Millers Point is an urban locality within Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

's city centre, in the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Millers Point is located on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district

Sydney central business district

The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...

, adjacent to The Rocks

The Rocks, New South Wales

The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...

 and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney

City of Sydney

The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...

.

Millers Point lies on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, beside Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour, New South Wales

Darling Harbour is a locality of the city centre of Sydney, Australia. It is a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. The locality extends northwards from Chinatown, along both sides of Cockle Bay to King Street...

. The Barangaroo

Barangaroo, New South Wales

Barangaroo is an inner-city area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district and the southern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge...

 development is taking place on 22 hectares of land on the western side of the suburb. Sections of Millers Point have been included as part of the The Rocks

The Rocks, New South Wales

The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...

 area in the past and some residents and businesses still use it in their address.

History

A small mill that was owned by Jack Leighton was located here. The area became known as Jack, the Miller's Point.
In 1833 Governor Bourke

Richard Bourke

General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia between 1831 and 1837.-Early life and career:...

 granted the Catholic Church land at Millers Point for the construction of a school house that could serve as a chapel on Sundays. The Colonial Architect

New South Wales Government Architect

The New South Wales Government Architect is an officer of the New South Wales government. Historically, the government architect was in charge of the state government's public building projects....

, Ambrose Hallen in consultation with Bishop Ullathorne

William Bernard Ullathorne

William Bernard Ullathorne was an English Roman Catholic bishop and a missionary in Australia.-Early life:William Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, Yorkshire, the eldest of ten children of William Ullathorne, a prosperous grocer, draper and spirit merchant, and his wife Hannah, née Longstaff...

, designed the school building which was completed by May, 1835. It was a one story building constructed in sandstone with two rooms that could be opened into one. St Brigid's Millers Point is the oldest existing place of Catholic worship in Australia. The school was closed in 1992 but the church continues to be used by the local community.
The current Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory is located on a hill now known as 'Observatory Hill' in an area in the centre of Sydney. The site evolved from a fort built on 'Windmill Hill' in the early 19th century to an astronomical observatory during the nineteenth century...

 building on Observatory Hill was completed in 1858 by English astronomer and clergyman William Scott

William Scott (astronomer and clergyman)

William Scott , was a Church of England clergyman and became the colonial astronomer for New South Wales.-Background:...

. Two separate pubs in the area claim to be Sydney's oldest surviving pubs, the Lord Nelson here at Millers Point and the Fortune of War nearby at The Rocks

The Rocks, New South Wales

The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...

. Others in the area include the Palisade and the Hero of Waterloo.

Further reading

• Grace Karskens. Inside The Rocks. Published by Hale & Iremonger, Australia. 1999. (ISBN 0 86806 666 4)
• Shirley Fitzgerald & Christopher Keating. Millers Point, The Urban Village. Hale & Iremonger, Australia,1991. (ISBN 086806443 2)
• Isadore Brodsky. Heart Of The Rocks. Published by Old Sydney Free Press, Australia. 1965.

External links