We should all know
our boundaries.
Should Long Reef have its
own mark on the map?
We think it’s time, do you?
Have you ever asked anyone living on the Northern Beaches where Long Reef is? Chances are they will know. Sure, they can tell you it’s between Collaroy and Dee Why, but where exactly is the boundary? Is it from The Pole on Dee Why Beach to Collaroy Pool or is it somewhere different?
The explorers paradise.
The name ‘Long Reef’ was originally penned by Governor Arthur Phillip and his team of explores as they travelled north to Broken Bay on 22nd August 1788. Since 1814, it’s been the name commonly employed, however the region was never recognised as a proper suburb. In fact, it is included in the suburban boundary of Collaroy.
Defining the boundary is possible. We’ve done it before.
Interestingly, Collaroy itself was once formerly a part of Narrabeen but officially separated into its own suburb after the 1881 shipwrecking of the SS Collaroy, on the beach now known as Collaroy Beach.
In 2003, the Harbord Chamber of Commerce submitted a request to Warringah Council to support an application to the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales to rename the suburb of Harbord to Freshwater. In public consultation, 774 voted in favour and 161 voted against with the results recorded in Council minutes on the 8th March 2005. The suburb of Harbord was officially named Freshwater on the 12th January 2008.
Beyond the historical relevance, residents of Long Reef area have long held the view (pardon the pun) that the region sits in a significantly different location to the area known as Collaroy, whilst also enjoying a unique environmental, geological and geographical difference worthy of any individual suburb.
Ready to take the next step?
Now is the chance for the community to voice their opinion and decide on whether a new suburb of Long Reef should be created and where the boundary should be. Make your opinion count.
The Properties of Water
...We lapped our way to dreams of Olympic fame in the pool cemented to the rock of the headland.
We trudged from Long Reef to Warriewood and back, uncomplaining explorers in training for life.
— Kate Jennings ~ Australian poet