Forty Baskets Beach

Another fabulous inner Sydney Harbour picnic and safe swimming spot.

Forty Baskets Beach is usually a secluded little beach in Balgowlah with a netted tidal pool in the middle, but on a hot Invasion Day morning it was far busier than usual. Before colonisation it was used by original custodians the Gai-marigal people and there is a midden deposit under the grassy area at the back of the beach. According to historic sources, this midden even yielded skeletons, the last of which were removed in the 1970s. I read that they ended up in museums. Typical. The name? It commemorates an epic fishing catch hauled in there in the late 19th Century, which was used to feed a group of soldiers who were detained in the nearby Quarantine Station after returning from the war in Sudan. The echoes of the history of British settler colonialism linger here in other forms too, from the trees that were poisoned by some of the residents to improve their view, to today’s land grabs of public space by rows of blue and white cool cabanas. Sydney’s obsession with real estate writ small. It’s a tough day to feel positive about anything much, but we could tell that on any other day we would have thought this was a pretty place with all the things: outdoor showers, change room BBQs and free parking on the adjacent streets. The crowd were mostly local white families, interspersed with Fijian and other Pasifikan First Nations families who were having great fun. Seeing the latter enjoying their day in and around the pool made us smile despite everything.

This well hidden Harbour beach is a bit of a challenge to get to without a boat but worth it. The council are rebuilding the netted swimming area. Take everything you need as there are no shops anywhere nearby.

Lovely little beach, but I suspect most of its fame is due to the legend of its namesake rather than the actual quality of the beach. 🐟 Forty baskets gets it's name because of a day in 1885 when a group of men caught, you guessed it, 40 baskets of fish. ❗ This beach is difficult to pass at high tide (at the southern rocky end), so follow signs for the alternate route if you're doing the Spit to Manly walk. Pleasant place to hang out, distant enough from Manly that it's not too crowded.

Lovely secluded beach, wish I got here earlier during my walk from The Spit to Manly but by the time I arrived it was sunset and getting cold. But the views here are stunning and an excellent option if you want a beach that’s on the quiet side. It can be very tricky to get to as there’s a few stairs to navigate, but it’s worth it.