Aboriginal history The Dharug peoples were the traditional inhabitants of the land and waterways north and south of
Sydney Harbour, from Botany Bay in the south, inland along the Parramatta River and through the
Lane Cove River and across Broken Bay and beyond to
Brisbane Water. Amongst the Dharug there were many smaller units called clans, of which the
Garigal were most prominent in the area surrounding Pittwater and the Northern Beaches. During 1789 the impact of
smallpox on aboriginal peoples led to extensive mortality, with the death rate estimated at somewhere between 50% and 90%. Conservatively, between 500 and 1000 Aboriginal people died on the coastal strip bounded by
Botany Bay and Broken Bay. A significant proportion of these were Garigal.
European history The waterway was surveyed by crew members of in 1788, and named Pitt Water after William Pitt the Younger, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain. The first regular water transport across Pittwater was the
cutter Francis which carried settlers and farm produce from Sydney between 1793 and 1800. By 1803 a fleet of privately owned coasters had begun operating between Pittwater,
Cowan Creek and
Berowra Waters, usually travelling in convoy to reduce the risk of piracy by escaped convicts living along the shore. These vessels were generally built on
Scotland Island and were not sufficiently seaworthy to leave
Broken Bay. A customs house operated from Pittwater between 1843 and 1900, and a government-built sandstone lighthouse was completed at
Barrenjoey in 1881. Shipping declined as a transport medium following road and rail construction through the region between 1850 and 1890, especially the construction of a rail bridge over the Hawkesbury River in 1899. The last locally constructed shipping vessel was launched from a shipyard at
Blackwall in 1912, and scheduled shipping services ceased in 1914. The greater Sydney metropolis has extended to Palm Beach, Church Point and offshore communities in Pittwater, however its early character has been largely retained. ==Current use and activities==