.nsw.gov.au/ssc/rwpattach.nsf/0/Factsheet_6_FINAL_20030728.pdf/$file/Factsheet_6_FINAL_20030728.pdf Sutherland Shire Place Names In July 1852 the schooner 'Venus' was wrecked on the beach, which was referred to in newspaper reports as Cooranulla.Sydney Morning Herald, 30 June 1852, p. 2.
Matthew Flinders and George Bass explored and mapped the coastline and Port Hacking estuary in 1796; the southernmost point of Cronulla is named Bass and Flinders Point in their honour. Between 1821 & 1835 John Connell & his sons, what with grants & purchases, became the owners of all the land reaching from the Kurnell headland to present day Wooloware. His name - by deformation - is said to be the origin of the name 'Kurnell'. Between 1861 & 1875 Thomas Holt (1811–88) purchased most of the land that stretched from Sutherland to Cronulla & Kurnell. Subsequently Holt built Sutherland House on the foreshore of Gwawley Bay at present-day Sylvania. His selling of the timber rights on his land starting from the 1860s & his disastrous attempts fo run sheep & cattle on land that was wholly unsuitable led to the destruction of the original landscape of all of the land between Kurnell & Sutherland, including Cronulla. Few people today realise that the sandy hinterland scrub between Cronulla & Kurnell was once covered by stands of tall native trees.Cridland, Frank (1924) The Story of Port Hacking, Cronulla and Sutherland Shire Holt was also responsible for introducing the rabbit to Australia. In 1888 master mariner Captain Joseph Henry Rounce Spingall became the pioneering resident of Cronulla when, with his family, he constructed the two-storey 'Oriental Guest House' on land above where today's North Cronulla Hotel sits. The Depression of 1890 and a lack of reliable transport access from Sutherland saw "The Captain's" pub sold. The Cronulla area was subdivided in 1895 and land was offered for sale at 10 pounds per acre. In 1899, the government named the area , which means sandy hills. On 26 February 1908, it was officially changed to Cronulla and Gunnamatta was used for the name of the bay, on the western side.
After the Illawarra railway line was built to Sutherland in 1885, the area became popular for picnics and swimming. Steam trams operated between Cronulla and Sutherland from 1911. Many regulars rented beach houses at Cronulla every year for school holidays. The Oriental Hotel was built by Captain Spingall in 1888, on the present site of apartments behind the North Cronulla Hotel. The Cecil Hotel was located on the foreshore of South Cronulla and the Ritz Café was popular with holiday-makers. The Cecil Apartments were built on the former site of this hotel. The steam trams were replaced by the Cronulla branch of the Illawarra railway line when it opened in 1939.The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia
The post office opened in January 1891, known as Cronulla Beach, but closed in 1893. It reopened in 1907 and the name was officially changed to Cronulla in 1929.
The Cronulla School of Arts was established in 1904. The original wooden building was demolished and replaced by the current School of Arts building in November 1912 and is now one of the oldest buildings in Cronulla.
The first public school opened in 1910. In 1955, Cronulla Library opened. From the 1950s, many of the guest houses began being replaced by high rise flats. Even though it developed as a residential area, Cronulla remained popular with beachgoers and tourists. Several hotels, motels and serviced apartments operate today. The Cronulla Bicentennial Plaza opened in February 1989.
In 2005 the beachfront at Cronulla was the scene of widely publicised mob disturbances and violent confrontations. These incidents continued over a number of days and also spread to other areas in Sydney.
On 11 January 1965 two 15-year old girls, Christine Sharrock & Marianne Schmidt, were brutally stabbed to death in the dunes at nearby Wanda. The case remains one of the most absorbing unsolved murders in all of Australia, so much so that in professional circles it has come to be known simply as 'Wanda'.
Heritage listings Cronulla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Captain Cook Drive: Cronulla sand dunes Cronulla School of Arts 1912: https://artstheatrecronulla.com.au Cronulla railway: Cronulla railway station 41 Cronulla Street: Cronulla Post Office 202 Nicholson Parade: Cronulla Fisheries Centre
Beaches
Cronulla is a popular tourist attraction and attracts many beachgoers from all over Sydney. Cronulla Beach features a long stretch of sand that runs from Boat Harbour to North Cronulla, followed by rock pools and another sandy beach at South Cronulla. The beaches of Cronulla from north to south are: Boat Harbour, Greenhills Beach, Wanda Beach, Elouera Beach, North Cronulla Beach, Cronulla Beach, Blackwoods Beach, Shelly Beach and Oak Park Beach. Local names also apply to various parts of the beach, such as The Alley, between Cronulla Beach and North Cronulla, The Wall, between North Cronulla and Elouera, Midway, between Elouera and Wanda,Sandshoes, near the mouth of the Port Hacking estuary, Voodoo Reef and The Point. The beaches are popular recreational areas for swimming, surfing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing and other water sports.
