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Thursday October 8, 2026 
7 October 2026
Balls Head will mark 100 years as a public reserve later this month with a day of history walks, live music, cultural activities and family entertainment across Balls Head Reserve and The Coal Loader.
The free event, A Picnic at Balls Head: Celebrating 100 Years, will be held on Saturday, 24 October, almost exactly a century after Balls Head and Berry Island were formally opened for public recreation on 23 October 1926.
Located on the traditional lands of the Cammeraygal people, the Waverton Peninsula has thousands of years of First Nations history, reflected in rock carvings and other cultural sites across the area.
In the early 20th century, growing industrial development along Sydney Harbour prompted a community campaign to protect the headland from further development.
Restoration work began in 1931, with local residents and North Sydney Council replanting native vegetation across Balls Head. That conservation tradition continues today.
Nearby, The Coal Loader operated as a coal transfer depot from 1917 until 1992 before being transformed into The Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability, which opened in 2011.
The centenary program starts at 7.30am with a bird survey walk and a guided forest bathing session. Other activities include Coal Loader heritage tours, nature journalling, kayak netball, community art, boules and First Nations cultural activities.
A Koori Kinnections Indigenous Experience begins at 11am, featuring art, weaving and bushcraft workshops, while a guided Indigenous cultural walk at Balls Head starts at 1.15pm.
Other events include a Coal Loader Heritage Tour at 9.30am, Drawn to Nature at 10am, Build a Forest at 10am and Boules on the Platform from 11am.
A free shuttle bus will run continuously between Waverton Station and the event grounds from 7.15am to 4pm.