Camp Cove Cannon

Camp Cove Cannon

Cadigal & Birrabirragal Country

10 min to 15 min

400 m
return

↑ 11 m
↓ -11 m

Easy track

Spend some time relaxing and exploring Camp Cove - the first landing place for Europeans in Australia. On this walk, you will head across the northern end of Camp Cove Beach, up some steps to follow an old sandstone cobbled road. This road leads to a great vantage point, with views over the Sydney Harbour to the city. This spot is also host to a large (disused) gun, that once defended these shores. Plenty of history and beauty. Let us begin by acknowledging the Cadigal & Birrabirragal people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we travel today, and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

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Camp Cove Car Park. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Clff St. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Time line at end of Cliff St. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Entrance at nothern end of Camp Cove Beach. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Looking south along Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Kiosk at Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Looking across northern section of Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Steps at the Northern end of Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Path above Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Northern end of Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Camp Cove Beach. | Photo by admin, 2010.

The old Cobblestone Road. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Sandstone wall and old Cobblestone Rd. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Gun Emplacement near Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Gun Emplacment looking down on Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

An old gun. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Gun aimed at the City. | Photo by admin, 2010.

Historic Gun near Camp Cove. | Photo by admin, 2010.

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Safer Bushwalks
Before you start any bushwalk ensure you;
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and what to do if you are overdue
• Have adequate equipment, supplies, skills & knowledge for the whole journey
• Consider the impact of weather forecasts, park/track closures & fire dangers
• Can respond to emergencies & call for help at any point
• Are healthy and fit enough for this journey
If not, change plans and stay safe. It is okay to delay and ask people for help.

Getting There

Start	At the intersection of Victoria Street & Cliff Street (-33.8394299,151.2800165)
Mode	Bus Car (There is free parking available.)
Directions	From New South Head Road Turn on to Old South Head Road then drive for 1.7 km At roundabout, take exit 2 onto Robertson Place and drive for another 130 m Turn slight left onto Military Road and drive for another 500 m At roundabout, take exit 1 onto Short Street and drive for another 280 m Turn right onto Victoria Street and drive for another 60 m Turn left and drive for another 6 m

Track Notes

Getting started
From the signposted 'Camp Cove Car Park, this walk follows the 'No Through Road' sign to the end of 'Cliff St'. The footpath leads past a 'Camp Cove timeline' information sign then, at the end of the road, turns left, coming to the front of the kiosk at the northern end of Camp Cove Beach.....

Terrain

Camp Cove Cannon

Grading

	Class 2/6 Easy track
Length	400 m
Time	10 min to 15 min

Quality of track	Clear and well formed track or trail (2/6)
Gradient	Gentle hills with occasional steps (2/6)
Signage	Clearly signposted (1/6)
Infrastructure	Generally useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats) (1/6)
Experience Required	No experience required (1/6)
Weather	Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6)

Some facilities on route

Toilet: There is one 95 m from the start.

Seat: There is one 280 m from the start.

Order of key facilities on route

Item	From Start	Name & link to notes
Toilet	95 m	[toilet]
Seat	280 m	[seat]

Articles

Camp Cove
Camp Cove is home to a lovely, yellow sand, north-east facing beach. The cove is on the protected side of South Head and is a popular spot for swimming and relaxing on the beach. At the northern end of the beach is a kiosk, toilet block and an entrance to Sydney Harbour National Park. The cove was an important location to the Cadigal (Gadigal) people who gathered fresh water, shellfish, launched their canoes and buried some of their people nearby. This cove is also believed to be the first landing place for Europeans in 1788. The name Camp Cove was given during that landing and appears on the earliest maps of Sydney Harbour.

Cannon
This cannon was placed here prior to 1890, along with the rest of this gun emplacement and rifle walls. The emplacement was designed to protect a military jetty and boat shed from the threat of an invasion. The 'Cobblestone Road' beside the cannon was built during the late 1870s or early 1880s and extends from the jetty in Camp Cove up to Hornby Road above. The road was build to carry supplies and ordnance from Camp Cove to the various military installations on south head.

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