Bateau Bay is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales. "Bateau" is French for "boat." The suburb was previously known as Boat Harbour, it was changed to the French version as a marketing activity in the 1970s.

Bateau Bay is about 6 km south of the town of The Entrance and 17 km northeast of Gosford's central business district. Bateau Bay Beach provides access to Crackneck Point, which is a popular local surfing spot. Crackneck Point Lookout (about 100 metres above sea level).

This information is taken from BBVoices (https://www.facebook.com/BBVoices/) with permission.

A recent article I wrote about our beautiful Bateau Bay .. published in the Central Coast Council GOALL (Growing Older and Loving Life) magazine.

Bateau Bay has been a well-loved holiday destination for over 130 years, with pristine sand, abundant sea life, fresh water spring, and sheltered grassy areas surrounded by bush.

In the late 1800s, the area around Boat Harbour, as it was known prior to 1950s, was mainly bush, with the odd dirt track used for local cows and fishermen. In 1890, Yan (Harry) Doodson, a Dutch seaman settled in the flat area at the base of the current stairs and acquired a special 90 year lease to establish the Elonara Holiday Camp for Gentlemen. Due to the perfect location, its popularity grew rapidly and he expanded the accommodation to 12 cabins, and a number of sleep-outs. Harry traded under this lease until 1924. Four subsequent leaseholders enhanced the cabins over the years, but sadly the lease ended in 1984, the cabins fell into disrepair and burnt down in 1986. They were demolished in 1987.

Wyrrabalong, meaning 'headland looking over the sea' (Bennett, 1981) is a word of the Darkinjung people. It was the name given to the most prominent headland on the coast between Newcastle and Sydney by Assistant Surveyor Felton Mathews in 1831.

South Wyrrabalong (120 hectares) includes a narrow band of coastal forests, headlands and sea cliffs, between Shelley Beach and Forresters Beach. A 400 metre wide coastal strip between Toowoon Bay and Wamberal Lagoon was identified as having potential for coal mining in 1876 and was protected as a crown reserve. Most of this area was reserved as part of the original park declaration in 1991.

Extensive wide, flat rock platforms of soft-grained sedimentary rock surround the base of the cliffs and provide a variety of habitats. At low tide it is possible to walk from Bateau Bay Beach to Forresters Beach along these platforms. The most significant habitat associated with the rock platforms is the community of grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) at the southern end of Bateau Bay Beach. This is the only occurrence of grey mangroves on a rocky platform in NSW and is extremely sensitive to disturbance, especially by foot traffic (Harty, 1997). The eastern boundary of the park is the mean high water mark, which means the beaches, rock platforms and the grey mangrove colony are not within the park.