June 1 - 30, 2026: Issue 655

 

Narrabeen Lagoon on a Sunday Afternoon + a Few North Narrabeen Vicinity history Notes
June 2026
North Narrabeen Lagoon alongside Lake Park. Photos: A J Guesdon

LAKE NARRABEEN.

The soft breeze blows on Narrabeen,
Bright lake of gleaming light;
The sky is deep and blue and clean.
With fleecy clouds bedight.
And steadily the slow oars beat
As drums mark time in music sweet.

The hills that hold the lake between
Their green and shining knees,
Are Jealous lest fair Narrabeen
Be won by creaming seas.
That break against the sandy bar,
Where peace and dreams and beauty are.

The sunlight shines on Narrabeen,
From Deep Creek to the sea;
By sandy capes the tall trees lean.
As though they long to be
Reflected where water lies, 
A mirror for the summer skies.   

The sunset falls on tree and tide, 
The leaping fish are still;
The little elves of silence hide
By reedy reach and hill;
Only the soft sound of the oars     
Wakens old dreams along dim shores.

The night wind sings to Narrabeen,
A lover tried and true;
From purple skies the white stare lean,
To light the waters through; 
And slow, so slow, the timed oars beat,
Light as soft drums in music sweet.

WILL LAWSON.

LAKE NARRABEEN. (1931, November 14). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28036781

William (Will) Lawson (1876-1957), author, Biography

LATE AFTERNOON STUDY IN DEEP CREEK-ROAD, NARRABEEN. Woodland Shades-- (1935, October 30).The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 16. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17237516 

THE THRUSHES AND THE RIPPLES.
Among the spreading' red-gums, .
Set around with gracious green
I heard the thrushes singing
Last week at Narrabeen.

Light lay upon the bracken,
As through the drowsy noon
Their liquid notes went thrilling
Across the blue lagoon. 

And, while among the red-gums -
Sweet song, they did outpour, .
With gentle, soft responses
The ripples lapped the shore.

No memories of the city,
No hint of crime and care,
'Came, blown across the waters
To spoil the woodland air.

Far better than man's turmoil, 
His fevered thoughts and deeds,
The thrushes in the red-gums,
The ripples in the reeds. 
RODERIC QUINN.
IN ODD MOMENTS (1923, October 17).The Australian Worker (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1950), p. 13. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145795940 

UNDREAMED OF SHORES   

[PHOTO BY CAZNEAUX  

Beaches during the week-end show humanity without its collar and tie and its self  consciousness.  

Our Lady of the Shallows.  

The younger Naiades. These are immortal and preside over the sea-weed  and the wet sand.  

( Below ). When surf shooters go by the board.  

A ridge of sand at Narrabeen where city-dwellers bring their families and hand them over to the sun for Summer suits of brown.  page 32  



The HOME, January 1st. 1926  (1920). UNDREAMED OF SHORES, The Home : an Australian quarterly Retrieved  from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-384017855 


By Sydney's Shallow Waters - Flood And Field.   Meccas Of The Sydney Motorist.  

Cazneaux — Photos.  


Back through the dust. Week-enders returning from  Palm Beach.  


A Dodge car on the road beside the lakes at Narrabeen.  


A popular afternoon run beside the Narrabeen Lakes.  


Camping-grounds for cars at Narrabeen Beach.  


The Shrouded Field. The camping-ground at Narrabeen where cars are parked and blanketed at night.  



(1920 founded – April 1 1925 edition). BY SYDNEY’S SHALLOW WATERS, The Home : an Australian quarterly Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-383961452 


Narrabeen lagoon, circa 1915, Item hall_34703h, courtesy State Library of NSW


Narrabeen, Star photo, circa 1900. Item a116483h courtesy State Library of NSW

More in: The Old Road To Narrabeen - The Unspoilt Days Of 100 Years Ago When You Could Still See The Sea

Site History - see: Pittwater Summer Houses: 'Billabong' + 'Ocean House', Ocean Street, North Narrabeen - The House At The End Of The Road - Became Site Of North Narrabeen SLSC's 'Batchelor Club

NB: it is illegal to remove shells from North Narrabeen because the area falls entirely within the Narrabeen Head Aquatic Reserve. See: DPI's Sydney Harbour and northern beaches Recreational Fishing Guide

More in: Pictures From The Past: Views Of Early Narrabeen Bridges - 1860 to 1966 and North Narrabeen Rock Pool: Some History

Insight available in:  Camping at Narrabeen – A Trickle then a Flood and Narrabeen Prawning Times - A Seasonal Tide Of Returnings: New Found Records Added In (2023) and Pittwater, Narrabeen Lagoon & The Collaroy Beachfront: Some Storms and Flood Tides Of The Past

Mullet Creek Bridge, Pittwater road end of Lake Park