William Dawes recorded the name of this place as
Go-mo-ra in the language of the local people. In the early days of the colony of New South Wales, the area was sometimes known as Long Cove, presumably for its long narrow shape. The origin of the name 'Iron Cove' is unclear. On the 1822 survey map of Port Jackson (
Sydney Harbour) by
John Septimus Roe, Lieut. R.N. it is noted as Iron-stone Cove. Iron Cove appears to be a shortening of this name that perhaps referred to the reddy coloured iron oxides in the stone, known as
laterites. In his book on Sydney Harbour, P.R. Stephensen suggests that the name is derived from the iron shackles worn by convicts from Cockatoo Island who were forced to work in the area around the bay from 1839. However, he goes on to note that this is merely "a surmise". Another possible explanation for the name is that it was derived from the
Ironbark trees that used to grow there. The island in the middle of the bay is called
Rodd Island, in honour of
Brent Clements Rodd. Iron Cove is crossed by the
Iron Cove Bridge, which was first opened in 1882 and links Rozelle and Balmain to Drummoyne. The original bridge was replaced in the 1950s. The Australian warships
HMAS Ballarat and
HMAS Goulburn were broken up for scrap in the bay in 1953. There are a number of smaller bays with Iron Cove, such as Sisters Bay and Half Moon Bay on the northern shores. The concrete channelised
Iron Cove Creek runs into the western end of the bay, and
Hawthorne Canal runs off the southern part of the bay. The land around the bay is mostly made up of publicly accessible foreshore or parkland. This forms a jogging circuit known as
The Bay Run. ==Pollution==