Beneath the surface, it looks more like a tropical paradise than the heart of a buzzing metropolis of more than 5 million people.

From above, it’s Australia’s busiest waterway, a working harbour that plays a vital role in the life and commerce of the city.

We’re all familiar with the picture-postcard views, but how much do we really know about this natural wonder?

The sparkling waters hold many untold stories; from the saltwater custodians who’ve cared for this place for thousands of years to the fishermen and boatbuilders whose livelihoods depend on it. We take a closer look at the everyday life of the harbour and uncover a few tales that may surprise you.

Marine biologist Pat Hutchings fell in love with Sydney Harbour when she arrived from the UK in 1970.

After landing a job at the Australian Museum, she was amazed to discover that there had never been a comprehensive study of the biodiversity of the harbour.

She was part of a team that set out to change that, using specimens and records from the museum’s archives dating back to 1850.

In international scientific circles, her passion for studying polychaetes or marine worms has earned her the nickname “the worm lady”.

“I get excited when I see new worms and I can sort of forget the world and just look at my animals,” she said.

The Australian Museum senior fellow has personally documented more than 400 new species of worms.

Four of those discoveries were made within a stone’s throw of the city. 

“We’re finding new species all the time in Sydney Harbour,” Dr Hutchings said.

Despite their research being limited to the five major groups of marine animals — crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, echinoderms and fishes — they counted more than 3,000 species.

She says there are many more creatures living in the harbour yet to be added to the tally.

“I suspect we’re looking at more like 4,500 to 5,000 [species],” she said.

Scientists say this remarkable biodiversity is due to the wide range of marine habitats in the harbour, from mangroves and salt marshes to kelp beds and sponge gardens.

In addition, tidal flows ensure the water in the harbour is changed roughly every two days.

This helps to preserve the marine ecosystem, despite decades of pollution from industry and a growing urban population.

“We’re lucky that Sydney Harbour has this massive flushing system,” she said.

But she warns that the health of the harbour and its marine ecosystem shouldn’t be taken for granted as the city continues to expand.

“I think we have a responsibility to look after our harbour, because if those animals at the bottom of the food chain crash, all the things above them will crash too.”

A cultural connection for thousands of years

For Indigenous community leader Shane Phillips, the harbour is a sacred place.

“For us as blackfellas, it’s really important, our cultural connection to the water.

“I’m a saltwater man myself so we’ve got to make sure this is looked after. It’s looked after us for thousands of years.”

Mr Phillips grew up on the Block in Redfern, but these days he spends a lot of time down on the water at Blackwattle Bay.

He runs an Aboriginal-owned social enterprise called Tribal Warrior which provides maritime training for young offenders and cultural tours for visitors wanting to learn more about the harbour’s first inhabitants.

When the first Europeans arrived, he says, there would have been kangaroos and emus roaming around the foreshore.

Bennelong Point, where the Opera House now sits, was an island used for ceremonies.

It was reached by walking over a large shell midden that functioned as a bridge.

Shells were taken from this midden to be used in some of the colony’s first structures.

“They burnt them and used them for mortar in the buildings across at The Rocks,” Mr Phillips said.

“If you look at the old sandstone buildings, that mortar between the bricks, a lot of it comes from this spot.”

Echoes of the First Peoples who lived on the harbour can be found in the language we use every day.

“Kangaroo, boomerang, woomera, wallaby. People all around the world are speaking language that came out of the early colony records.”

Similarly, many of Sydney’s original place names have survived.

“Cammeray, Woolloomooloo, Coogee, Bondi, there are so many.”

In 2003, he was part of an Indigenous crew that completed a circumnavigation of Australia aboard a 125-year-old pearl lugger named Tribal Warrior.

For Mr Phillips, the voyage was a gamechanger.

“On the Block we were struggling,” he said.

“There was a sense of hopelessness.

“We had to rebuild ourselves and this helped us do it and helped us heal.”

He feels a sense of pride every time he sees the Aboriginal flag flapping alongside the Australian flag on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“It says, ‘You’re here and you’re part of this’.”

The Sydney Harbour fishing fleet 

After European settlement, Sydney Harbour continued to be a rich source of food.

By the 1960s, it was home to a thriving fishing fleet, with as many as 100 boats casting their nets in the reaches of the harbour.

