Kissing Point is a point on the Parramatta River

Parramatta River

The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

 about 2 km south of Ryde

Ryde, New South Wales

Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...

, located in the suburb of Putney

Putney, New South Wales

Putney is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located west-northwest of the Sydney central business district on the northern bank of the Parramatta River...

. Historically, the name referred to a much wider area than the current-day point.

Origin of the name

Several possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the name "Kissing Point". One is that the name was given because the area of water around it was the furthest up Parramatta River that heavily laden vessels could reach before their keels 'kissed' the bottom. Another, more romantic possibility is the area was popular for picnics and that Governor Hunter may have had a kiss in return for his chivalry on one such occasion. A third is that Governor Hunter rowed up the river on a journey of exploration, had breakfast at Breakfast Point, rowed across the river to Kissing Point where he kissed his wife goodbye before embarking on his journey.

Settlement

The area was inhabited by the Wallumedegal people prior to European Settlement.

When the area was first settled by European colonists it was known as Eastern Farms. Land grants were made to 10 emancipated convicts in 1792. By 1794 the name had given way to Kissing Point. In the early 19th century the name was applied to an area including the current day Ryde

Ryde, New South Wales

Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...

, Putney

Putney, New South Wales

Putney is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located west-northwest of the Sydney central business district on the northern bank of the Parramatta River...

 and Gladesville

Gladesville, New South Wales

Gladesville is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the Municipality of Hunter's Hill and is part of the Northern Suburbs area.Gladesville prides...

.

One of the emancipist

Emancipist

An emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...

s was James Squire

James Squire

James Squire , a convict transported to Australia, is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia at the turn of the 19th century, and is also considered to have founded Australia's first commercial brewery in 1798, though John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making...

 who brewed the colony's first beer and became a wealthy business man. He grew hops in area and established a brewery and a tavern on the location just west of the current-day Kissing Point. A plaque to James Squire is erected on the site.
Kissing Point was also an important source of fruits and vegetables for the early colony.

Bennelong

Bennelong

Woollarawarre Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia, in 1788...

 died in the area. He was buried on the property of James Squire

James Squire

James Squire , a convict transported to Australia, is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia at the turn of the 19th century, and is also considered to have founded Australia's first commercial brewery in 1798, though John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making...

, probably in the area of the current day Cleves Park, around 300 metres from the point.

Kidman and Mayoh’s Shipyard established to build freight ships to replace freight fleet post World War I. A disastrous outcome, as the two ships built here were not commissioned, and were burnt and sold for salvage. Halvorsen’s ships located where James Squire’s original wharf stood. Havlorsen’s made ships for World War II.

Current day

Kissing Point is in the Parish of Hunters Hill

Hunters Hill Parish, Cumberland

Hunters Hill Parish is one of the 57 parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales, a cadastral unit for use on land titles. The suburb of Hunters Hill, and the Municipality of Hunter's Hill are in the same area.-References:*...

 in the County of Cumberland

Cumberland County, New South Wales

Cumberland County is a county in the State of New South Wales, Australia. Most of the Sydney metropolitan area is located within the County of Cumberland....

. and is in the suburb of Putney

Putney, New South Wales

Putney is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located west-northwest of the Sydney central business district on the northern bank of the Parramatta River...

.

Kissing Point is home to two wharfs; one at Bennelong Park and the other constructed off the very tip of the peninsula, the Sydney Ferries

Sydney Ferries

Sydney Ferries is an agency of the New South Wales Government Department of Transport, providing ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia....

Kissing Point Wharf. Sydney Ferries operates a regular service to the Sydney CBD from the Kissing Point Wharf. Sydney Buses service 507 operates to the point.

There is a boat launching ramp adjacent to the Kissing Point Wharf with associated trailer parking. The point is a landmark on the Parramatta Valley Cycleway.

External links

• "Kidman & Mayoh's Shipyard at Kissing Point", City of Ryde