Bondi Beach (pronounced "Bond-eye" with a long i, or bóndai) is a popular beach in the suburb of Bondi, New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in the Eastern Suburbs, roughly seven kilometres from the centre of the city. Large numbers of tourists visit Bondi Beach throughout the year, and many Irish and British tourists spend Christmas Day there.

Surf Life Saving Australia has given different hazard ratings to Bondi Beach in 2004. While the northern end has been rated a gentle 4 (with 10 as the most hazardous), the southern side is rated as a 7 due to a famous rip current known as the "Backpackers Express" (also known as the "Bondi Tram" or the "Bronte Express" because you would supposedly end up at Bronte - two beaches south - if caught in it). In actual fact, there are up to five rip currents operating along the beach, the Backpackers' Express being the one closest to the designated swimming area. There is an underwater shark net shared, during the summer months, with other beaches along the southern part of the coast.

Bondi Beach hosted the beach volleyball competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics. A temporary 10,000-seat stadium, a much smaller stadium, 2 warm-up courts, and 3 training courts were set up to host the tournament.

Bondi Beach is the end point of the City to Surf Fun Run which is held each year in August. The race attracts over 63,000 entrants who complete the 14 km run from the central business district of Sydney to Bondi Beach. Other annual activities at Bondi Beach include Flickerfest, Australia's premier international short film festival in January, World Environment Day in June, and Sculpture By The Sea in November. In addition to many activities, the Bondi Beach Markets is open every Sunday.

"Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning "water breaking over rocks" or "noise of water breaking over rocks." The Australian Museum records that Bondi means "place where a flight of nullas took place."

In 1851, Edward Smith Hall and Francis O'Brien purchased 200 acres of the Bondi area that embraced almost the whole frontage of Bondi Beach, and it was named the "The Bondi Estate." Hall was O'Brien's father-in-law. Between 1855 and 1877 O'Brien purchased his father-in-law's share of the land, renamed the land the "O'Brien Estate," and made the beach and the surrounding land available to the public as a picnic ground and amusement resort. As the beach became increasingly popular, O'Brien threatened to stop public beach access. However, the Municipal Council believed that the Government needed to intervene to make the beach a public reserve. It was not until June 9, 1882, that the Government acted and Bondi Beach finally became a public beach.

Bondi Beach was a working class suburb throughout most of the twentieth century. Bondi Beach and the Eastern Suburbs also became home for many mainly Jewish migrants as people fled war and the Holocaust from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany, while a steady stream of Jewish immigration continues into the 21st century mainly from South Africa, Russia and Israel. This characteristic can be noted by the synagogues, kosher butchers and the Hakoah Club. During the 1970s and 80s, it was renowned for its immigrant New Zealander population. The Bondi Astra hotel, now an apartment complex, was notorious as a place to buy illegal late-night liquor and heroin.

A major factor in Bondi's seedy image was the fact that Sydney's Water Board maintained an untreated sewage outlet not far from the north end of the beach, resulting in the term 'Bondi Cigar' - a somewhat exaggerated reference to human faeces floating in on the tide. The sewage outlet was closed in the mid 1990s when a deep water ocean outfall was built. In recent decades, Bondi has become gentrified and is home to many famous Australians such as media baron James Packer and TV personality Larry Emdur. Numerous festivals and events such as the annual Miss Bondi beauty pageant have made Bondi Beach a popular destination among travelers.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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