Snapper Island History
Snapper Island is the smallest island in Sydney Harbour. Located south west of Cockatoo Island, this rocky outcrop was declared a public recreation reserve in 1879.
The island was leased to the Cockatoo Island dockyard for additional storage during World War I. In 1930 the tiny island caught the eye of Leonard E. Forsythe who was able to persuade the Commonwealth Government to lease it to him for a peppercorn rental of £15 per year. His vision for the island was to create a training depot for boys in nautical skills.
Around 50 cadets, known as the Navy Sea League Cadets, worked to transform the island into a land-based ship. The lantana that covered the island was cleared and it was flattened by blasting an estimated 1,000 tonnes of rock from the top over an eight-month period. The island also grew by about 1,000 square metres through land reclamation. The stone sea walls of the island were sculptured to create the shape of a ship with a bow (pointing towards Drummoyne) and a stern (pointing towards Cockatoo Island).
The name given to the new facility was the Sydney Training Depot - named as a memorial to the famous Australian cruiser which had sunk the German raider Emden during World War I. Items salvaged from HMAS Sydney when it was stripped on Cockatoo Island in 1932 formed the basis of a collection of naval artefacts and memorabilia.
In 1932 building work commenced on a signal station, wharf and the other main buildings that can be seen today. The layout of these buildings models the layout of a naval ship. The cadets also planted the two cabbage-tree palms, which are still the only vegetation left on the island.
Training provided on the island was broad and varied, including rowing, sailing, seamanship, boat maintenance, signalling and rope work, rigging, radio operations, first aid, cooking and marksmanship.
Today Snapper Island is a collage of makeshift waterfront buildings in tin and timber, slipways, boat storage, gardens, flagpoles, a jetty and its two distinctive cabbage palms.
The island is currently closed to the public.
