Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 31
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slogan above the wharf at Circular Quay. It claimed Manly was "seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care".
The distance was seven miles by water, much further by an indirect overland route. Even the advent of the motor car and the construction of the Harbour Bridge could not diminish Manly's blood with its ferries. A long line of vessels served the local people for generations, reinforcing the myth of a place across the water and far from care.
Gilbert Park, in which we were gathered, was named after Manly's first capitalist. Henry Gilbert Smith fathered the market for escapism which was nurtured by the local traders. Smith wanted to create a Brighton of the South, where a transplanted English middle class could find solace from the harsh reality of the antipodes.
As the rural industries became established, farmers and graziers strove to spend a few days away from the dust and heat of the inland summer. They were attracted to the seaside, where they discovered a village which was hidden from the despised city, but only a boat trip from its eclectic resources. From the beginning, Manly was intended to have the ambience of a small country town on holiday. But the landed gentry were mostly transient. They returned each year for a few days leisure, and some planned to retire to