The ‘Foreshores Vigilance’ movement and the Parsley Bay Reserve Foreshore land at Parsley Bay came into public ownership largely as a result of the efforts of William Notting and his Harbour Foreshores Vigilance Committee which lobbied the State Government from 1905 to secure access to areas of the waterfront for the people of Sydney.

Notting, a keen yachtsman, began his campaign to liberate the foreshores in the late 19th century, and from 1900 was joined by a growing throng of supporters, who boosted his voice in the cause. Like Notting, his fellow activists could foresee the impact of Sydney’s residential growth upon the harbour, as the large, open estates of the few were gradually replaced by dense settlement, and the ‘pond’ in a privately owned ‘paddock’ became fully enclosed by suburban development.

The foreshores of this tiny but beautiful bay have long been one of Sydney's favourite harbour-side places, and since 1906 have been officially reserved for the enjoyment of the public.

That same year, in 1906, Vaucluse Council was considering the benefits of installing a footbridge across 'The Parsley Glen' to improve pedestrian access between the two shores of the Bay. The cable suspension bridge was constructed during 1910 at a cost of £500.