About our Community: (See this council map)

Sutherland Shire, on the southern outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, is regarded as the birthplace of modern Australia. Captain James Cook, the european discoverer of the east coast of Australia, first set foot on Australian soil here at Kurnell on the southern shore of Botany Bay on 29 April 1770.

The Shire is named after Forby Sutherland, one of Cook's men, and the first european to have died on the east coast. He is buried at Kurnell. Our Rotary Club's weekly bulletin was named "Forby's Forum" in his honour.

Since its inauguration as an entity in 1906, the Shire has grown from a scattered rural community to a residential district with a population of over 200,000. Important commerce and industry have developed in the area while its abundant beaches, waterways, reserves and sporting facilities encourage recreation and tourism.

The populated part of the Shire is largely bounded by Botany Bay and Georges River on the north and Port Hacking on the south. The Royal National Park, covering 40% of the Shire's total area of 370 sq km, extends south from Port Hacking nearly to Wollongong, and is the SECOND National Park created in the world after Yellowstone in the USA.