The Pre-history of Bondi Beach

There is some contention as to the origin of the word Bondi. One source suggests that "Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks. While the Australian Museum records that Bondi means place where a flight of nullas took place.

Aboriginal people occupied many sites in the area now known as Waverley in the period before European settlement. There were numerous recorded sightings during the early colonial period and there are significant Aboriginal rock carvings, including rough carving of fish or fishes on the cliffs on Ben Buckler, the Bondi Golf Course and MacKenzies Point. Early resident, Thomas O'Brien recalled finding Aboriginal remains and stone tomahawks after sand had been removed from the bay frontage after a gale.

Ethnologists from the Australian Museum in Sydney have also found evidence among the stone implements and flint tools (most of them discarded as "faulty" by their ancient makers) of countless generations' of aboriginal craftsmen using the beach area as a large-scale tool-making facility, using materials chipped and fractured from the volcanic trench and other rocks nearby.

MacKenzies Point engraving showing a large whale and a small fish and examples of Bondi Points.

An important type of Aboriginal tool, the Bondi Point, was first identified in the Bondi area. The Bondi Point is usually less than 5 cm long and is sometimes described as a backed blade. Some examples suggest that the points were set in wooden handles or shafts. It occurs on coastal and inland sites across Australia, usually south of the Tropic of Capricorn. The oldest examples come from southeast Australia, dating from about 3000 bc, and the most recent are 300-500 years old.

The indigenous people of the area, at the time of European settlement, have generally been referred to as the Sydney people or the Eora, Eora means "the people". One theory describes the Eora as a sub-group of the Darug language group which occupied the Cumberland Plain west to the Blue Mountains. However, another theory suggests that they were a distinct language group of their own.

There is no clear evidence for the name or names of the particular band or bands of the Eora that roamed what is now the Waverley area. Most sources agree on the Cadigal but there are sources which name the Biddigal and Birrabirragal bands as well. A number of place names within Waverley, most famously Bondi, have been based on words derived from Aboriginal languages of the Sydney region.

European settlement

Formal European settlement goes back to 1809, when the early road builder, William Roberts, in recognition of his laying out the Old South Head-road, received a grant of 81 hectares from Governor Bligh, of what is now most of the business and residential area of Bondi Beach.

From the mid-1800s Bondi Beach was a favourite location for family outings and picnics. In 1851, Edward Smith Hall and Francis O'Brien purchased 200 acres of the Bondi area that embraced almost the whole frontage of Bondi Beach, and it was named the "The Bondi Estate." Between 1855 and 1877 O'Brien purchased Hall's share of the land, renamed the land the "O'Brien Estate," and made the beach and the surrounding land available to the public as a picnic ground and amusement resort. 

Access to Bondi Beach was made more convenient for Sydney residents by the introduction of bus services via the "Tea Gardens", named after the Tea Garden Hotel, situated at what is now Bondi Junction. People would then make their way to the beach via foot or by cart. A number of private bus operators such as Old Steve, a jolly looking old fellow in a white top-hat, provided transport up to Bondi Junction.  As Thomas O'Brian, the son of Francis, recalled in 1923, "the first ‘bus to Bondi was driven by Omerod, one of "the gallant six hundred." He was "a regular cure." He picked us up where O’Brien-street strikes the Old South Head road. My father paid him one pound five shillings a week".

Local Government Established

Waverley was the second Sydney suburb to become a municipality. This happened on June 13, 1859, when Sir William Denison, who was the Governor-General and also the Governor-in-Chief of the Colony of New South Wales, proclaimed the establishment of "The Municipality of Waverley". At one of its earliest meetings, in December, 1859, the new Waverley Council divided the Municipality into three wards (or sections), and named them Bondi, Waverley and Nelson. Later a fourth ward was added and called Lawson. Today those wards are named Bondi, Waverley, Hunter and Lawson.

