Double Bay is part of the Woollahra district and it takes its name from the bay s situated on Sydney Harbour .
Double Bay refers to the two geographical formations between Point Piper and Darling Point, which are separated by a small point in-between. The eastern part is also known as Blackburn Cove.
Double Bay is an prosperous residential suburb surrounded by some of Sydney's other wealthy suburbs and is referred to as "Double Pay" for its overpriced boutiques, hotels, restaurants and cafes.
The traditional Aboriginal owners of the Woollahra district were the Cadigal clans, while the harbour area around Watsons Bay and South Head was inhabited by the Birrabirragal band. Both the Cadigal and Birrabirrigal clans belonged to the coastal Dharug language group.
Some of their heritage is preserved in the form of rock art and shell middens although population and development has since destroyed much of the evidence located through this affluent suburb.
The name 'Woollahra' apparently originated from the word 'Willara' or 'Willorah', which is thought to have been the local Aboriginal word for Woollahra Point. Like most Aboriginal names, there has been confusion about the meaning of the name since it was first recorded 1788 by Sir Daniel Cooper (1821-1902).
It was said that the word 'Woo-la-ra' meant 'The Look-out'.
It was then reported that the word was the Aboriginal name for Point Piper, meaning 'camp' or 'meeting ground' or 'sitting-down place'.
Our resident historian and Aboriginal language specialist suggests it's a corruption of the word 'Wallarah' which confirms the meeting place -rah suffix and the 'walla' - a general term for water which translates to 'meeting place by the water'.
Settlement in Woollahra occurred two years after the arrival of the First Fleet when a flagstaff was erected at South Head (near the site of the Signal Station) in 1790 to serve as a landmark for ships arriving at the Heads.
