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The Harbour
‘The finest harbour deserves the finest book … A colourful, fascinating and enduring account of the greatest waterway in the hemisphere.’ Simon Winchester‘This book is a joy to read. And essential for anyone who loves Sydney Harbour ... And who doesn’t?’Ken Done In the bestselling tradition of Peter Ackroyd's The Thames, a celebration of one of the world’s great waterways. Everyone knows Sydney Harbour. At least, we think we do. Everyone can see the harbour, whether we have ever been to Sydney or not. By as little as a word or two, the harbour floats into our mind’s eye. The Bridge. The Opera House. Fireworks on New Year’s Eve. When we see those images, we feel a sense of belonging. No matter who we are or where we’re from, we see the harbour and we feel good. In this beautiful, authoritative and meditative journey, Scott Bevan takes us from cove to cove, by kayak, yacht and barge to gather the harbour’s stories, past and present, from boat builders, ship captains and fishermen to artists, divers, historians and environmentalists, from signs of ancient life to the submarine invasion by the Japanese and the natural beauty that inspires people every day. This is the ultimate story of Sydney Harbour – a city’s heart and a country's soul.MORE PRAISE FOR THE HARBOUR ‘A beautiful mosaic of space through time, covering art, architecture, biography and history, with a sprinkling of memoir.’ Sydney Morning Herald 'For the lover of history, adventure and meticulous research, delivered with a punch.' Courier Mail
656 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2017
25 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Scott Bevan
21 books11 followersBevan was born in 1964 and grew up near Merewether in Newcastle.
In 1984 Bevan joined The Newcastle Herald as a cadet journalist. He later worked in commercial radio as a news presenter. After a fifteen month stint in Japan he joined the Nine Network in 1989 as a reporter. He spent time in Perth working for Nine News.
Bevan moved to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2005, working initially as reporter for the 7.30 Report and a presenter on ABC Local Radio. In 2008 he was posted to Moscow as a correspondent for ABC Television.
In 2010 Bevan returned to Australia to become a presenter on ABC News 24.
Scott lives in Sydney with his wife, Jo, and twin boys, Thomas and William - and his kayak, Pulbah Raider.
In 1984 Bevan joined The Newcastle Herald as a cadet journalist. He later worked in commercial radio as a news presenter. After a fifteen month stint in Japan he joined the Nine Network in 1989 as a reporter. He spent time in Perth working for Nine News.
Bevan moved to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2005, working initially as reporter for the 7.30 Report and a presenter on ABC Local Radio. In 2008 he was posted to Moscow as a correspondent for ABC Television.
In 2010 Bevan returned to Australia to become a presenter on ABC News 24.
Scott lives in Sydney with his wife, Jo, and twin boys, Thomas and William - and his kayak, Pulbah Raider.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 7, 2018
Having grown up around Middle Harbour, this was a pleasure to read during a Christmas holiday period. Scott Bevan spent a year or so kayaking around Sydney Harbour, starting his journey upriver west of Gladesville to Parramatta, then heading east down the northern side of the harbour. His trips up the backwaters were of most interest to me, such as paddling up the Lane Cove River and up Middle Harbour past the Roseville Bridge. While close to residential and industrial areas, these out of the way parts of the Harbour are still quiet and secluded and accessible to the public. They hardly seem like parts of the Harbour at all. He covers tourist Sydney, as well, as he kayaks around the Opera House, Rocks and Bridge areas.
Much of the book is historical, blending local history with colonial, industrial and military history. His conversations with people he meets along the way add to the colour and personalities of Sydney.
Bevan wrote a book on the Hunter River a few years ago, as he kayaked from the river’s source to Newcastle. This is a fuller book, going to 600 pages. I also think it is better written.
Maybe his next effort could cover the Hawkesbury and Pittwater areas? So many rivers to choose....
Much of the book is historical, blending local history with colonial, industrial and military history. His conversations with people he meets along the way add to the colour and personalities of Sydney.
Bevan wrote a book on the Hunter River a few years ago, as he kayaked from the river’s source to Newcastle. This is a fuller book, going to 600 pages. I also think it is better written.
Maybe his next effort could cover the Hawkesbury and Pittwater areas? So many rivers to choose....
June 1, 2018
Loved this book! I grew up overlooking Sydney Harbour and I feel a very deep connection with it. Now living as an ex-pat in the US, one of my favorites things to do when I come back is explore different parts of the harbour foreshores. So this book was fascinating for me......the history, the changes over the years, the various uses - and abuses - and the living, breathingentity that is Sydney Harbour. A joy to read this book! Thank you!
