One Man and his Boat (and Hotel and Pier …): Henry Gilbert Smith and the Establishment of Manly, Australia

Abstract

Tourist resorts share many common elements of their morphology despite being established in different centuries and on different continents. In addition, many owe their initial development to the entrepreneurial activities of individuals who are rarely recognized in the tourism literature. This paper examines the founding and initial development of the Australian resort of Manly, now a suburb of Sydney, and the role in that establishment of a key individual, Henry Gilbert Smith. The paper reveals how Smith brought to Manly not only his entrepreneurial talents, but also a familiarity with tourist resort development in southern England. This knowledge was used in the development and promotion of Manly and the morphology of the town today has changed little from that laid out by Smith some century and a half earlier. The ferry access which he initiated is still a major factor in the daily life of Manly and the reputation of and visitation to the resort have remained high. Manly represents an excellent example of both the key role of an individual in the development of destinations and in the survival and continued relevance of the classic seaside resort morphology recorded in earlier works.

Gearr-chunntais

Ged a tha bailtean thurasachd na mara gle eadeardhealaichte agus ged a chaidh iad a steidheacheach ann an duthchanna agus linntean eaderdhealaichte, chan ann ach difeirean eatarra fhein.

A bharrachd air sin bi gu leor aca a toiseachadh a'fas a chionn's go robh neach ainmeil a toirt cultaic mor dhaibh. Mar is tric cha deach moran aideacheadh dha'n daoine sin. Anns a phios seo seallaidh sinn air thoiseach thoisaichaidh thurasachd ann am baile Manly, a tha an diugh na fhrith-bhaile de Sydney ann an Austrailia. A bharrachd air sin ni sinn sgrudadh air na rinn neach air leth spesealta - Henry Gilbert Smith. Bi sinn a nochdadh ciamar a chuir Smith gu feum ann an Manly an eolas gnothaich a bh'aige fhein agus cuideachd na bha e air ionnsachadh mu dheidhinn leasachadh thurasachd annn an Sasuinn a deas. Chaidh an eolas sin a chur gu feum airson Manly a leasachadh agus a chur air adhart. An diugh, ceud bliadhna gu leth an deidh sin, cha do dh'atharraich moran cumadh Mhanly bho'n am ud. Tha feum mor fhathast air a bhat-aiseig a chuir Smith air bhonn agus bidh tor luchd-turais a tighinn a steach; tha cliu fhathast cuideachd aig a bhaile a thaobh thurasachd. Is e baile Manly eisimpleir air leth inteannach a thaobh araidheachd neach gun chobhair airson leasachadh aite thursachd agus a thaobh mairsinn is buinteanas dealbh cumanta bhaile thurasachd na mara, mar a thuairisgeulaich Barrett (1958) is Stansfield agus Rickert (1970).

Key Words:

• Resorts
• morphology
• Manly
• entrepreneurs
• development

Facail cudthromaich:

• bailtean thurasachd na mara
• dealbh
• Manly
• neachan-deanadais
• leasachadh

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Dr Brian Wheeller for retrieving the initial quotation from Manly Steyne, to Dr David Airey for the use of his photograph (Figure 3) and to Dr J. Brougham for translating the abstract into Gaelic for the online version of this article.