Curlew Camp

It was home for some years to several leading Australian artists, such as Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts of the Heidelberg School, and it was from here that some of their most famous paintings were created.

Curlew Camp was originally established in about 1890 by Reuben Brasch who was a wealthy clothing manufacturer and owned a Department store in Sydney.

[3] Julian Ashton was mainly a resident of a nearby artist's camp at Balmoral but he did visit Curlew occasionally.

"He represented the successful artist with the entre to Government House and was on the dining list of people who had a couple of thousand a year.".

[12] After the painters had left Curlew, the camp became more a place for those who were interested in sailing or enjoying the outdoor life.

Lane (see photo right) was a famous Australian Olympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1900 Games in Paris.

When he returned from the Games, he lived at the camp and commuted to the city where he worked in his printing firm called Smith and Lane.

The camp closed in 1912 when it was decided to locate the Taronga Park Zoo on the ridge above the site.

The location of the camp was lost until its relics were rediscovered in 1987 by Mr Rob Sturrock of Mosman Rotary Club.

[14][15] In the publications by Rob Sturrock (Pictorial History of Mosman, volumes one and two) is a map, which shows a foot track from Musgrave Street wharf up and over the ridge to Sirius Cove.