If Balmain’s historic cuteness doesn’t float your boat, head to Elkington Park, named in 1883 after a local politician. It slopes down towards the water, with views across to Cockatoo Island. At the bottom of the escarpment, the magnificently restored late-Victorian (1884) timber enclosure at the tidal Dawn Fraser Baths picturesquely protects swimmers from underwater undesirables. Australia’s all-conquering 1956–64 Olympian Dawn Fraser sacrificed her youth here swimming laps.

Transportation

  • bus: 433, 444-5

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sydney attractions

1. Cockatoo Island

0.49 MILES

Studded with photogenic industrial relics, convict architecture and art installations, fascinating Cockatoo Island (Wareamah) opened to the public in 2007…

2. Balmain

0.79 MILES

Once a tough, working-class neighbourhood, Balmain now rivals Paddington in Victorian-era desirability – with the added advantage of being surrounded by…

3. Watch House

0.82 MILES

One of Balmain's many notable historic buildings, the Watch House, is Sydney’s oldest surviving lockup (1854). It now operates on Saturdays (combine it…

4. St Mary’s Hall

0.88 MILES

This brick former church hall, built around 1851, is in a rather dilapidated state.

5. Yurulbin Point

0.92 MILES

On the northern tip of the Balmain peninsula by the Birchgrove ferry slip, this narrow point stretches to within 300m of the North Shore. Once called Long…

6. Clontarf Cottage

0.92 MILES

Balmain’s jacaranda-filled streets contain dozens of historically significant buildings, most of which are privately owned. The squat, shingle-roofed…

7. Hampton Villa

1 MILES

Balmain’s hibiscus-scattered streets contain dozens of historically significant buildings, most of which are privately owned. The most notable is this…

8. Cahermore

1.23 MILES

Balmain’s hibiscus-studded streets contain dozens of historically significant buildings, most of which are privately owned. Darling St has Cahermore,…

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