The area was first named Newport in 1880 when Charles Jeannerett and George Pile built a shipyard and the Newport Hotel on the headland . Jeannerett popularized day trips, either by carriage from Manly or by ship from Sydney. As the number of visitors increased, the place got bigger and new houses were added, especially near the beach. In the 1920s and 1930s, Newport was just a vacation and getaway destination, with many buildings vacant for most of the year. It wasn't until 1950 that it became a suburb of Sydney.