Shark Island, just off Cronulla Beach, is a famous surfing and bodyboarding spot, and the site of the annual Shark Island Challenge bodyboarding contest. Gunnamatta Bay provides protected swimming at the baths off Gunnamatta Park. Port Hacking is a popular location for such water sports as waterskiing and wakeboarding.
Parks
Bass & Flinders Point is the southernmost part of Cronulla and features a monument to explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders, who explored the Port Hacking estuary. Darook Park, Gunnamatta Park and Tonkin Park are all located on Gunnamatta Bay.
Cronulla Park is located behind the beach at South Cronulla. Dunningham Park sits behind the beach at North Cronulla, shaded by large Norfolk Island pines. It features a children's playground, picnic tables and a kiosk. Monro Park, featuring the Cronulla War Memorial, is located opposite Cronulla railway station. Don Lucas Reserve is located beside the car park at Wanda Beach, popular for sport and recreational activities such as flying kites. Shelly Park sits behind Shelley Beach. Oak Park is shorewards of well known surfing spot Sandshoes. Hungry Point Reserve at the end of Nicholson Parade.
Commercial area
The main shopping strip runs along Cronulla Street, which has been partly converted into a pedestrian mall known as Cronulla Plaza. It also extends along the Kingsway, Gerrale Street and other surrounding streets. Cronulla has developed a café culture, with some cafés and restaurants located along the North Cronulla foreshore and Cronulla Plaza. The suburb boasts a Rydges high-rise hotel, although tourists can choose from a variety of hotels, motels and serviced apartments. Cronulla has many restaurants, pubs and bars, as well as a Hoyts cinema that opened late-2020.
Transport
Trains terminate at Cronulla railway station on the Cronulla branch of the Illawarra railway line, on the Sydney Trains network. Cronulla Tunnel Gallery is just north of the station, linking Cronulla Street to Tonkin Street.
Cronulla & National Park Ferry Cruises runs passenger services around Port Hacking and a regular route between Cronulla and Bundeena, on the edge of the Royal National Park. The Cronulla Ferry wharf sits on Gunnamatta Bay, beside Tonkin Park.
U-Go Mobility operates several bus routes that stop at Cronulla Railway Station. For full details of all bus services see Cronulla station.
Sport and recreation
The local National Rugby League football club is the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The Cronulla-Sutherland League's Club and home ground, Endeavour Field, are located on Captain Cook Drive at Woolooware. Cronulla-Sutherland Junior Baseball Little League represented Australia in the 2015 Little League World Series where they had a record of one win and two losses. Surf lifesaving clubs are located along the beach at Wanda, Elouera, North Cronulla and South Cronulla. Many soccer clubs are located in the Cronulla district, the most prominent being Cronulla Seagulls FC and the Cronulla RSL clubs. Surfing plays a major role in Cronulla. Famous professional surfer and 1999 world champion Mark Occhilupo ('Occy') grew up surfing in Cronulla. Many surfboard shapers hand craft their surfboards in Cronulla and the Sutherland Shire and Cronulla Beach holds the Australian Boardriders Battle on Australia Day. The annual Shark Island Challenge bodyboarding contest and the annual Shark Island Swim Challenge are held at Cronulla Beach. The Cronulla International Cycling Grand Prix has been held in Cronulla since 2006. In 2009 it was also the Australian National Criterium Championships. Cycling NSW. Retrieved 13 December 2009Daniel Lane McEwen leads pack of cycling aces in race to rebuild shire's reputation Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2009 The Bate Bay Body Bashers are a Bodysurfing club based in Cronulla. They compete in team bodysurfing competitions against other Australian clubs including the East Sydney Bodysurfers and the Northern Beaches Wompers. They were Australian Champions in 2017.John Veage The Cronulla Polar Bears Winter Swimming Club compete against Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club, South Maroubra Dolphins Winter Swimming Club, Clovelly Eskimos Winter Swimming Club, Maroubra Seals Winter Swimming Club, Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club, Coogee Penguins Winter Swimming Club, Bronte Splashers, Wollongong Whales and Cottesloe Crabs in the Winter Swimming Association of Australia Championships The Sutherland Shire is also home to a number of Rugby Union Clubs led by Southern Districts Rebels, who participate in the Shute Shield competition. It also has a number of junior teams competing in Sydney Juniors Union and many senior clubs who play in the NSW Suburban Rugby Union competition.
Events Cronulla Spring Festival is held every year on the second weekend of September. It includes free entertainment, food and many variety stalls. Opera on the Beach is an event commonly held at Cronulla as part of the nation's Australia Day celebrations. Arts Theatre Cronulla produces four plays per year since 1963
Culture