Snapper Island (New South Wales)
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Schnapper Island Sydney, New South Wales |
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 Schnapper Island
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| Coordinates | 33°51′08″S 151°10′01″E / 33.8522°S 151.1669°ECoordinates: 33°51′08″S 151°10′01″E / 33.8522°S 151.1669°E | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 0.3 km (0 mi) NE of Birkenhead Point, Drummoyne | ||||||||||||||
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Snapper Island is a 1.65 hectare island in Sydney Harbour, Australia. It lies in the main channel of the western section of the harbour, upstream of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, adjacent to the Sydney suburb of Drummoyne.
The island was originally a rocky outcrop, but in 1931-2 it was increased in size over seven times by land reclamation, and reshaped into the general plan form of a ship. Since then it has used as a training depot by the Sea Cadets, and as a museum. Today it is in the hands of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, who are charged with planning a new future for it.
Snapper Island is the smallest island in the harbour and more than the others has been reshaped significantly by human intervention.
In 1879, Snapper Island was declared a public recreation reserve by the NSW Legislative Assembly. However, Snapper Island remained a rarely visited rocky outcrop.
When nearby Cockatoo Island was passed to the Royal Australian Navy in 1913, Snapper Island was included in its 'naval waters', and as such subject to naval control.
During World War I the island was leased to the Cockatoo Island Dockyard for storing ships' parts and old corrugated iron.
In 1930, Len Forsythe leased the island from the Commonwealth Government in order to create a training depot for boys in nautical skills. Around 50 cadets were recruited and began work on the island. After clearing the island of vegetation in 1931, the island was flattened by blasting an estimated 1,000 tonnes of rock from the top of the island over an eight-month period. Associated land reclamation activities increased the size of the island by around 1,000 square metres. The stone sea walls of the island were sculptured to create the shape of a ship with a bow (pointing towards Drummoyne) and a stern (pointing towards Cockatoo Island).
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