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From UBD Street Directory Sydney

The Sydney Heads (also simply known as the Heads) form the two-kilometre-wide entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north; South Head and Dunbar Head are to the south;  Middle Head, Georges Head, and Chowder Head are to the west and within the Harbour.

North Head is a headland south-east of the suburb of Manly. The headland is a outcrop of sandstone  and is 3.85 square kilometres in area.

The Sydney Quarantine Station is located on North Head and is one of the few still-existing facilities that once operated in each state of Australia until the 1980s. From 1828, Spring Cove, on the western side of North Head, was used to quarantine new arrivals to Sydney to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as small pox. A permanent quarantine facility was set up in 1837 and continued to operate until 1984.

The Hornby Lighthouse is located on South Head and is Australia’s third-oldest lighthouse. Macquarie Lighthouse, Australia’s first lighthouse, is three kilometres to the south on Dunbar Head.

North Head

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North Head as seen from the Gap, Watsons Bay

 

Paintings of the North Head by two great Australian artists
Jackson 22
James Jackson (1909) Chinaman’s Beach, Middle Harbour, NSW. Oil on Canvas, 51.5 x 68.5 cm
A Streeton 92
Arthur Streeton (c1895) South Head, Port Jackson, oil, pencil on wood panel, 21,2 x 31.3 cm

 

A Streeton 175
Arthur Streeton (1926) Sydney from Oscar Paul’s balcony, pencil drawing, sketchbook
A Streeton 1
Arthur Streeton (1926) The Harbour from Point Piper, oil on wood panel, 19.7 x 66 cm (right)
A Streeton 2
Arthur Streeton (1926) The Harbour from Point Piper, oil on wood panel, 19.7 x 66 cm (left)
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The cliff of the North Head as seen from Fairfax Lookout
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The cliff of the North Head as seen from Fairfax Lookout

 

South Head

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South Head as seen from North Head. Hornby Lighthouse is in the middle.
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The Gap of Watsons Bay as seen from North Head
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Watsons Bay, Dunbar Head and Diamond Bay as seen from North Head. Macquarie Lighthouse is in the middle of the photo.

 

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South Head as seen from North Head. Hornby Lighthouse is on the right.
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The Gap of Watsons Bay as seen from North Head
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Watsons Bay as seen from North Head. Macquarie Lighthouse is on the left.

 

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The Gap Bluff of Watsons Bay
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The Gap Bluff of Watsons Bay
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The Gap Bluff of Watsons Bay
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The cliff of the Gap. The North Head is at the distant.

 

Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Heads

Jackson Jacqueline (1991) James R. Jackson Art was his life…, Bay Book, ISBN 1-86378-024-6

Mary Eagle (1994) The Oil Paintings of Arthur Streeton in the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, ISBN 0 642 13022 1