Malabar is mostly residential, but with large plots of land devoted to the Randwick Golf Course, the ANZAC Rifle Range and the Long Bay Correctional Centre.

The ship itself was named after Malabar, a region in the Indian state of Kerala famous for its history as a major spice trade centre.

[3] The area was originally part of the land reserved for the Church and Schools Corporation; with the income intended to support clergy and teachers.

In 1866 an attempt was made to create a village on Church and School Land at Long Bay when the surveyor general called for tenders for clearing timber and erecting posts for street names.

During 1910–1920 a number of entrepreneurs bought cheap land at Long Bay and erected tents and huts as accommodation for visitors who flocked to the beach there at weekends.

In 1916 the Ocean Outfall was constructed on Malabar Headland and by 1959 increasing sewage discharge had severely affected water quality at Long Bay.

This 17.7 hectare area contains remnants of the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, eucalypt woodlands and coastal heath land that now form part of a National Park.

The (Gillard / Rudd) Labor Commonwealth Government had planned to convert the remainder of the headland to a National Park after relocating the rifle range and completing work to make the area safe for public use.