The early Aboriginal inhabitants of the area named Sydney Cove "warung", meaning "the other side", while the tribe living on the opposite side also named the area "warung". The first name given to the area by English settlers was Hunters Hill. North Sydney was originally part of the modern day St Leonards and was declared the township of St. Leonards in 1836, incorporating the area of Miller, Walker, Berry and Lavender streets. 106 houses had been built in the area by 1846, and in 1859 when the School of Arts was constructed on the site of the modern day courthouse the commercial centre of the area had moved from Milsons Point to Miller and Mount street and consisted of small business. A small bus service began operation from Milsons Point to the "North Sydney Shops", and as time passed, North Sydney began to forge a new identity of its own.

The North Sydney municipality was incorporated in 1890 and included the Mosman area. The post office had officially opened in 1854 as St Leonards, but the name was changed with the declaring of a municipality in 1890. The first school began educating pupils in 1874 and in 1910 it was officially named North Sydney.

One of the oldest houses in the North Sydney area is thought to be an early farmhouse, constructed in the 1820s, and called St Leonards Cottage. The North Sydney Council purchased the house in 1979 and it was opened in 1981 as a local historical museum.

One of the biggest houses in the area was the home of MP Francis Lord called Ma-sa-lou, now being the Convent of Monte Sant Angelo, in Miller Street.

St Thomas's Anglican Church is located in Berry Street; it was first constructed on this site in 1843 and opened for worship in 1846. The congregation numbers soared, and by 1877 the church had to be enlarged. Edmund Thomas Blacket designed the new transepts and chancel constructed around the old St Thomas's, and the new church was dedicated in 1884. It was the largest parish church in the whole country.

North Sydney has a plethora of schools in its area today, and although they are housed in modern buildings this belies their true history. Many were opened in the early part of the 1900s and the Wenona Girls School has a history dating back to 1886.

Luckily North Sydney has retained some of its older style buildings which seem to blend nicely with the high-tech office blocks and high-rise units. North Sydney today is a dynamic commercial and residential area in the city of Sydney.

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