History

 Millions of years ago the Broken Bay was part of a river delta from a large river that ran down the east coast from Newcastle, the island was at some stage connected to the surrounding area and was slowly isolated over a millennia of erosion
Fast forward to 4500 years ago and the island was formed in to one of 2 guardians of the Brisbane Water by shipwrecked Egyptian sailors.

Egyptian carvings at Kariong
Translation: "Carved a dick on yo rock lol" 

Two massive sphinxes were carved from the local rock and faced each other guarding the entrance to Broken Bay, at this time it was considered one of the great wonders of the world but due to its location not many people knew it was there apart from bemused local Aborigines

Evidence of the Egyptians remain to this day in a small cleft in a rock at Kariong
A large earthquake 2000 years ago toppled the western facing sphinx into the sea leaving what we see today , the magnificent Lion Island

Lion Island Bowling Club main building in WW2

The Lion Island Bowling Club was built just after World War 2 and utilised existing army buildings on the island, today it is a hidden gem in the pristine waters of Broken Bay

Fun Facts:
*Lion Island was formerly named Mt Elliot after a man named Elliot
* Christopher Skase spent most of the 1980's hidden on the island working as a green keeper and living in a 6 x 4 Luxaflex lawn locker behind the tractor shed
* Lion Island appears in many film and TV shows including James Bond, The Thunderbirds, The Lost Islands, Escape from Alcatraz and Gilligans Island