December 27, 2018
This informative and entertaining text "The Harbour : a city's heart, a country's soul" pays homage to Sydney's jewel like harbour - revered by locals and visitors alike. There is nothing quite like being on Sydney Harbour on a sparkling summer day. Glimpses of its many sights and sounds makes a local's heart sing!
I enjoyed reading this fascinating project in which Scott Bevan captured some of the magic of Sydney Harbour as he kayaked around its perimeter over a twelve month period - capturing historic accounts and entertaining vignettes, such as his account of his encounter with the replica wooden skiff Brittania" and his early morning walk around the Middle Harbour beaches with Ken and Judy Done.
This is a book I will love to return to often. It has a useful index, end notes and a simple map.
This book makes a lovely companion to the beautifully illustrated "Mapping Sydney, a Sketchbook" by Caroline Bouquet with its exquisite watercolour illustrations and text in English and French.
My only quibble is I wish I could display the paperback edition with its lovely iconic cover illustration of Sydney Harbour by Ken Done
I enjoyed reading this fascinating project in which Scott Bevan captured some of the magic of Sydney Harbour as he kayaked around its perimeter over a twelve month period - capturing historic accounts and entertaining vignettes, such as his account of his encounter with the replica wooden skiff Brittania" and his early morning walk around the Middle Harbour beaches with Ken and Judy Done.
This is a book I will love to return to often. It has a useful index, end notes and a simple map.
This book makes a lovely companion to the beautifully illustrated "Mapping Sydney, a Sketchbook" by Caroline Bouquet with its exquisite watercolour illustrations and text in English and French.
My only quibble is I wish I could display the paperback edition with its lovely iconic cover illustration of Sydney Harbour by Ken Done
December 27, 2018
This informative and entertaining text pays homage to Sydney's jewel like harbour - revered by locals and visitors alike. There is nothing quite like being on Sydney Harbour on a sparkling summer day. Glimpses of its many sights and sounds makes a local's heart sing!
I enjoyed reading this fascinating project in which Scott Bevan captured some of the magic of Sydney Harbour as he kayaked around its perimeter over a twelve month period - capturing historic accounts and entertaining vignettes, such as his account of his encounter with the replica wooden skiff "Brittania" and his early morning walk around the Middle Harbour beaches with Ken and Judy Done.
This is a book I will love to return to often. It has a useful index, end notes and a simple map.
This book makes a lovely companion to the beautifully illustrated "Mapping Sydney, a Sketchbook" by Caroline Bouquet with its exquisite watercolour illustrations and text in English and French.
My only quibble is I wish I could display the paperback edition with its lovely iconic cover illustration of Sydney Harbour by Ken Done
I enjoyed reading this fascinating project in which Scott Bevan captured some of the magic of Sydney Harbour as he kayaked around its perimeter over a twelve month period - capturing historic accounts and entertaining vignettes, such as his account of his encounter with the replica wooden skiff "Brittania" and his early morning walk around the Middle Harbour beaches with Ken and Judy Done.
This is a book I will love to return to often. It has a useful index, end notes and a simple map.
This book makes a lovely companion to the beautifully illustrated "Mapping Sydney, a Sketchbook" by Caroline Bouquet with its exquisite watercolour illustrations and text in English and French.
My only quibble is I wish I could display the paperback edition with its lovely iconic cover illustration of Sydney Harbour by Ken Done
May 14, 2025
What a fantastic read. It was long but it needed to be to encapsulate the diverse nature of the history and geography of one of the world’s greatest waterways. The Harbour, for such a long time the conduit which transitioned both the rest of the world to Australia and visa versa, is presented to you by Bevan with both awe and pride, much as a glowing father might do of a cherished child. The opportunity not lost on the author, the tales of change he relates are by way of both relief and caution, for what is history other than a previous part of a continuum which places those in the present in a position of responsibility for the future.
April 28, 2019
This book took me a couple of months to finish which included some painful times in my life. It was like an anchor that kept me from feeling completely at sea (strangely for a book set on water). Sydney Harbour is a place I had a passing knowledge of before reading this book, but now it holds so many treasures to explore. It is written with wit and a great sense of adventure. I feel compelled to get in my kayak and have adventures of my own.
August 2, 2025
Beautiful.
It’s sad to think I’ve lived my whole life at most 20-30 minutes from the Harbour, that I have gazed out at it while crossing the Bridge so many times, yet have known so very little about, nor have I ever taken the time to really appreciate and consider how truly miraculous and special it is.
