Bronte, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Bronte
city = Sydney
state = NSW


caption = Bronte at Dusk
lga = Waverley
postcode = 2024
est =
pop =
area =
propval =
stategov = Coogee
fedgov = Wentworth
near-nw = Waverley
near-n = Bondi
near-ne = Tamarama
near-w = Clovelly
near-e = "Tasman Sea"
near-sw = Randwick
near-s = Coogee
near-se = "Tasman Sea"
dist1 = 8
dir1 = east
location1= Sydney CBD

Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte is located 8 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs. [Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007]

Bronte Beach sits on Nelson Bay, surrounded by Bronte Park. Bronte offers scenic cliff-top walking paths south to Coogee via the Waverley Cemetery and north to Tamarama and Bondi Beach. The cliff-top path offers views which extend from Ben Buckler in the north to Malabar in the south. Bronte is located about 2.5km south of Bondi Beach.

The suburb has been declared the best of 641 Sydney suburbs by the Sydney Morning Herald's "Good Suburbs Guide" [Sydney Morning Herald, 7 June 2008 [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydneys-best-place-to-live/2008/06/06/1212259115319.html] ] .

History

Robert Lowe who later became Viscount Sherbrooke, bought 42 acres of land from Mortimer Lewis (1796-1879), a colonial architect who owned most of the frontage in the area in the 1830s. His home was completed in 1845 and was named Bronte House, for Lord Nelson, who was the Duke of Bronte, a place in Sicily. The house, a single-storey stone bungalow located in Bronte Road, is currently owned by Waverley Council and leased to private tenants who hold open days a few times a year. It is now listed on the Register of the National Estate. [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981] The suburb of Bronte took its name from the estate which faced Nelson Bay, also named after Lord Nelson, the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar. [The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Frances Pollon (Angus and Robertson) 1990]

Lowe became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He later moved back to England where he became a writer with "The Times". Bronte House still stands in Bronte Road and is now a Heritage listed building, open to the public.

Culture

Bronte has a strong surf culture. The Bronte surf lifesaving club was founded in 1903 and claims to be the oldest surf lifesaving club in the world

An annual long distance ocean swimming event is held in December each year between Bondi Beach and Bronte.

Commercial area

The Bronte Road beachside shopping precinct is noteworthy because in recent years every shop has been converted into a restaurant, leaving no stores of any other type.

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.brontesurfclub.com.au Bronte surf lifesaving club] .
* [http://www.worldmostbeautifulbeaches.com/Australia-beaches-bronte-information.htm Bronte Beach Guide] .
* [http://www.brontehouse.com Bronte House Web Site]