Jeffrey Street Wharf

Jeffrey Street or Jeffreys Street is a street located in Kirribilli, famous for being one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city skyline of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The street is located on the Lower North Shore of Sydney Harbour, directly across the harbour from Circular Quay and is a popular destination for tourists, particularly on Australia Day and New Year's Eve. The street leads uphill from the harbour in a northerly direction to the small shopping village of Kirribilli. The vicinity of Jeffrey Street is reported to be the site of the first European settlement on the lower North Shore of Sydney Harbour. This happened about 10 years after the colonisation of Australia at Sydney Cove in 1788. For many years the area was called the North Shore and the original land grant changed hands a number of times. Over the past 200 years the area has also been called Huntershill, St Leonards, North Sydney, Kiarabilli, Milsons Point and Kirribilli Point. The modern spelling Kirribilli was first used in 1853 and the use of Kirribilli as a locality is more recent. There are 19 listed heritage properties along the street, one of the highest concentrations of listed heritage properties in Australia. All but one of the original structures on the east side of the street have been demolished, only Wyalla remains. But the west side of Jeffrey Street is notable because it contains a row of 17 terrace houses that have remained virtually unchanged for over 100 years. This is the longest row remaining on Sydney's North Shore and the second longest row in Australia. Most of the other terrace houses in the area were demolished in order to construct the approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.North Sydney Council favours the spelling of the street as Jeffreys as this correctly renders the surname of a 19th-century local landowner, Arthur Jeffreys. However, a Thomas Jeffrey was also a prominent early Kirribilli resident and the Wharf bears his name. Furthermore, some records report that a John Jeffreys was an early resident. Almost all historical references refer to Jeffrey Street so the provenance or derivation of the street name is uncertain. On 16 December 2011 the NSW Minister for Planning and Infrastructure gazetted an amendment to the North Sydney Council Local Environmental Plan which established a heritage conservation area called the Jeffreys Street Conservation Area.
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