As the beach became increasingly popular, O'Brien threatened to stop public beach access. However, the Municipal Council believed that the Government needed to intervene to make the beach a public reserve. However it was not until June 9, 1882, that the NSW Government acted and Bondi Beach became a public beach. 

The first tramway reached the beach in 1884 and the line was electrified in 1906, replacing the steam powered tram engines and trailer cars. In 1926, Waverley Municipal Council introduced parking fees and timed parking as due to the increased popularity of cars. There were days where there were more than 1,000 cars parked in and around Bondi while in 1928/29, over 87,000 vehicles used the Council car park. The last tram to North Bondi and Bronte ran on Sunday 28th February, 1960.

Swimming at Bondi Beach

In the early 1800s swimming at Sydney's beaches was a controversial pastime. In 1803, Governor Philip King forbade convicts from bathing in Sydney Harbour because of "the dangers of sharks and stingrays, and for reasons of decorum". But by the 1830's sea bathing was becoming a popular activity, despite being officially banned between 9.00am and 8.00pm.

During the 1900s these restrictive attitudes began to relax and the beach became associated with health, leisure and democracy, a playground everyone could enjoy equally. In 1902 a man named Joe Gocher flouted Section 77 of the Police Offences Act which prohibited bathing between 9.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m. Following this, sea bathing was allowed without fear of prosecution. As can be seen in the image below, at the turn of the century most people went picnicking at the beachside and seldom went swimming.

Bondi Beach circa 1900

In 1905 Waverley Council agreed to the construction of two dressing rooms, one for men and one for women. However they were not deemed adequate by visitors, as they apparently lacked a roof, which allowed passengers in passing trams some measure of visibility. As a consequence, in 1910 Waverley Council asked for tenders for a new structure and accepted a bid for £3,000 submitted by Taylor and Bills. The new sheds were completed in 1911 and were affectionately dubbed 'The Castle' or 'Castle Pavilion' in reference to the distinctive turrets.

The new sheds were described in the Sydney Morning Herald as follows "Bondi now boasts not only the most up-to-date surf bathers' accommodation in the State but also the Commonwealth. It is provided with facilities for 1000 bathers and [the building] is divided into two sections providing accommodation for 750 men and 250 women. Bathers' compartments are separated by asbestos sheet partitioning and the floor is wholly of concrete to ensure cleanliness. Besides shower-baths and other necessities for bathers the front of the building is devoted to the purposes of a tea-room which is capable of holding a large number of persons while wide verandahs on the seaward side are also designed for tea parties."

Bondi Beach dressing sheds built in 1911

In 1923 Waverley Council commenced the implementation of the Bondi Beach and Park Improvement Scheme. The scheme included provision of a kiosk and surf sheds, three lavatory blocks, a bandstand, parks to surround the buildings and increased car and pedestrian facilities. A competition was held to design the structures, which was won by the architectural firm of Robertson and Marks. The opening of the pavilion 1929 attracted an estimated crowd of up to 200 000. The low-lying pavilion originally included a ballroom, a cabaret theatre, an auditorium, as well as Turkish baths and change rooms. By 1929 an average of 60,000 people were visiting the beach daily during summer weekends. 

Bondi Beach Surf Pavilion circa 1930 - Souvenir postcard

By the 1930s Bondi was drawing not only local visitors but also people from elsewhere in Australia and overseas. Advertising at the time referred to Bondi Beach as the "Playground of the Pacific".

Newspaper advertisement outlining the attractions of Bondi Beach, October 1928

Much of the residential development of Bondi Basin occurred during the 1920s in a period of rapid economic expansion following the restrictions of the First World War. Residential flat developments were popular at the time, and development focussed on areas with regular transport and potential for high return on investment. Today, Bondi’s housing stock reflects these beginnings. In the 2006 census, more than 70% of households in the Bondi area lived in a flat, unit or apartment, and a further 14% in semi-detached row or terrace housing. 

The Bondi Pavilion was well utilised for about two decades after its opening. During the second world war, the first floor,was requisitioned by the American Red Cross and the U.S. military to become an officers' club. After the war, dances were organised at the pavilion, and the proceeds went to disadvantaged Australian returned soldiers. In 1948 the pavilion obtained a liquor licence.

