Boowambillee / Shark Island
Small harbour islet with sandstone shores and picnic grounds, named for its shark-like outline.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Boowambillee, or Shark Island, in Sydney turns on an afternoon in September 1877, when a young sportsman named George Coulthard sat on the gunwale of a fishing boat anchored just off this small sandstone islet. You'll hear how newspapers of the day described what happened next as one of the most marvellous escapes on record, and how the incident is remembered as tipping which football code took hold in Sydney. The guide also traces the island's original Aboriginal name and how its outline earned it a new one.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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