To paraphrase Wikipedia…
Between 1788 and 1800, the point was used as a fishing and hunting ground for European settlers and as a source of ballast for ships returning unladen to Europe, hence the name Ballast Point.
From 1800 to 1852 the land changed hand many times before Thomas Perkins (merchant & draper), purchased the site for 300 pounds. In 1864 he built the only house thought to have existed on the site, Menevia. From this time until 1875 the site was known as Menevia Point and from 1884 to 1928 was known as Perkins Point after Mrs Perkins who lived in the house.
In 1905 the land passed to Henry Thomas Perkins, a barrister living in Surrey, England, who never took up residence at the site.
From 1893 to at least 1915 Menevia was used as a boarding house, perhaps even operating as such until the early 1920s.
By 1928, Menevia had fallen into disrepair & the site was purchased by Texaco (later Caltex) who demolished the house to make way for a fuel depot, manufacturing & packaging facility. Ballast Point formed Texaco’s major distribution point in Sydney until the 1990s.
In September 2002, the derelict site was returned to public ownership after much wrangling between Caltex, Walker Corp. developers, the governement and a local activist group.
The point is now owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and has been redeveloped into a public recreation space. Ballast Point Park opened to the public on Saturday, 11 July 2009.
