Sydney Harbour from Watsons Bay

Watsons Bay sits inside South Head at the entrance to Port Jackson, looking across to North Head and the open Tasman. The bay takes its name from Robert Watson (c.1756–1819), quartermaster of HMS Sirius in the First Fleet, later dockyard boatswain, pilot and harbour master. Governor Philip Gidley King granted him land at South Head in 1801; after the South Head Road opened, Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited Watson’s stone house in April 1811, appointed him senior pilot (and later harbour master), and the locality was already being called Watson’s Bay in the Sydney Gazette.

Watson was dismissed from dockyard posts in 1816 after a misconduct case, then appointed first superintendent of the new Macquarie Light at South Head in November 1818; he died in 1819. A commemorative seat in Robertson Park (1929) summarises his career — useful locally, though some inscription details are simplified. The suburb later became famous for cliff walks at The Gap, pilot and signal stations, HMAS Watson, and ferry access from Circular Quay. Harbour panoramas from Watsons Bay therefore sit in a long story of navigation, wreck prevention and waterside settlement at the Heads.

Watsons Bay takes its name from Robert Watson, a pilot and harbour master associated with Sydney Harbour in the early colonial period. Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited the bay in 1811 and later appointed Watson senior pilot of the port. The suburb looks across the entrance to Sydney Harbour and its headlands.

St Peter's Church - Watson's Bay

Known About.....

St Peter's Church.... Watson's Bay NSW

1. The Chirch Will Celebrate It's 150th Anniversary In June 2014. It Was Formed On June 22 1863.

2. St Peter's Was Built To A Design By Edmund Blackett. Since It's Establishment, It Has Played  A Pivotal Role In Community Life In Watson's Bay.

3.  The Pipe Organ In The West Gallery Is Among The Oldest in Sydney. It Was Built In 1796 By Robert And William Gray From London. Legend Suggests It Was Lent To Emperor Napolean, Long Before It Was Installed In The Church In 1920. 

4. Records Indicate That Support For An Anglican Church Dates From 1847. At A Meeting On June 27, 1847, Bishop Broughton, The Bishop Metropolitan, Expressed His Desire That The Proposed Watson's Bay Church Should Be Named St Peters. But It Then Took 17 More Years To Build. The First Church Built In Watson's Bay Was An Independent Chapel Built Near South Head Lighthouse In 1839. 

5. The Gates Were Added In 1929, Signalling The Completion Of The Church As A Full Parish. The Gates Were Dedicated To The Memory Of Those Killed In The Greycliffe Ferry Disaster

6. The Original Hall Was Built As An Addition On 1911. The Church's Rectory Was Built In 1923.

7. For The First 10 Years Of St Peter's History, It Was A. Branch Church Of St Marks In Darling Point. With The Opening Of All Saints Church  In Woolahra, In 1876, The District Of Watsons Bay Was Transferred To That Parish. It Remained There For 25 Years. 

By 1900, The Congregation Had Built Up To 17 Families Paying Pew Rents, Which Enabled St Peter's To Be Properly Furnished And To Establish A Sizable Sunday School. 

8. John and Janette Howard were Married There In 1971. The Former Prime Minister And His Wife Wed On April 4

9. St Peter's Church Was Officially Consecrated Almost 150 Years Ago On December 27, 1864. It Was Consecrated By Dr Barker, Who Was Then Bishop Metropolitan Of Sydney. Dr Barker Was Assisted By Dean Cowper, Dean Of Sydney, And Rev Kemmis. Rev Kemmis Saw St Peter's Constructed And Then Consecrated During His Time Looking After The Church Between 1864 &1876.

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