Rose Bay Sea Wall is a heritage-listed former Aboriginal land, farms and road reserve and now sea wall, road reserve and esplanade at New South Head Road, Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Herbert E. Ross and built from 1924 to 1926 by Woollahra Municipal Council. It is also known as Rose Bay Sea Wall, Promenade and its setting. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 22 August 2014.
History The traditional owners of the land from South Head to Petersham were the Cadigal people. Following European occupation of Woollahra the Cadigal band disappeared from the area by about the middle of the 19th century.
Rose Bay Rose Bay was called Ginagulla (Prof. FD McCarthy) -open sea - in fact in geological times there was indeed an opening to the sea from there, evident still near Bondi.
New South Head Road New South Head Road was completed to the signal station at Vaucluse by 1839, including the section along Rose Bay. In May 1848 the South Head Roads Trust Act was passed which placed control of roads (including New South Head Road) and the construction of tollgates with the South Heads Trust. In 1904 the NSW Government passed management of major roads to local councils. A number of councils objected to the added financial burden so in November 1904 the Minister for Works undertook to repair and maintain the former Trust roads until such time as the councils could raise more revenue. Meanwhile, the volume of traffic along New South Head Road was steadily increasing. By the 1890s a tramway terminus was situated at the western end of Rose Bay. The tram service was extended as far as Dover Road in 1900, and then to Watsons Bay wharf by 1909. Woollahra Council was acquiring land for widening New South Head Road by the beginning of 1917 and a deputation met with the Local Government Department later in the year to urge resumptions, realignment of sections of the road and generally widening it. The council established a New South Head Road Improvement Committee to look after the proposed works, which commenced at the beginning of 1918. New South Head Road was proclaimed a main road under the Local Government Act 1919. The road widening works were carried out over several stages. In June 1924 the prominent architect Herbert E. Ross offered his services as an honorary consulting engineer for the works between Rose Bay and Lyne Park, acting in conjunction with Council's own engineer. Council accepted his offer.
Herbert Ross Herbert Ross was born in the vicinity of Inverell in 1868. After studying Science at University of Edinburgh he returned to Sydney and enrolled at the University of Sydney to study topics associated with mining and civil engineering. Ross became the manager of gold mines in New South Wales and Queensland, and then practiced as a metallurgist.He also studied architecture under John Sulman at the University of Sydney and by 1900 had set up a practice as an architect and engineer. In 1911 Ross went into partnership with the architect Ruskin Rowe and in the years that followed the practice of H. E. Ross and Rowe became one of the largest in Sydney. Perhaps its best-known building was the large and impressive headquarters for the former Government Savings Bank of NSW at 44 Martin Place (now occupied by the Commonwealth Bank). H. E. Ross and Rowe also designed about 150 branch buildings for the bank, several large city office buildings, the former Usher's Hotel in Castlereagh Street, the building for the Royal Automobile Club in Macquarie Street, suburban hotels, blocks of flats, warehouses, churches and houses. Along with so many architectural practices, the firm of H. E. Ross and Rowe suffered as a result of the Great Depression, but only broke up after Ross died in 1937.
The Rose Bay Sea wall and Promenade The Rose Bay Promenade was designed as an integrated scheme that allowed both pedestrians and motorists a unique opportunity to view the waters of Rose Bay and the harbour beyond. The Rose Bay Promenade was designed to optimise this view. The concrete balustrade were low to allow motorists a view over it as they travelled along New South Head Road or from the parking bays that form part of the scheme. The interface between the harbour and foreshore zone and the experience of this was fundamental to the original design. The Chief Secretary, the Hon C. W. Oakes, laid the foundation stone for the sea wall on 25 October 1924, witnessed by a crowd of dignitaries and prominent citizens. During the ceremony Oakes praised the efforts of the Council and described it as "progressive and efficient". At the beginning of 1925 architects Pitt and Morrow submitted drawings to Council describing the facade of a shop and refreshment rooms adjacent to the Rose Bay jetty for Council's consideration. The front (south) wall of the building formed part of the seawall. The building had in fact been originally constructed in 1909.
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