Mosman is named after
Archibald Mosman (1799–1863) and his twin brother George, who moved onto a land grant in the area in 1831. They were involved in shipping, and founded a
whaling station on a bay in the harbour, which became known as
Mosman's Bay. George subsequently became involved in grazing, but Archibald continued with whaling activities. By 1838, he owned along the Mosman waterfront. Archibald was buried in the cemetery of
St Jude's Church, Randwick. His grave is maintained by Mosman Council. , ''Mosman's Bay'', 1914
Aboriginal culture Mosman was originally inhabited by the Borogegal tribe.
Bungaree (c. 1775–1830) was a well known
Aboriginal who joined British explorers on voyages, including circumnavigating Australia with
Matthew Flinders when he was 26. He later became leader of his tribe, was given land at Georges Head, and enjoyed the patronage of Governor
Lachlan Macquarie. He greeted newcomers whose ships entered
Port Jackson, and became acquainted with Russian and French explorers. His image was painted many times and shown in London, Paris, and Moscow.
European settlement In 1789 —the flagship of the
First Fleet—entered what is now known as Mosman Bay or Great Sirius Cove. Mosman has been the site of important maritime and defence installations for Sydney since 1801, especially when
Sydney's Harbour defences were expanded with the construction of
Middle Head Fort,
Georges Head Battery and
Bradleys Head Fortification Complex. In 1871 the
Beehive Casemate was constructed into the cliff side on Obelisk Bay. A Submarine Miners' Depot was constructed at Chowder Bay (Georges Head) in the 1880s. In 1888 the site was modified for the latest in harbour defences. The site was a strategic position and considered the best place to observe and fire mines which were laid underwater. Minefields were laid across the main shipping channels of Port Jackson from 1876 to 1922 and a base was built at Chowder Bay for the submarine miners (
Clifton Gardens). From Georges Head, miners watched for ships entering the harbour. Their job was to explode the mine closest to an approaching enemy ship. Each underwater mine was attached to an electric cable that ran up the cliff to the firing post. During a demonstration in 1891, a crowd of several thousand people watched as a fatal accident killed four miners and injured another eight. , 1889 In the 1880s and 1890s, as a result of the enthusiasm for painting
en plein air fostered by the
Barbizon and
Impressionist movements in France, art colonies known as the
Sydney artists' camps flourished around the harbour, mainly in the Mosman area. As a result, Mosman became known as "Australia's most painted suburb". Notable painters in this community included
Julian Ashton,
Tom Roberts,
Arthur Streeton and
John Mather. One such camp was known as
Curlew Camp and was situated in Little Sirius Cove. An inscription on a rock can still be seen on the east side of the cove: Curlew 1890. In 1942 during the Second World War the
Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed on Georges Head and was designed to prevent enemy submarines from entering into Sydney Harbour. The boom net spanned the entire width of Port Jackson and a boom net winch house was located on Liangs Point, Watsons Bay. On the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines attempted to enter Sydney Harbour in what became known as the
attack on Sydney Harbour. One of the Japanese midget submarines became entangled in the boom net and after unsuccessful attempts by the crew to free the submarine they detonated
charges within the sub, killing themselves and destroying their sub in the process. Chowder Bay was used in the late 1820s as an anchorage for visiting American whaling ships. Richard Harnett Senior purchased Archibald Mosman's original in 1859 and in 1878 established a sandstone quarry at Mosman Bay. In 1871, he built a wharf and subsidised a ferry service between Mosman Bay, Neutral Bay, and Circular Quay. He promoted a land development known as the Mosman Bay Estate; when the land was sold, the ferry service was cancelled, much to the annoyance of the new landowners. His son, Richard Harnett Junior, was the first Mayor elected when Mosman became a municipality in 1893 with 1,600 residents, breaking away from the North Sydney municipality. Both men were major influences in Mosman and were responsible for building many roads, a horse-drawn bus service and ferry services linking Mosman to the city. Mosman Public School opened in 1880. Around the start of the 20th century, rows of shops and
Federation architecture homes were built.
Taronga Zoo opened in 1916, moving from a site at
Moore Park that had been in use since 1884. Taronga is an Aboriginal word for 'beautiful view'. From the late 1950s, multi-storey
flat developments began and became a public concern, leading to controls and restrictions being introduced. On 21 June 1966, Mosman Town Hall was the scene of the
attempted assassination of federal opposition leader
Arthur Calwell. ==Landmarks==