Brooklyn

Postcode: 2083

Brooklyn is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, 35 kilometres north of Sydney's central business district. It is within the Hornsby Shire local government area. Population (2001): 677.

Brooklyn occupies a narrow strip of tidal waterfront land aligned east - west along the southern bank of the Hawkesbury River. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park borders the suburb to the south and the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway crosses the river just to the west. Long Island runs parallel with the suburb on the opposite side of Sandbrook Inlet and is joined to Brooklyn by the railway causeway. Dangar Island is sited to the north east.

It has a station on the main Northern railway line, which is served by CityRail's Newcastle and Central Coast line, and is on the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway.

The town has traditionally been associated with the farming of Sydney rock oyster with generations of the same families involved. Oyster beds are a common sight along wide sections of the river but in 2004 the disease QX wiped out production and the industry is currently undergoing a transition.

After a long campaign, the sewer is currently being connected to Brooklyn and adjacent villages with connections due to start by the end of 2007.

Boating and fishing are the major tourist attractions in Brooklyn. There is a good boat launching facility at the eastern end of the suburb in Parsley Bay and several local marinas offer houseboat hire.

McKell Park is a pleasant and popular spot for weekend picknickers with superb river views and an enclosed tidal swimming pool.

The Riverboat Postman leaves Ferry Wharf in Dangar Road adjacent to the railway station on its daily run (Monday - Friday) delivering mail and supplies to the water access only communities of Dangar Island, Wobby, Bar Point, Marlow Creek and Milson's Passage. The trip is popular with tourists.

Brooklyn is surrounded by reserves with plenty of scope for bushwalking. The Great North Walk, a bushtrack that runs from Sydney to Newcastle passes through the town.

The Muogamarra Nature Reserve is open for six weeks a year during the spring wildflower season. Entry is $5 and there are guided and unguided walks within the reserve which is closed to the public outside these times. A wide variety of very good aboriginal rock carvings can be seen here along with sections of the old Peat's Ferry Road.

For more information about this town, click here