The area now known as Lugarno lies either on the traditional lands of
Dharug people or coastal
Eora people, both of whom spoke a common language. It lies close to the lands of
Tharawal people on the south bank of the river. There was an unofficial Aboriginal settlement at nearby
Salt Pan Creek for many years.
Georges River Council recognizes and acknowledges that the Biddegal/Bidjigal/Bedegal clan of the Eora are the original inhabitants and custodians of all land and water in the Georges River region. Lime Kiln Bay once had more extensive shell
middens, made over centuries by local people, the bay gets its name from early settlers burning the shells to create
lime. One of the earliest contacts between British settlers and Aboriginal people occurred on 20 January 1788.
Arthur Philip and
Philip Gidley King, leading a party of seamen from the
First Fleet rowing two open boats, explored the 'South-West Arm of Botany Bay' (now Georges River). They are now thought to have gone as far as Lime Kiln Bay, where they landed at two locations there, the first of which they called 'Lance Point'—thought to be modern-day Gertrude Point, Lugarno—where an altercation with local people occurred. Later the same day, there was a peaceful meeting at the head of Lime Kiln Bay. Not finding enough freshwater, around Botany Bay and its two 'arms', the colonists moved on to Port Jackson, where the settlement of Sydney began six days later. Lugarno was named after
Lake Lugano,
Switzerland by surveyors
Major Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792-1855) and
William Govett (1807-1848) in 1843. An extra 'r' was added for the suburb name. Thomas Lawrence was granted of land in 1831, on the western side of the peninsula near Salt Pan Creek. Land grants to the east and north were made in 1856 to T.G.Lee with , Frewin Sleath with , John Lushy with and J.P. Henning with . The whole area between
Arncliffe and Lugarno was originally heavily timbered. Illawarra Road was built by convicts in 1841 and it ran through Gannon's Forest, down to the Georges River. The road from Arncliffe was later known as Gannon's Forest Road and today is known as Forest Road. The name has been retained in Old Illawarra Road, over the river in
Menai and
Lucas Heights. as viewed from Lugarno A
punt operated from Lugarno across the river from 1843. An established ferry serviced the area from 1887 to 1974, closing with the opening of the
Alfords Point Bridge. The furthest upstream leases of the former
Georges River oyster farming industry were located off Soily Bottom Point, Lugarno. Oyster leases also existed along the foreshore, in Edith Bay, and around Lime Kiln Bay. The industry collapsed in the mid 1990s, due to
QX disease. From 1947, plans were made to erect a
coal-fired power station, on the Georges River at 'Lugarno', and in the end, it did not proceed. The suburb subsequently was developed to be mainly residential, in the 1960s when land was released for home sites. The area now known as
H. V. Evatt Memorial Park lies on volcanic soil, a rarity in Sydney. It is the weathered remains of a
diatreme, a type of volcanic pipe. The area was a market garden until c.1961. The pond at the north end of the park was created as an irrigation dam. After the market garden became disused, the area was threatened by housing development, until it was saved as open space and sporting fields. The natural slope of the hill was altered by excavation and levelling to create level playing fields. According to a 2012 survey conducted by the governments of Australia and New Zealand, Lugarno has the most roundabouts per capita in the Southern Hemisphere. With a population of around 5500 and 7 roundabouts the ratio is 1:785, slightly beating out the Victorian town of
Sausage Gully. ==Notable people==