In the space of 25 years, their suburb had gone from being an outpost of Manly hosting only fishermen, day-trippers, campers and occasional cottages to a community deserving of its own tramline.
Only two years earlier, locals had succeeded in having the name of their suburb changed from Freshwater to Harbord, a name they considered more salubrious by association – the Hon Judith Harbord was the sister-in-law of the state governor, Lord Carrington.And where all the previous tram tracks laid on the peninsula could be seen as a single line from The Spit to Manly and then north to Narrabeen, the line to Harbord was the first and only substantial spur off the main line.So when the first tram rolled into their suburb, Harbord residents were probably justified in feeling that they had arrived as a fully-fledged community.The area behind Freshwater Beach was first opened up for development in 1884 with the sale of the Freshwater Estate subdivision.
That was followed by the massive Crown land subdivision in 1886 called Harbord that included part of Freshwater, part of Curl Curl, all of North Curl Curl and a small part of Dee Why north of Headland Rd.
The subdivision was called Harbord because the Hon Judith Harbord’s brother-in-law had been appointed governor of NSW the previous year and she, her sister and the governor had made an official visit to Manly on January 19, 1886 – seven months before the subdivision named in her honour was auctioned.Many lots in the Freshwater Estate and Harbord crown land subdivisions failed to sell and settlement around Freshwater was slow.It was not until the early 20th century that real growth began to take place following several new subdivisions and new sales of previously-advertised lots.In the early 1900s, the only way of getting to Freshwater was by bus, horse and cart, or on foot.
The tramway system on the northern beaches began with a short line from Manly Wharf to Many Lagoon that was opened in 1903 and extended north to Brookvale in 1910.In 1911 a line was laid connecting Manly and The Spit, and the northern part of the line was extended from Brookvale to Collaroy and to Narrabeen in 1913.The first proposal for a tram line to Freshwater was made in 1909 and had the support of the Freshwater Tramway League and Progress Association and Warringah Shire Council but the state Minister for Works was not prepared to undertake such costly exercise unless locals were prepared to guarantee the proposed line against loss.
Eventually Freshwater residents and the council hinted that they might be prepared to offer such a guarantee but the minister doubted their ability to do so, given the substantial construction costs, even before the cost of land resumptions was considered, and that the revenue would never match the running costs.The talks went back and forward for the next decade, just as surveyors tramped back and forth in search of the most effective and affordable route in case the talk came to anything.One route that was considered was around the base of Queenscliff Head.Impracticalities aside, that route would only have served those close to the coast.
Political and bureaucratic activity on a proposed tram line increased after World War I, which locals, politicians, bureaucrats and bean-counters all weighing into the argument.The locals won in the end – in December 1923 the Curl Curl to Freshwater Tramway Act was approved by state parliament.By that time, the name of the suburb had been changed from Freshwater to Harbord following a campaign by local residents unhappy about the behaviour of some of the people who were coming to their suburb.The first businesses at Freshwater were established by Amos Randell in 1906 and Robert Lewers in 1908.
Randell built and rented small one-roomed timber cottages called camps to groups of single men, who would sometimes rent the camp for the whole summer, although they would only use it on weekends.Other landowners followed Randell’s lead and also established camps on their land that they rented to groups of single men.Some landowners also built small timber structures on their land and camped their on weekends and during holidays.
But as the years went by, a small but increasing number of the campers became rowdy, sometimes fuelled by alcohol, and there were instances of petty crime.The growing number of permanent residents in the area led to calls by some to change the name of the suburb to sidestep the poor reputation the camps were attracting to the suburb.In September 1923, the name of the suburb was officially changed from Freshwater to Harbord and just three months later the proposed tram line was approved by state parliament.Although the tram line was approved in December 1923, work did not begin until February 1925.
The first tram to use the new line left Manly Wharf on December 17, 1925, and the line was officially opened two days later at the corner of Cavill St and Laurence St, although regular services did not begin until December 21.But the trams were doomed by the construction of the Spit Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the growing network of bus routes across the northern beaches and in the early hours of October 1, 1939, the tramway system on the northern beaches ceased operating.
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