Brighton Le Sands (formerly Brighton-le-Sands and also known simply as Brighton or Brighton Beach), is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Brighton Le Sands is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shore of Botany Bay. Brighton Le Sands is in the local government area of the Bayside Council and is part of the St George area. Lady Robinsons Beach and Cook Park run along the eastern border of Brighton Le Sands, on Botany Bay. The beach is also commonly referred to as Brighton Beach and is known for its off-white sand. Brighton Le Sands features a mixture of low density houses, medium density flats, high rise apartments, retail, cafés and restaurants. The Grand Parade runs along the foreshore and intersects with Bay Street, at the commercial centre. The higher density developments are located along these roads. History The area between the Cooks River and Georges River was originally known as Seven Mile Beach. It was changed to Lady Robinsons Beach in 1874 to honour Governor Sir Hercules Robinson's wife. Cook Park, established in about 1882, is a strip of reserve land 30 metres inland from the high water mark of the sea. The park is named after Samuel Cook who advocated it as a public pleasure area. The name Seven Mile Beach was last used in the Sydney Morning Herald on 28 February 1879, whilst the first use of the name Lady Robinson's Beach by the same newspaper was on 1 June 1877. New Brighton was the name given to his new housing estate by tramway pioneer Thomas Saywell, who had plans to emulate the famous seaside resort Brighton in England. Land acquisitions began in the 1840s but no significant development of Brighton Le Sands occurred until the railway opened to Hurstville, via Rockdale in 1884. In 1885 Thomas Saywell constructed a tramway from Rockdale to Lady Robinsons Beach, along Bay Street. He was given a 30-year lease on the line. Thomas Saywell also financed and built the public swimming baths, a substantial picnic area called the Shady Nook Recreational Park (1898-1918), a race course and the Brighton Hotel, on the current Novotel site. The developments were a huge success. To avoid confusion with the English Brighton, the district became known as Brighton-le-Sands. From 1900, the tramway was electrified. The tramway passed into government ownership in