154 AUSTRALASIA ILLUSTRATED. 



utmost has been done, while following the lines of nature, to turn to good account every 

 inch of ground. In some cases the frontage is occupied by boat and bathing houses ; else- 

 where trees grow down to the water's edge, and almost dip their branches into the rippling 

 waves. The broad shining leaves of the native fig overhang the gray rock awash at high 

 tide, and beyond are glimpses of green lawns flanked by creeper-mantled terraced walls, 

 above which are the windows of houses peeping through everlasting wreaths of foliage, and 

 festooned with frequent masses of various fragrant bloom. All along the fore-shore of 

 the Point is the same fair order with perpetual variety luxurious villas, elaborate garden- 

 grounds. Now and again the rugged ascent is scored with stair-ways cut from the living 

 rock ; carved with balustrades, and adorned with vases, from which spring plants of the 

 cactus or yucca tribes ; the heights being sometimes crowned with arbours, ferneries, 

 conservatories and summer-huts, all embosomed in foliage and bloom. 



Beyond the Point lies Elizabeth Bay with its sandy beach the old family mansion 

 of the estate just showing its dome above the surrounding trees. Then comes Elizabeth 

 Bay Point, with another cluster of water-side houses, and then the open sweep of Rush- 

 cutter's Bay, where the fore-shore has been reclaimed and is now a public park. The 

 flat ground in front is surrounded by an amphitheatre of higher ground, on the ridges of 

 which are the thickly-clustered houses of Darlinghurst, Pacldington and Woollahra. Darling 

 Point flanks the Bay on the east, and on its heights may be seen one of the most 

 picturesque churches of Sydney, St. Mark's, the graceful spire of which rises from the 

 dense hanging foliage that crowns a verdant sloping lea. On this promontory the beauties of 

 Elizabeth Bay are repeated with equal effectiveness, though with many variations. It is a 

 lovely and favourite suburb, and contains many magnificent mansions, castellated, turreted, 

 mimic citadels of peace, surrounded by grassy lawns and well-kept gardens. Almost directly 

 opposite the point, and separated from it by a strait about a quarter of a mile in 

 width, is Clark's Island, dedicated as a reserve for public recreation. The high ground 

 of Darling Point overlooks on the eastern side the beautiful inlet of Double Bay its 

 white beach a public reserve, while the flat behind is fairly built upon. Behind the 

 streets of Double Bay a few houses dot the hill-slopes and merge into one of Sydney's 

 most beautiful suburbs the populous and fast-spreading suburb of Woollahra, studded 

 with handsome mansions, many of which are not inferior to the Harbour homes that 

 cluster along the water's edge. 



The promontory on the eastern side of Double Bay is known by the name of 

 Point Piper so called after an early settler and on its eastern point stands a handsome 

 structure reared by an Australian millionaire. The grounds of this mansion occupy 

 nearly the whole extent of the Point. Its noble facade looks out upon the Harbour 

 over broad sweeps of lawn, in which the native trees have been carefully preserved, 

 their sombre hue being broken and relieved by the intermingling of trees of European 

 and tropic growth. Viewed from the water the Point glows with a variety of tints and 

 shades from rich emerald to subdued olive lovely contrasts are presented in masses of 

 lustrous green. The sea about the rocks and tiny beaches is of crystal clearness, and 

 all sights and sounds of the busy city are curtained off by the abrupt western rise of the 

 hill. Where the rocks of Point Piper end the blonde beach of Rose Bay begins, and 

 sweeps in a broken crescent a mile and a half in extent round to the white sand of 



