Tanilba Bay Australia
Located on the Tilligerry Peninsula, Tanilba Bay is a suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia.
Tanilba House
The centrepiece of the town is Tanilba House, a beautiful and elegant home which is one of Australia’s oldest historical buildings. Built for Lieutenant William Caswell, a naval officer who had received a land grant of 20.2 hectares in 1831. Caswell established farm sites at Seaham (23 km north) and Salt Ash and opted to build his homestead on the land at Tanilba.
The Temple of the Stork
Built from local rock quarried from Mallabula and completed in 1933, The Temple of the Stork is an ornate stone and shell temple. The floor and ceiling of the temple feature reversed images while patterns of 8 appear mystically in the design. Henry F. Halloran who owned Tanilba House at the time was responsible for its construction.
Water Gates
The Centenary Gate, also known as the Water Gate, were constructed from 1929 to 31 March 1931. It was built to mark the centenary of European settlement at Tanilba Bay by the original grantee, Lieutenant William Caswell.
Henry F. Halloran designed the gate from round and broken quartz porphyry embellished with white feldspar gathered from Tanilba foreshore and a quarry at Mallabula.
The metal arch suspended between the rock pillars reads ‘Tanilba Bay’ and was designed to be viewed from the water when many visitors arrived by boat.
Tanilba Bay Water Front
The town’s waterfront has a nice sandy beach ideal for watersports or relaxing. Bordered by grassed areas with street parking the waterfront is a nice place to stop after arriving. When we visited there was a mobile coffee van in one of the carparks which was great after a 90 minute drive to get there.
Tilligerry Habitat
The Tilligerry Habitat and adjacent boardwalk is a great place to wander through. Consisting of rehabilitated sand mining areas, it is now a sanctuary for birdlife and koalas. Unfortunately we didn’t see any on our visit, but we were assured they are there. A longer blog with more pictures of the Tilligerry Habitat can be found here.
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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.