Of course, the first "owners" of land at Bondi were the local aboriginal tribes. But we have no record of their tenure, and the invading British disregarded any claims they might have had. So the first "official" landowner was William Roberts, who was granted 200 acres by acting Governor Paterson on December 22, 1809.

The grant, which was surveyed by James Meehan, the infant colony's Head Surveyor, took in all the present beach, together with a block of land behind stretching back to "South Head Road". (Meehan was the first person to measure the Bondi foreshore, marking his survey sheet "Bundi Bay, Decr. 11, 1809".)

It seems that Roberts, who was something of a road builder or contractor, was given the land as a reward for upgrading the track that led from Sydney Cove to a lookout at South Head (where a watch was kept for approaching ships).

It is doubtful that he ever lived at Bondi, but he did let his land out for grazing cattle (his obituary in 1819 noted that he was "roadmaker, publican and grazier) and a small cottage with garden was constructed, possibly where Sir Thomas Mitchell Road is today.

Arriving with the Second Fleet in 1790 (probably in a military capacity), he started a stage coach service in 1805, owned land in Sydney and Liverpool, and was granted a publican's licence for the King's Head Hotel on the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh streets in 1809.

He built a road to Liverpool in 1814 "to the particular satisfaction" of Governor Macquarie (who also confirmed his Bondi land grant).

Roberts left eight children, and they apparently split up their inheritance, the Bondi estate eventually going to a nephew, William James Roberts, of Braidwood.

He sold it to Edward Smith Hall, owner of the Sydney Monitor newspaper, in 1851. Before that, however, other grants and sales had taken place, including 60 acres west of Roberts' grant on which Waverley House was later built, giving the district the name it enjoys today. (See What's in a Name? and Bondi's First House.)

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