The traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the land now known as the Northern Beaches were the Garigal people of the
Eora nation. Within a few years of European settlement, the Garigal had mostly disappeared from this area mainly due to an outbreak of smallpox in 1789. Much evidence of their habitation remains especially their rock etchings in
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park which borders northern beaches's north-western side. The northern beaches region was explored early on in the settlement of Sydney, only a few weeks after the arrival of the
First Fleet. However, it remained a rural area for most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with only small settlements in the valleys between headlands. While it was geographically close to the city centre, to reach the area over land from Sydney via
Mona Vale Road was a trip of more than . Since those days, urban growth proceeded slowly until the 1960s when development accelerated because of improved roads and a general increase in living standards in the regions. In 1906, the Warringah Shire council was formed the NSW Government Gazette, along with 132 other new Shires within New South Wales. It ran roughly from
Broken Bay in the north to
Manly Lagoon to the south, and by
Middle Harbour Creek and
Cowan Creek in the west. Pittwater was incorporated as the "A Riding" of Warringah Shire, however for many years there existed a sentiment held by some in A Riding, the northern Riding and the largest in Warringah, taking up more than 40% of Warringah's land area, that they were being increasingly ignored and subject to what they considered inappropriate development and policies for their area. This culminated in 1991 when a non-compulsory postal poll of the residents of A Riding was taken over the question of a possible secession. This resulted in a 73.5% vote in favour of secession, however only 48.18% of residents took part in this vote. This vote was, however, 600 short of the total majority required. Over time, the Northern Beaches was often divided by the "Lower Northern Beaches", referring to the southern end of the region, and the "Upper Northern Beaches", referring to the northern end of the region (
North Narrabeen to
Palm Beach). In 2016, the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 insisted that the Northern Beaches region councils of Manly, Warringah and Pittwater become the
Northern Beaches Council. This was effective from 12 May 2016. Today, the Northern Beaches is very well part of the Sydney metropolis, however maintains an isolated environment from the other regions of Sydney including the neighbouring
North Shore region. The "
Forest District" became an unofficial district within the Northern Beaches region to describe the suburbs between
Ingleside and the
Upper North Shore. ==Suburbs and localities==