Local speculation has it the suburb of Clareville was named after one of its early houses.
It was originally part of the grant made to Father John Joseph Therry, the notable Catholic priest who was instrumental in the development of Avalon. He was granted land by Governor Macquarie in Pittwater for coal mining. Hence we have John Street, Joseph Street and Therry Street near the Careel Bay Boatshed.
At its northern end of Clareville is Stokes Point, named after a local boat building family who began work in the area in the 1840’s. Much of their work was in building and servicing the boats that used Pittwater as a small working port.
Logging of the majestic spotted gums was also carried out in the area. The timber was then shipped from the wharf near where the Avalon Sailing Club stands today. The remains of this wharf can still be viewed from the Old Wharf Reserve.
The significant development of Clareville happened after World War II, but even today the area is one of tall trees, sublime views and peace.
The name “Bilgola” is derived from an Aboriginal term Belgoula meaning “swirling waters”. The word Belgoula was noted in Surveyor James Meehan’s records of 1814. Robert Henderson received a grant of 100 acres (0.40 km2) in 1822 which he named “Belgoola”. The district eventually adopted the simplified name “Bilgola”.
Bilgola Plateau crowns the peninsula rising from the ocean beach to 169 metres.
The area was owned by the McLurcan family from the start of the early 1900s. Mrs McLurcan was famous for her cookery book, ‘Mrs McLurcan’s Cookery Book’. The large family home was surrounded by cabbage tree palms, which the area is generally noted for.
Naming Names
Clareville Beach
Did you know the real name for Clareville Beach is Long Beach? If you look at the map above you can see Long Beach goes from Taylor’s Point all the way to Stokes Point. However today we know and love the beach as Clareville Beach.
Aborigines in the area
Pittwater and the Northern Beaches area was known as Guringai country, the land of the Garigal or Caregal people. They lived in family groups and moved around the area. The coast provided an abundant food supply. Fish was the staple diet, including shellfish such as oysters, whelks and mussels. Stranded whales were eaten, but not hunted directly.
Men and women were highly skilled at fishing, both from the shore and from canoes using spears, lines with shell or bone hooks, and nets, with chewed shellfish or discarded fish for bait. Often a small fire was kept alight on a bed of seaweed in the canoe and the catch cooked on board. Other food sources were birds, reptiles, marsupials, as well as roots, fruits, berries and nuts.
Initially the Aboriginal community were hospitable towards European explorers, but misunderstanding and hostility developed. European settlement in 1788 brought disaster for the Guringai people. Between April 1789 and 1790 many died of diseases, to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox, and measles. Most of those who survived moved away from the coast as Europeans invaded their territory competin
g for food and territory.
It seems that there were many Aboriginal sites in the Pittwater area. Although much evidence has disappeared with European settlement, some traces of Aboriginal heritage remain.
Throughout Pittwater, especially in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, there are Aboriginal sites, including middens, axe- grinding grooves, cave art sites and rock engravings. These illustrate the close relationship that Aboriginal people had with the land itself and with the creatures of the land and the sea. Aboriginal people have continued this tradition visiting camps in the Pittwater area during the twentieth century.
Clareville and the Avalon Sailing Club
Information from the Avalon Sailing Club website:
A 1922 photograph shows the area from Stokes Point to Taylors Point (known as Long Beach) devoid of wharves, ramps and swimming pools with the exception of the wharf at Clareville, the remains of which are in the cage beside the present Avalon Sailing Club. The price of a block of land on the waterfront averaged out at £150 for a 50-foot wide block extending from the beach at Taylors Point to Hudson Parade.
Mr. J.G.Vaughan, an engineer with the Wakefield Oil Co., purchased a block just to the south west of the Clareville Park in 1932, on which he built a holiday home and boatshed. His teenage sons, Les, Harold and Ken were keen sailors with the Middle Harbour Skiff Club and equally keen to sail on Pittwater. However he was concerned that the boys could not be supervised on the waters off Clareville Beach especially as the dinghies of those days were non-righting and had to be towed or paddled home. His concerns were alleviated with the Vaucluse Junior or V.J., which had first appeared upon the scene in 1931. Designed by a young naval draughtsman, Charles Sparrow, with a lot of enthusiasm and support from Sil Rohu, a Sydney businessman and keen sailor, the V.J. could be built at home from the comprehensive set of plans that cost 10 shillings. The most important aspect of the boat was that apart from a small canvas well she was completely decked in, unsinkable and could be righted by the crew without external help.
The Vaughan family built their first boat “Defiance” in the boatshed and bought the next one, “Flash”, second hand, in 1933. The two older boys, Les and Harold, set up their own race course in the area to the north of Taylors Point and to supplement their pocket money would stage mock pirate landings and sword fights at Clareville on a Sunday, to the delight of the local residents. The “donations” were then collected and placed in the treasure chests, which were the canvas wells of the V.J.s. The Vaughans nearest neighbours were the O’Connor family, who owned the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel at Kings Cross and also owned a motor cruiser the M.V. “Raleigh”. The two O’Connor daughters joined in the pirate jousting not only as damsels in distress but assistant collectors of the booty.
The local families combined to share a jig frame for the V.J. construction and by 1935 there were six boats sailing off Clareville Beach all made with cedar planking and with either home made or professionally cut cotton sails.By 1937, Mr.Vaughan decided that his boys were either making too much money as entrepreneurs or on the road to ruin so he made a set of marks and laid out a course starting off Clareville and using the area between Taylors Point, Paradise Beach and Long Nose Point.
The O’Connors had run into a few problems with the licensing police at Kings Cross and to help out financially J.G.Vaughan purchased the “Raleigh” which became the official start boat. A system of coloured flags were used representing minutes to start in a handicap start system so in theory all boats should finish together. Entry fee was two shillings and the prize money was divided proportionally among the first three boats. {Maybe some of Australia’s best known sailors lost their amateur status in those early years.}
In 1938 J.G.Vaughan officially formed Avalon Sailing Club and donated a handsome silver cup for the annual V.J. Championship. The first winner in 1939 / 40 was Harold Vaughan sailing “Defiant”.
Founded in 1938, with the clubhouse built in 1958 the Club has a proud history offering a small, friendly environment for people of all ages and sailing interests.
Information Sources:
- Pittwater Library
- Pictorial History of Pittwater by Joan Lawrence
- Avalon Sailing Club website
- The History of a Family Sailing Club on Pittwater compiled by Norm Field
- Tony Tenney, Vice President CABPRA
- Jennie Mackenzie, Secretary CABPRA
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CABPRA 
I first saw Pittwater in 1989 when I stayed at the YHA in Morning Bay. It was love at first sight. I was living in Melbourne at the time and never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I would be living up here.
It was about six years later, now living in Sydney, when I discovered Clareville Beach. OK this was realistic, I could live here. So my partner, David and I set about making the plan a reality.
We found a lovely beach cottage with a fantastic garden, which we bought. We then rented it out for 10 years. All the time spending as much time on Clareville Beach as we could, kayaking, swimming and lazing in the sun.
About four years ago, with retirement in mind, we set about building our dream house where the cottage once was. We did try to save the cottage but discovered it had very little in the way of foundations.
We now live in paradise. The locals are friendly, the weather welcoming and the beauty of Clareville beyond our wildest dreams.