Manly Cove is a sheltered bay in Sydney Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. It was an early site of contact between Australian Aboriginal peoples and Europeans. Arthur Phillip, the first governor of the British colony of New South Wales, named Manly Cove. He was impressed by the “confidence and manly behaviour” of the Aboriginal people he encountered there. The Manly Cove area is part of the Northern Beaches region, a popular coastal region of northern Sydney. 
The coastal area just south of Manly Cove is home to the only breeding colony of little penguins in New South Wales. Little penguins, also called blue penguins or fairy penguins, are a protected species in Manly Cove. Their population there is considered endangered due to habitat destruction and such predators as foxes. During the breeding season, volunteers patrol the penguins’ nesting areas to protect them from predators and other threats. 
The Gayamaygal Aboriginal people were the traditional inhabitants of the Manly Cove area. They may also have been called the Kai’ymaygal. The Gayamaygal clan was part of the Guringai Aboriginal language group. The Aboriginal name for Manly Cove is Kai’ymay (also spelled Kay-yee-my).
Governor Arthur Phillip arrived in New South Wales in 1788. That year, he made contact with a local Aboriginal group at Manly Cove. King George III of Britain had instructed Phillip to communicate with Indigenous (native) people, but they often avoided Europeans. In 1789, Phillip captured several Aboriginal people, including a Wangal man called Bennelong, and held them at Government House in Sydney. Bennelong escaped captivity in May 1790.
In September, Phillip returned to Manly Cove. There, he found Bennelong among a group of Aboriginal people having a feast. Phillip approached the group and spoke with Bennelong. An Aboriginal man called Wileemarin or Willemering then speared Phillip through the shoulder. Phillip was taken to Sydney Cove, where the spear was removed, and he soon recovered. Bennelong later returned to Sydney and lived there for a time.