Poster commissioned in 1929 by the council to promote Bondi

By the mid-1950s utilisation of the pavilion had begun to decline, as changes in bathing costumes from heavy material to nylon reduced the need for changing rooms. In 1955 the council reported a substantial operating loss for the building. During the 1950s and 1960s the ground floor refreshment rooms were still in use and operated by lessees; however, the main hall and auditorium were rarely used.

In an attempt to increase community participation, a theatre was opened in 1975 by Gough Whitlam. In 1977 and 1978 the changing rooms, lockers, former Turkish baths and courtyard were demolished. In their place a new netball court, an art gallery, a gymnasium and an amphitheatre were constructed. In 1978 the building was officially reopened as the Bondi Surf Pavilion Community Centre.

Any visitor today can see that the pavilion is currently looking a little tired. On 12th December 2015 Waverley Council announced that it will be reborn in a $40 million revamp as a state-of-the-art theatre and events space around a series of palm tree-dotted gardens. Archi­tects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer have been selected for the long-awaited upgrade. Waverley Council has set aside $14m over the next three years for the development.

Bondi Beach was a working class suburb throughout most of the twentieth century with migrant people comprising the majority of the local population. Following World War II, Bondi Beach and the Eastern Suburbs became a popular with Jewish migrants from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany. The area still has a number of synagogues and a kosher butcher. 

Bondi Beach Today

Bondi today is a multicultural melting pot, with a sizable number of recent residents from New Zealand, Asia, and various Pacific Island backgrounds. Migration fueled the suburb's growth through the 90s and into the early 2000s, transitioning it from its working-class roots to a more upper-middle-class enclave, similar to its neighbors Rose Bay and Bellevue Hill. Bondi Beach is famously known for its attraction to backpackers and short-stay visitors, particularly those from the UK, adding to the area's vibrant international flavor.

The commercial scene in Bondi is lively and diverse. Just behind Bondi Beach, separated by Campbell Parade and Bondi Park, lies a bustling retail hub. The town center stretches along Campbell Parade and Hall Street, featuring an eclectic mix of restaurants, cafes, takeaway outlets, boutique fashion stores, surf shops, and art galleries. Trendy cafes serve up everything from artisan coffee to globally-inspired brunches, while the restaurant scene offers a mix of casual beachside dining and upscale eateries. Shopping here is a blend of high-end boutiques, laid-back surf shops, and quirky local markets, catering to a range of tastes and budgets. With three hotels and three nightclubs, Bondi's nightlife is equally dynamic, known for its laid-back bars, buzzing clubs, and live music venues.

In 2007, a major upgrade of Campbell Parade improved traffic flow and public transport access, enhancing the area’s accessibility and appeal. Bondi Beach now attracts over 2.2 million visitors each year, contributing more than $320 million to the NSW economy.

The beach's cultural and social life is highlighted by events like the City to Surf, the largest running event in the world, which is held each year in August. The race attracts over 80,000 entrants who complete the 14 km run from the Sydney central business district to the beach. Notable other events include the Flickerfest short film festival, the Bondi Latin American Festival, Festival of the Winds, and Sculpture By The Sea. The Bondi Beach Markets, open every Sunday, open 10am to 4pm, offer a relaxed shopping experience featuring unique fashion, handmade goods, and fresh produce.

Bondi thrives on its cosmopolitan social scene and strong community spirit. From Yoga by the Sea sessions at sunrise to the Bondi to Bronte Swim swim in December, locals and visitors alike embrace the active, outdoor lifestyle. Initiatives like OneWave’s Fluro Friday surf sessions promote mental health and community connection, adding to Bondi's unique, inclusive vibe.

Whether you’re a beach bum, Bondi Hipster, foodie, or fitness enthusiast, Bondi’s blend of culture, community, and natural beauty makes it a world-famous social hotspot.