The St Ives area was first explored by Governor Arthur Phillip and a party of men in 1788 where they set up a campsite at Bungaroo which is close to what is now Hunter Avenue. The area produced a small scale timber felling industry. There are still some examples of the thirty metre and higher trees in nearby Pymble in the Dalrymple Hay forest and near Canisius College. Native turpentine trees were also once abundant and provided useful timber for cabinet making. It was once known for its apple orchards but due to residential demand, there is no longer any commercial fruit growing in the area.[2] During the Second World War there were significant numbers of troops barracked in the area, which provided the impetus to build Archbold Road as a supplementary and emergency route to the city. Since 1950 the suburb has expanded from the central shopping areas and the arterial main roads to include hilltop and valley areas bordering on the surrounding Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park to the north, now the area known as St Ives Chase, and Garigal National Park to the east and the south east.  (Wikipedia)