The fleet was mainly made up of Italian fishermen who’d migrated after World War II from the shores of Sicily and Calabria, bringing their families and traditions with them.

On Saturday mornings, the pavements of inner-city Woolloomooloo resembled a Mediterranean fishing village as they dried their nets and carried out repairs.

The Sydney fleet was headed by the Bagnato family, seven seafaring brothers who hailed from a long line of Calabrian fishermen.  

Skipper Paul Bagnato is the son of one of those brothers, Vincenzo.

He is one of the last fishermen still working out of Sydney Harbour and continues the traditions brought by his forebears.

Every year, he helps to organise the Blessing of the Fleet, a traditional ceremony to pray for a good fishing season ahead and the safe return of the fishermen. 

Descendants of the original fishing families carry a statue of the Madonna through the Sydney Fish Market to cries of “Viva Maria” as an Italian marching band follows on behind.

The procession pauses at each business as an elderly priest dressed in white robes sprinkles holy water around them.  

Back on the wharf, fishing boat crews also receive the blessing.

Mr Bagnato’s boat, the Illawarra Star, is moored at Blackwattle Bay, where on a sunny day, he can often be found sewing his fishing nets, in an echo of earlier generations. 

“If you took me away from the ocean, I’d be gone,” he said.

There was never any question he would follow in his father’s footsteps.

But his four children are unlikely to continue the family tradition, deciding the arduous life of a fisherman is not for them. 

“Unfortunately, my kids and my brother’s kids didn’t take up,” he said.

As he contemplates retirement after more than 50 years at sea, the future of the Sydney fleet is uncertain.

“Obviously, I would love to have one of my boys take over.

“They chose not to and even though it hurts, it’s their choice and I’ve got to respect that.”

Sydney’s last shipbuilders

Nestled between waterfront homes in the affluent harbourside suburb of Balmain, it’s easy to miss the flight of worn, sandstone steps.

Follow them down and you find yourself in a largely bygone world.

A working boatyard where every surface is covered with hand tools, pots of varnish and tubs of nails and screws.

Outside, there’s dry dock where a small yacht is perched like a beached whale.

The shipyard is owned by Michael Bartley, who runs one of Sydney’s last working shipwrights.

“We’ve seen a lot of the small yards disappear over the years,” he said.

“Property values have taken over and the small yards have packed up and moved out.

“So we’re one of the last left now.”

The harbour was once home to a thriving shipbuilding industry.

In its heyday, thousands of tradesmen honed their skills in the naval shipyard on Cockatoo Island.

Hundreds more worked in smaller boatsheds dotted around the harbourside, most of which have now been replaced by luxury waterfront houses.

Many of the shipwrights he worked with have moved on to other trades.

“My intake year we had 10 shipwright apprentices,” Mr Bartley said, “I think there’s two of us still in the game.

“A lot of the other guys are working in the building industry.”

He has been building boats for almost 40 years since doing his apprenticeship on Cockatoo Island in the late 1980s.

The training was rigorous with apprentices taught traditional woodworking skills.   

“We weren’t allowed to use any power tools. We had to do everything by hand,” he said.

He has fond memories of working on HMAS Success, the largest ship built in Australia and the last to be made on Cockatoo Island.

He remembers standing with the other apprentices to witness the launching of the ship on March 3, 1984.

“That was something quite amazing to watch, this 400-foot ship go down the hill at 15-odd kilometres an hour and hitting the water.”

These days, most of his work involves restoring and refitting older wooden boats.  

“Most of the [new] boats are coming out of Europe,” he said.

“You just can’t afford to build boats in Sydney any more.”

His clients range from “your average Joe through to ex-prime ministers”.

“It becomes a passion and people fall in love with their boats.

“Once you fall in love, that’s it, you’re kind of hooked.”

As one of the last boatbuilders still working on the harbour, he feels a responsibility to pass on his knowledge to a new generation.

“I get a real buzz out of that.

“My two main tradesmen at the moment have both done their apprenticeships with me.”

Credits

• Reporter and producer: Ursula Malone and Jeremy Fernandez
• Digital producer: Greta Stonehouse
• Photography/videography: Adam Griffiths and Keana Naughton