4 THE MARINE riSHING-GROTJNDS. 



extent, are tapped by the North Coast Railway at Wyong. 

 The railway station is reached by a creek of that name, 

 about four miles in length, situated about north-west fi'om 

 the sea entrance. Eish are conveyed from these lakes to 

 Sydney by rail in about two hours and a half. 



* Broken Bay, the Hawkeshury, 'Pitt Water, and Brisbane 

 Water, — South from Tuggerah and situated considerably 

 nearer to Port Jackson is Broken Bay, the embouchure of 

 the far-famed Hawkesbury River, with its extensive arms, 

 Brisbane Water on the north and Pitt Water on the south. 

 These waters, from their ready accessibility and tish-producing 

 capabilities, have always ranked, and still rank, amongst 

 the most important of our fishing-grounds. The beaches 

 bounding these waters present the most favourable conditions 

 to net fishermen, and the upper reaches of the river and 

 the mud flats of its various tributaries comprising Mullet, 

 Mooney, Marra-Marra, Berowra, and Mangrove Creeks, have 

 helped to supply Sydney for many years past, and still 

 continue to do so. The North Coast Railway now taps this 

 river at a point locally known as the Plat Bock, and by its 

 means the produce of its more upper waters is conveyed to 

 the metropolis with the greatest facility, and w^ith but little 

 loss even in the heisrht of summer. 



Bort Jackson and Parramatta River. — On the shores of 

 Port Jackson stands Sydney, the metropolis of Ncav South 

 Wales. It is the centre of the Home Division of Pisheries, 

 and the point to wdiich all fish produce converges. At one 

 time Port Jackson held a premier position amongst the fishing- 

 grounds for all kinds of the best net-fish, but it has lost much 

 of its value. This is owing not only to the pollution of its 

 waters by the sewage of a large city and constant disturbance 

 by the traffic of innumerable craft, but to a wanton destructive 

 process of netting to which every bay and flat have been 

 subjected. Legislation, to which I shall refer to later on, 

 has done something towards counteracting this evil, and 

 possibly when the scheme for carrying the sewage direct to 

 the ocean shall have been sufficiently long in operation to 

 allow of the feeding- grounds recovering themselves, the 

 metropolitan harbour may again in some degree yield its 

 original supply. To the north of Port Jackson, between 

 Manly and Pitt Water, are a series of small lagoons, Curl- 

 Curl, Deewhy and Narrabeen. These lagoons are most 



* See Map — Appendices. 



