Aboriginal culture

Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in Port Jackson in 1788, the area of land we now know as Frenchs Forest, and surrounding Warringah areas, was the home of the Dharug language group of the Garigal Aboriginal clan. Evidence of their habitation remains today in the form of rock engravings, rock art, open campsites, rock shelters, scarred trees and middens. The word Warringah has many interpretations including "sign of rain", "across the waves" and "sea".

European settlement

European exploration into Warringah began within the first weeks of settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788. Governor Phillip made a number of journeys throughout the area, detailing the landscape, flora and fauna, as well as observing Aboriginal lifestyle and culture. Although Beacon Hill advertises the "Arthur Phillip lookout" at its peak, it is believed by some historians^[5] that Phillip's travels actually took him through Bantry Bay and up into Frenchs Forest to gain views over the area.

In 1853 Simeon Henry Pearce^[6] (1821–1886) and his brother James acquired 200 acres (0.81 km²) in this area. The property was later known as Rodborough when it was acquired by James French, a police constable,^[7] who took over Warringah.

Despite its relative proximity to Sydney, Frenchs Forest remained predominantly rural throughout the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century.^[8] A 1951 article in The Bulletin noted:

Ten years ago the Forest and the Chase really gave Sydney a unique charm. Less than 20 miles from the G.P.O. and you were in the midst of almost unsullied bush where you could still see wallabies, rabbits restored to respectability by their distance from grazing lands, and even, towards Whale Beach, koalas ; where sun-orchid, greenhood and hyacinth-orchid flowered low in the scrub with blackeyed-Susan and the wild iris under starry tea-tree or the creamy foam of dwarf-apples; where boronia and wax-flower in their seasons glowed all along the roadsides, or native-holly fit a whole gully with rusty gold. And year by year, while the rangers busied themselves harassing the picnickers who dared snatch a couple of flannel-flowers, the dumpers from the suburbs made the place one gigantic garbage-tip, where if you weren’t merely sick you would probably be bitten among the refuse by funnel-web spiders, redbacks, bulldog-ants and death-adders. A lot of the Forest has itself now become a suburb; it will probably be burnt down annually and need not be bothered about any more. But much remains worth preserving; and all the Chase.^[9]

Climate

Frenchs Forest climate is similar to the Climate of Sydney, albeit with a few minor seasonal differences: winters tend to be cooler and wetter than in the city, while summers tend to be less hot.

Road

The main routes through Frenchs Forest include the east-west Warringah Road (State route A38), connecting Roseville in the west with Brookvale in the east; the north-south Forest Way, starting at Warringah Road in Frenchs Forest and heading north through Belrose to Terrey Hills, connecting with Mona Vale Road (8 km); and the north-south Wakehurst Parkway (State route 22), starting at Narrabeen in the northeast, crossing Frenchs Forest Road and Warringah Road in Frenchs Forest, and heading south to Seaforth, leading to the Spit Bridge. Following any of these three major roads lead to the only three road routes off the Northern Beaches peninsula.

The intersection of Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Road was the scene of multiple high speed collisions when these two roads were dirt tracks through the bush. To improve this, a blinking light^[13] was suspended above the intersection in the first half of the 20th century to warn motorists of the danger, which earned the intersection the enduring name of 'The Blinking Light'.^[14]

Buses

CDC NSW connects Frenchs Forest with Chatswood railway station in the west, Westfield Warringah Mall shopping centre at Brookvale in the east and Terrey Hills in the north, with an express bus service running to Town Hall station in the Sydney central business district.^[15] Keolis Downer Northern Beaches runs a number of bus lines through the Frenchs Forest area, including the 136 bus service which connects Chatswood to Dee Why, the 173 bus route which connects Milsons Point and Narraweena, and the 169 and E69 bus routes which connect the Sydney central business district with Manly.^[16]

Events

• Forest Funday,^[18] is an annual free fair provided by the combined Christian churches of The Forest on Anzac Day, 25 April at Frenchs Forest Showground.
• Eurofest^[19] at Ararat Reserve in mid-September involves all the ethnic clubs in the area.

Clubs

• The Scout Hall.
• The Girls Guides Hall.
• Ararat Reserve (named after the Ararat plains of Ancient Armenia) on Bantry Bay Road features a number of ethnic clubs.

Sport and recreation

• The Warringah Aquatic Centre features an Olympic size indoor heated swimming pool and baseball pitches.
• Lionel Watts Oval provides sports fields for cricket, Australian rules football, soccer, rugby league, netball and has a skate park.^[20]
• A combination cycle/cycle-pedestrian shared/cycle-road path (completed c. 1982) from the corner of Wakehurst Parkway and Frenchs Forest Road, connecting Frenchs Forest with Dee Why. The signposting/painted lines on roads is aged and can be a little difficult to follow.
• The fenced playground^[21] for young kids at Lionel Watts Oval (Blackbutts Rd) has a mini-track suitable for toddlers and small kids on tricycles. Rebuilt in 2019.
• Manly Dam Reserve is adjacent to (southeast of) Frenchs Forest, containing pedestrian/mountain bike bush tracks.
• Manly-Warringah Radio Society using callsign VK2MB is the local club for Amateur Radio Operators & services the Frenchs Forest area, with club rooms at Terrey Hills.