But it’s even sadder still to think how much waste has been dumped in it, and how easily we could’ve destroyed it… 💔
It’s sad to think I’ve lived my whole life at most 20-30 minutes from the Harbour, that I have gazed out at it while crossing the Bridge so many times, yet have known so very little about, nor have I ever taken the time to really appreciate and consider how truly miraculous and special it is.
But it’s even sadder still to think how much waste has been dumped in it, and how easily we could’ve destroyed it… 💔
May 5, 2019
Easy to read journal of author's paddling expedition around Sydney harbour. I share his concern as to how to stop people using the harbour as a rubbish tip.
April 23, 2020
I enjoyed Scott’s book about the Hunter River and this one was just as good. A great writer.
February 20, 2018
Excellent narrative about Syndey harbour with history, characters and connections.
July 31, 2018
What a delightful way to discover the most remarkable harbour in the world. It’s a cultural, geographical, industrial, historical, colonial, maritime, political, sporting, architectural account of Sydney Harbour. Bevan’s vehicle is his kayak. Starting near Rhodes on the Parramatta River, we paddle and probe and poke our way to Parramatta along the southern shores, heading back east on the northern shores, in and out of bays, pulling up on beaches, chatting to residents, workers, sailors and fisherfolk all the way to Manly, across the heads and back along the southern shores past the Quay and back to Rhodes.
I’ve grown up with so many significant Sydney Harbour experiences. Crossing the Harbour Bridge singing “Delta Dawn” at the top of our voices in my friend’s car on our way to an end-of-year Luna Park under 9’s soccer team party, the school excursion harbour cruises, bursting out of the darkness of the Wynyard tunnel into the light and water and cruisers and ferries of Circular Quay, spending New Year’s Eve 2017 on the Lavender Bay waterfront... For a boy who grew up not in Balmoral or Balmain, but in suburban Peakhurst, it’s remarkable how resonant Sydney Harbour has been in my life, how much it has formed my sense of place in this city.
My wife and I undertook a number of great Harbourside walks in recent years and out of that I had a desire to find “the book” that might explain the Harbour as your discover it on say, the Spit to Manly walk, or Rose Bay to Watson’s Bay, or Bradley’s Head to Balmoral. Its coves, castles, forts, mansions, barracks, parks, wharves, ruins, shacks, beaches, islands, rivers and headlands - where was that book that would explain and unlock this remarkable mystery bag?
Right here. It’s thorough enough to be satisfying, paced in such a way not to be dense. It’s reads like a walk - or paddle - around the Harbour, because that’s what it is. A tad random, shaped by the next boathouse, slipway, passing conversation or unfolding view.
It’s been great sharing the many miles as a passenger aboard Bevan’s one-person kayak. I suspect many will climb aboard and share the journey, the stories, the history and the unexpected discoveries as they bob and paddle with him around this remarkable estuary.
I’ve grown up with so many significant Sydney Harbour experiences. Crossing the Harbour Bridge singing “Delta Dawn” at the top of our voices in my friend’s car on our way to an end-of-year Luna Park under 9’s soccer team party, the school excursion harbour cruises, bursting out of the darkness of the Wynyard tunnel into the light and water and cruisers and ferries of Circular Quay, spending New Year’s Eve 2017 on the Lavender Bay waterfront... For a boy who grew up not in Balmoral or Balmain, but in suburban Peakhurst, it’s remarkable how resonant Sydney Harbour has been in my life, how much it has formed my sense of place in this city.
My wife and I undertook a number of great Harbourside walks in recent years and out of that I had a desire to find “the book” that might explain the Harbour as your discover it on say, the Spit to Manly walk, or Rose Bay to Watson’s Bay, or Bradley’s Head to Balmoral. Its coves, castles, forts, mansions, barracks, parks, wharves, ruins, shacks, beaches, islands, rivers and headlands - where was that book that would explain and unlock this remarkable mystery bag?
Right here. It’s thorough enough to be satisfying, paced in such a way not to be dense. It’s reads like a walk - or paddle - around the Harbour, because that’s what it is. A tad random, shaped by the next boathouse, slipway, passing conversation or unfolding view.
It’s been great sharing the many miles as a passenger aboard Bevan’s one-person kayak. I suspect many will climb aboard and share the journey, the stories, the history and the unexpected discoveries as they bob and paddle with him around this remarkable estuary.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews