HistoryOnly a relatively small area Port Hacking was declared a suburb in 1973 and although this description was reviewed in more recent years it has retained this status. Port Hacking was named after the waterway and includes the most southern end of Port Hacking Road as a major access road. Most of the area was once part of the estate of local pioneer Thomas Holt who acquired land in the 1860s which later became what is now known as Sutherland Shire. Holt later leased most of his estate to the Holt Sutherland Estate Land Company who set about creating estates for residential settlement. Port Hacking Road was surveyed in 1865 and it became a coaching route for access to the waterway of Port Hacking and the national park. The area was a popular location for early weekenders for wealthy Sydney families and homes such as Moombara were originally built for this reason. Richardson and Wench on behalf of the Holt Sutherland Estate released Turriell Point Estate Port Hacking in 1901 for further residential settlement. A post office was established from the late 1880s. Shiprock Marine Reserve is located at the end of Shiprock Road so named because of the impressive sandstone formation shaped like a ship.