Bayview Park ferry wharf

Bayview Park ferry wharf is a commuter wharf located in the Sydney suburb of Concord, New South Wales, on Hen and Chicken Bay. It is situated adjacent the namesake Bayview Park reserve, and upon the site of the historical Burwood ferry wharf, where Canadian exiles from the 19th century Lower Canada Rebellion landed in Sydney. Bayview Park was originally serviced by a Matilda Cruises route, before being included on Sydney Ferries' Parramatta River service in 2006, after a brief one-year service by Palm Beach Ferries. Services to the wharf were decommissioned by Sydney Ferries in October 2013, alongside Balmain West after patronage declined to a weekly average of 28 passengers. No operators currently service the wharf, although the structure still remains, with plans to return private ferry services to the wharf as part of a redevelopment project for a factory in eastern Concord.

Bayview Park
View of the wharf pontoon in October 2017
LocationBurwood Road, Concord
New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates33°51′23.6″S 151°07′19.4″E
Owned byTransport for NSW
Platforms1 wharf (1 berth)
Connections Bayview Park, Burwood Rd
History
Openedc. 1980
Passengers
201328 per week

History
Memorial stone at Bayview Park ferry wharf, commemorating the site of the 1840 landing of the HMS Buffalo and the Canadian patriote exiles aboard

Bayview Park ferry wharf, and the namesake public park located adjacent to it, is built upon the site of the historical Burwood ferry wharf, which provided vital transport links from the region to Parramatta and the Sydney CBD in the early 19th century.[1] Burwood wharf is most significant for being the landing site of HMS Buffalo on 26 February 1840,[2] which carried 58 patriote exiles who fought against British colonialists in the Lower Canada Rebellion.[3][4] The prisoners, who were incarcerated at Longbottom Stockade, formerly located at the present site of Concord Oval, were pardoned four years later,[3][4] and policies pertaining to responsible government for which the Rebellions of 1837–1838 were fought, were eventually adopted in both Canada and Australia in the decades after the rebellions.[5][6] A memorial stone to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the landing of HMS Buffalo was originally erected at Cabarita Park in May 1970 by Concord Council, and dedicated by Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau. The memorial stone was moved to its current location adjacent to the wharf entrance following the development of the Bayview Park reserve in February 1984.[2] A similar memorial stone for the exiles of the Upper Canada Rebellion, who were also carried to Australia aboard MS Buffalo, was erected in Hobart, Tasmania.[7] The geographic features of France Bay, Exile Bay, and Canada Bay, were named in honor of the convicts and their landing at the present-day Bayview Park.[8]

View of the wharf, with its original smaller pontoon, in September 2007

The Bayview Park reserve, along with the wharf, was opened in 1980.[1] Ferry services to the wharf were mostly run by private ventures, with Matilda Cruises operating its Darling Harbour–Homebush Bay service to the wharf until October 2005.[9] Palm Beach Ferries replaced Matilda Cruises services to the wharf afterwards with their new Darling Harbour–Cape Cabarita and Bayview Park service,[10] though decommissioned the service altogether a year later, after it "failed to attract sufficient patronage to be economically viable."[9] In September 2006, after requests from the constituents of Drummoyne, and its member Angela D'Amore in State Parliament,[11] Sydney Ferries began servicing Bayview Park as part of its Parramatta River route, serving as a terminus on its own dedicated limited-stops and shuttle pattern on the route.[12][13] Sydney Ferries serviced the wharf for seven years.[14] In October 2013, despite a redevelopment of the wharf enlarging the size of the pontoon to house shelter and seating, Bayview Park was decommissioned from the Sydney Ferries network, alongside Balmain West, both due to low patronage.[15][16] In the last year of the service, Sydney Ferries saw a weekly average patronage of 28 passengers, compared to 870 weekly passengers at Cabarita, the closest ferry wharf to Bayview Park.[17] The wharf's closure was not without controversy, sparking a political row between the Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian and the Minister for Drummoyne John Sidoti.[15][18][19]

Services
The timetable board at the wharf, as seen in October 2017. Visible are two layers of Sydney Ferries timetables

