Killarney Heights, New South Wales facts for kids

Killarney Heights is a suburb of Northern Sydney, situated on Middle Harbour, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Killarney Heights is 12 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Killarney Heights is part of the Forest District, colloquially known as The Forest.

Killarney Heights has panoramic views of Middle Harbour from a few locations. The suburb is located on a peninsula bound by the waters of Middle Harbour to the south-west towards Roseville Chase and Bantry Bay to the east. Garigal National Park is on the eastern border.

Transport

Killarney Heights is accessible by road, via Warringah Road. Access to Warringah Road is via Roseville Bridge, via Spit Bridge and Wakehurst Parkway or via Forest Way. Killarney Heights is about 20mins from the city during non peak hours. The only public transport around this area is through a private bus company, Forest Coach Lines. Routes that go through Killarney Heights include services to and from the City and Chatswood.

History

The suburb was originally part of Forestville and the area was developed from the 1950s as South Forestville and Heidelberg. The suburb east of Starkey Street became the site of considerable development by LJ Hooker in the early 1960s after the second Roseville Bridge was completed. West of Starkey Street was Crown land.

Killarney Heights Post Office opened on 1 December 1965 and closed in 1987.

In the early part of the 20th century, a picnic ground was developed around the edges of Middle Harbour. It was owned for a time by [Mosman Rowing Club] and is still visible though very overgrown now. Boats would arrive for gatherings, carrying elegantly attired men in red and white striped jackets, pressed white pants and the requisite straw boater hat. Women were often dressed in accompanying white muslin frocks. A large hall was built at some time in the early 1920s and this was hired out for parties until the late 1970s. As well as a wharf on Middle harbor, it is still accessible by a stone staircase from the lowest part of Killarney Drive or by the now overgrown Flat Rock Walking track which was constructed some time in the 1940s and rejuvenated in the mid 1960s to allow access to the suburbs sewer system. in 1967 the track was blocked by a large rock fall caused by construction on a difficult part of Killarney Drive just east of Glengariff Ave. The blockage was never cleared.

The picnic grounds were given the name 'Killarney' after Killarney in Ireland. The suburb later gained its name from this such picnic area. Each street in the development has an Irish placename (e.g. Galway Avenue, Blarney Avenue, Dublin Avenue, Donegal Road, Tipperary Avenue, Ballyshannon Road).

In February 1979, a Lithuanian couple who believed they were being chased by Soviet agents were discovered in bushland adjacent to the suburb. Stepan Petrosys (81) and his 68-year-old wife were discovered after having lived in a cave for 28 years. Local children who frequented the bush knew of these people as early as 1965.