in 1809, a road builder william roberts received a grant of land in the bondi area. in 1851 edward smith hall and francis o'brien bought of bondi and named it the "bondi estate." hall was o'brien's father-in-law. in between 1855 and 1877 o'brien bought his father-in-laws share of the land and named it the "o'brien estate". he made the beach and surrounding land available to the public as a picnic ground and amusement resort. as the beach became more popular, o'brien wanted to stop public access. the government believed that the municipal council needed to step in. on the 9th june 1882, bondi beach became a public beach.