Mackenzies Bay

{{Short description|Bight in Sydney, Australia}}

{{about|Mackenzies Bay, NSW, Australia|the bay in Greenland|Mackenzie Bay|the bay in Canada|Mackenzie Bay, Canada|the embayment in the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica|MacKenzie Bay|McKenzies Beach on the South Coast of NSW, Australia|Malua Bay}}

{{Infobox landform

| name = Mackenzies Bay

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| photo = Mackenzies Bay Tamarama-1.jpg

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| photo_caption = View of Mackenzies Bay, looking north-east

| map = New South Wales

| map_width = 220

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| location = Eastern Suburbs, New South Wales, Australia

| coordinates = {{Coord|-33.899831|151.273131|format=dms|region:AU-NSW|display=inline,title}}

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| water = y

| water_bodies = Tasman Sea

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| type = Bight

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| embedded = {{succession links|left=Bondi Beach|right=Tamarama Beach}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}

Mackenzies Bay is a small embayment in the coast between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. It forms part of the shoreline boundary of the suburb of Tamarama. Most of the time, it is a rocky inlet but, at times, depending on prevailing conditions, a sandy beach—known informally as Mackenzies Bay Beach or Mackenzies{{Cite web|url=http://beachsafe.org.au/beach/nsw/waverley/tamarama/mackenzies|title=Mackenzies - Beach in Tamarama Waverley NSW|website=SLS Beachsafe|language=en|access-date=2020-03-16}}—comes into existence. Mackenzies Bay is also a well-known surf break.{{Cite web |url=https://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Mckenzies-Bay |title=Mckenzies [sic] Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports (NSW - Sydney South Coast, Australia) |website=www.surf-forecast.com |access-date=2020-03-17}}

In recent years, the beach existed at times during 2007,{{Cite web|url=https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/159339/Mackenzies_Bay.pdf|title=Mackenzies Bay: Waverley's mystery beach|last=Waverley Council|date=2007}} 2016,{{Cite web |last=Hansen |first=Nick |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/mystery-pop-up-beach-in-between-bondi-and-tamarama-only-happens-every-seven-years-according-to-locals/news-story/641edec79b45d2a70b8e0e8b75394751|title=Sydney's mystery 'pop up beach'|date=2016-10-03 |website=The Daily Telegraph |language=en |access-date=2020-03-15}} 2019,{{Cite web|url=https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/news-2/mackenzies-bay-beach|title=Sydney's Disappearing MacKenzies [sic] Bay Beach Has Made a Triumphant Return|date=2019-12-18|website=Concrete Playground|access-date=2020-03-15}} and 2023.{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Eli |date=17 October 2023 |title=Secret beach at Mackenzies Bay reappears in Sydney’s east |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/nsw-act/secret-beach-at-mackenzies-bay-reappears-in-sydneys-east/news-story/0977b2e2ce7f015a8de81d0021146309 |work=news.com.au}} Because it is not a permanent beach and is not patrolled, whenever it exists, the beach has become, de facto, a 'dog-friendly beach'.{{Cite web|url=https://thebeast.com.au/news/freedom-dogs-vs-freedom-dogs/|title=Freedom for Dogs vs Freedom From Dogs|date=2020-02-28|website=The Beast|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-18}}

In the years up to 1947, the beach typically appeared around December and then disappeared around March, with the arrival of southerly gales.{{Cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247752584 |title=Sea swallows beach |date=1944-03-12|work=Daily Telegraph|access-date=2020-03-16 |pages=4}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18015071|title='Will-of-Wisp' Beach|date=1946-12-30|work=Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=2020-03-24 |pages=1}} The beach then did not reappear until near the end of October 1951.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248984398|title=Beach returns|date=1951-10-29|work=Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954)|access-date=2020-03-15|pages=3}} The beach next reappeared in November 1953.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248731053 |title=SWIMMER FORCED FROM SURF |date=1953-11-16 |work=Daily Telegraph |access-date=2020-03-15 |pages=2}} Popular beliefs include that in 1997, there was so much sand that, at low tide, it was almost possible to walk between Tamarama and South Bondi; however, given the water depth around the rock platforms between those beaches, that popular belief is questionable. In the years between 1997 and 2007, there was no beach. Unusually, in 2007, the beach arrived in May and disappeared in August. In September 2016, December 2019, and late August 2023, the beach followed its more typical pattern and appeared in time for the beginning of the Australian summer.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-29 |title=Mackenzies Bay Beach Is Back: The Ultimate Sydney Hidden Gem Re-emerges |url=https://www.visitbondibeach.com/bondi-blog/2023/8/29/mackenzies-bay-is-back-the-ultimate-sydney-hidden-gem |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Visit Bondi Beach |language=en-US}} The latest instance of the beach was disappearing by February 2024.{{Cite web |last=Dalton |first=Angus |date=2024-02-08 |title=Sydney’s magical mystery beach is vanishing again |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-most-elusive-beach-is-vanishing-when-will-it-be-back-20240207-p5f33b.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

The area was occupied by local Aborigines, before their dispossession in the years after Sydney was established in 1788. There is a rock engraving at Mackenzies Point depicting marine life. The age of the engraving is not known, but could be up to 2,000 years old.{{Cite web|url=https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/159199/Aboriginal_History_of_the_Waverley_Area.pdf|title=Aboriginal History of the Waverley Area - A discussion paper |last=Meadows |first=Elida |date=August 1999 |publisher=Reference Department, Waverley Library }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/sites-es.html|title=Sydney: Aboriginal Sites|website=www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au|access-date=2020-03-15}}

Mackenzies Bay and nearby Mackenzies Point are named after the Mackenzie family who, from the 1860s to approximately 1926, ran the Waverley Dairy on farmlands that stretched from near the corner of Bondi Road and Denham Street, east to the coast, and as far south as Gaerloch Avenue, Tamarama.{{Cite web|url=https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/159336/Dairies_in_Waverley.pdf|title='Milko!' Dairies in Waverley|publisher=Published by Waverley Library from sources in the Local History Collection, 2010}}

File:Mackenzies Bay - panoramio.jpg|Mackenzies Bay, as a rocky inlet, in April 2013. The headland in the background is Mackenzies Point. Both are on the route of the Bondi to Coogee urban coastal walk,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bonditocoogeewalk.com/bondi-tamarama-walk.html|title=The Bondi to Tamarama walk|website=www.bonditocoogeewalk.com|access-date=2020-03-18}} which is visible in the upper-left.

File:Mackenzies Bay (July 2007) Photographer Dave Keeshan.jpg|Mackenzies Bay, as a sandy beach, in July 2007. The year 2007 was unusual as the beach was present during winter.