First Australian history There is no clear evidence for the name or names of the indigenous bands or clans who were the original custodians of the area prior to the
1788 European settlement of Australia. Most sources agree on the
Cadigal, but some sources name the
Biddigal and
Birrabirragal bands as well. There was a large natural "bogey hole" at the southern end of the beach, the name of which derived from the local Aboriginal term for "swimming place", but the original bogey hole was substantially destroyed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the current bogey hole was artificially constructed in the early 20th century. Owing to the devastating effects of the European invasion on Aboriginal peoples, including forced displacement and the catastrophic impact of introduced European diseases such as
smallpox, most or all of the original indigenous inhabitants of the area were killed by disease or forced to move further inland during the late 18th and early 19th century, resulting in the near-total loss of indigenous cultural knowledge about the area, and this had been compounded by the massive residential and commercial development of the area, which has destroyed nearly all archaeological evidence of the indigenous occupation and use of the land and seashore around what is now known as "Nelson Bay".
Modern history Robert Lowe, who later became Viscount Sherbrooke, bought of land from
Mortimer Lewis, the English-born Australian
Colonial Architect who was given a free grant of most of the frontage in the area in the 1830s. His home was completed in 1845 and was named
Bronte House, for
Lord Nelson, who was the Duke of
Bronte, a place in
Sicily,
Italy. The house, a single-storey stone bungalow located in Bronte Road, is owned by Waverley Council and leased to private tenants who hold open days a few times a year. It is listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register Lowe became a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council. He later moved back to
England where he became a writer with
The Times.
Trams The former Bronte tram line branched from the
North Bondi via Bondi Junction line at
Bondi Junction, running down Bronte Road and MacPherson Street to Bronte Beach. A feature of this line was the final approach to Bronte Beach in a rock cutting leading to the Pacific Ocean cliff tops. The line opened to Waverley in 1890, then to Bronte in 1911. Electric services started to Waverley in 1902, then Bronte in 1911. Through services ran from Circular Quay or Railway Square. The line was closed in 1960 and replaced by a bus service that follows the route between Bronte and Bondi Junction of bus 378 (440 from 2015 and 379 from early 2018). == Heritage listings ==