Until October 2005, Matilda Cruises' Darling Harbour–Homebush Bay route featured a stop at Bayview Park, along with Cape Cabarita, Cabarita, Meadowbank, and Sydney Olympic Park. Services to the wharf operated during hours of peak patronage during weekdays, and limited services ran on weekends.[20] Palm Beach Ferries' three-stop service terminated at Bayview Park, and included a stop at Cape Cabarita before terminating at Darling Harbour Pier 26.[10] As of their September 2006 timetable, Sydney Ferries started running weekday-only services that terminated at Bayview Park and King Street Wharf 3 as part of its Parramatta River route. In the Sydney to Parramatta direction, one morning shuttle and two afternoon services intermittently stopping at Drummoyne, Huntleys Point, Chiswick, and Abbotsford.[12] In the opposite direction, two morning services, with one making additional stops at McMahons Point and Milsons Point, and two shuttle services in the afternoon were run.[13] By Sydney Ferries' October 2011 timetable, the terminus of the service on the Sydney end was moved up to Circular Quay, and morning services in the Parramatta to Sydney direction omitted stops at McMahons Point and Milsons Point.[14] Transit Systems operates two bus services, 466 and 502, which stop at the nearby "Bayview Park, Burwood Rd" stop.[21][22]

Future

A proposal to return ferry services to the wharf with the cooperation of a private ferry operator, as part of the redevelopment of the corporate campus of coffee manufacturer FreshFood Services on Burwood Road, was made as part of a March 2017 submission to the Greater Sydney Commission's Central District Plan on behalf of Business management consultant Urbis.[23] The proposal seeks to commission a service between Bayview Park and Barangaroo after the first stage of residential development on Burwood Road, with its first three years being underwritten by FreshFood Services.[23]

See also

References
  1. Office of Environment and Heritage staff (28 November 2008). "Bayview Park". Heritage Council of New South Wales. New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. Monument Australia staff (2012). "Canadian Exiles Monument". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. CBHS staff (15 September 2010). "The French Canadian Exiles of 1840". Canada Bay Heritage Society. City of Canada Bay. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. Nelson, Ron (11 June 2005). "Canadian Convicts on the HMS Buffalo 1839–1840". Convicts to Australia. Perth Dead Persons' Society. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. Government of Canada staff (19 October 2015). "History of Canada-Australia Relations". Government of Canada. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  6. Hamer, David (2004). "The Origins of Responsible Government". In Hamer, Barbara (ed.). Can Responsible Government Survive In Australia? (PDF) (2nd ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of the Senate. pp. 9–17. ISBN 0 642 71433 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  7. Shine, Tyson (17 February 2015). "Memorial for Canadian convicts sent to Tasmania rededicated in Hobart". ABC News Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  8. Scanlon, Mike (6 June 2014). "Exiles who changed a nation". The Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Regional Media. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  9. Taylor, Graeme (27 September 2006). "2006 Review of Private Ferry Fares – Response to Charter Vessel Association Submission" (PDF). Action for Public Transport. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART). pp. 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  10. Keating, Michael; Cox, James; Cifuentes, Cristina (18 December 2005). "Review of Fares for Private Ferries in NSW" (PDF). Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART). Government of New South Wales. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  11. "Legislative Assembly, Wednesday 18 October 2006" (PDF). Parliament of New South Wales. 18 October 2006. p. 2094. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  12. "Services from Circular Quay to Rydalmere / Parramatta". Sydney Ferries. State Transit Authority. September 2006. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  13. "Services from Rydalmere / Parramatta to Circular Quay". Sydney Ferries. State Transit Authority. September 2006. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  14. "Parramatta River service – ferry timetable" (PDF). Sydney Ferries. State Transit Authority. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  15. Saulwick, Jacob (22 May 2013). "Ferries ahoy as minister pushes the boat out". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  16. ABC News staff (22 May 2013). "NSW Government unveils plans for the future of Sydney ferries". ABC News Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  17. Transport for New South Wales staff (22 May 2013). "New ferry timetable – Services west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge" (PDF). Transport for New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  18. Saulwick, Jacob (25 September 2013). "Liberal MP Sidoti rocks the boat over ferry wharf closure". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  19. Noonan, Belinda (6 March 2015). "Ferries in turbulent water". Burwood Scene. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  20. City of Canada Bay staff (12 May 2009). "Draft Canada Bay Local Planning Strategy 2009 – Part 4 Transport & Access". City of Canada Bay. pp. 90, 91. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  21. Transport for NSW staff (26 October 2018). "466 Ashfield to Cabarita Park" (PDF). Transport for NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  22. Transport for NSW staff (26 October 2018). "502 Five Dock to City Town Hall" (PDF). Transport for NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  23. Strudwick, Peter (31 March 2017). "Submission to the Draft Central District Plan – 160 Burwood Road, Concord" (PDF). FreshFood Services Pty Ltd. Urbis. pp. 2, 4–5, 10, 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
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