Darlinghurst, New South Wales
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darlinghurst Sydney, New South Wales |
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 Taylor Square, Darlinghurst |
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| Population: | 9176 (2001 census) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 0.8 km² | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Sydney | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Sydney | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Wentworth, Sydney | ||||||||||||
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Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. The postcode is 2010, shared with Surry Hills and East Sydney.
Darlinghurst is a densely-populated suburb with the majority of residents living in apartments or terraced houses. From a slum in the 1920s and a red-light prostitution district, Darlinghurst has undergone urban renewal since the 1990s and early 2000s to become a rather upmarket, cosmopolitan and diverse area.
East Sydney is a locality in the western part of the suburb; Taylor Square is another locality within the suburb. Kings Cross is a locality on the northern border. Darlinghurst is surrounded by the suburbs of Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Paddington and Surry Hills.
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[edit] Culture
The area is most famous for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The parade which marks the end of this festival takes place on Oxford Street, the main street that runs through several suburbs, including Darlinghurst.
[edit] History
The suburb was originally known as Eastern Hill and then Henrietta Town, after the wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, whose second name was Henrietta. The loyalties changed with the change of governors and the suburb became Darlinghurst in honour of Elizabeth Darling, the popular wife of Governor Ralph Darling, during the early 19th century. The 'hurst' is an old English word for a wooded area.
[edit] Politics
The area has often been a battleground between the two councils of the City of Sydney and the City of South Sydney. Most of the suburb belonged to South Sydney, however the New South Wales State Government moved the borders repeatedly in order to change the make-up of the city of Sydney. Many claim that these shifts have been attempted to shift the balance of power in the favour of the party in control of the State Government.
This battle has become a moot point however, with the two councils forced to amalgamate in February 2004 by the State Government. An election was held on Saturday, 27 March 2004, in order to elect a new council for the new (expanded) city of Sydney. Critics of the amalgamation have claimed that the election demonstrated strong voter backlash against the State Government for pressing the issue. The Australian Labor Party, for whom the area was usually safe, had their primary vote reduced to approximately 20%. The independent Clover Moore took the Lord Mayoral position, having campaigned against the Government's dismissal of the Council.
At a federal level, Darlinghurst falls in the electorate of the Division of Sydney. Its current MP is Australian Labor Party leftist Tanya Plibersek, an outspoken supporter of Gay rights, Women's rights and refugees. Plibersek is well-liked by the Darlinghurst and Surry Hills community and Sydney is one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
[edit] Landmarks
Darlinghurst has two of Sydney's museums: the Australian Museum (a natural history museum) and the Sydney Jewish Museum. The suburb also features St Vincent's Hospital, and is associated with the Sacred Heart Hospice on Darlinghurst Rd, and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The Darlinghurst Court House at Taylor Square is one of Sydney's most historic buildings. It is adjacent to historic Darlinghurst Gaol, which is now the East Sydney campus of the National Art School formerly the Sydney Institute of Technology.
[edit] Darlinghurst Gaol
Darlinghurst Gaol, the large sandstone penal complex in the middle of Darlinghurst was built between 1836 and 1840. The large sandstone walls still bear convict markings, and the complex features six wings surrounding a circular chapel. Australian poet Henry Lawson spent time incarcerated here during some of the turbulent years of his life. The site is now open to the public as the Sydney Institute of Technology. The last hanging at the gaol was in 1907 (Jahn, 1997). Captain Lightfoot, a bushranger, was hanged outside the gaol, on Forbes St, Darlinghurst.
[edit] Darlinghurst Courthouse
Darlinghurst Courthouse is an imposing sandstone building on Taylor Square. It was designed by architect Mortimer Lewis (1796 - 1879) in 1844, and has a Greek Revival style facade. The central block is adapted from an 1823 design in Peter Nicholson's 'The New Practical Builder' (Apperly, Irving & Reynolds, 1989).
[edit] Darlinghurst Fire Station
Completed in 1912, this three-storey brick and stone building occupies a prominent location at the corner of Darlinghurst Rd and Victoria St. It was designed 1910 by Walter Liberty Vernon (Jahn, 1997). It still functions as a fire station.
[edit] Oxford Street
Oxford St is the major commercial street of Darlinghurst, running from the south-east corner of Hyde Park, through to Taylor Square and beyond through Paddington, Woollahra and Bondi Junction. Oxford St was originally called the South Head Road, and work was commenced on the road in 1811 (Faro, 2000). Oxford St assumed its current name in 1875. Oxford Square is located at the intersection of Oxford Street and Burton Street. Oxford Square is also the name of the small shopping centre located opposite, at the corner of Oxford Street and Riley Street.
[edit] Stanley Street
Stanley Street is the suburb's secondary resturant strip and is often referred to as "Little Italy" in tourism guides and the mircosm of Wikipedia. However the restaurants range from Japanese, Thai and Italian and the prices range from basic to moderate. There is an annual Italian Festival held every June.
[edit] Victoria Street
Victoria Street is another of the the suburb's cafe strips. Restaurants range from basic to upmarket. The majority of the cafes have outdoor seating.
[edit] InterWar Apartments
Mont Clair, 347 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
Royal Court, 227 Crown Street, Darlinghurst
The Rutland, 381 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
Hillcrest, 114 Burton Street, Darlinghurst
The Savoy, 2-10 Hardy Street, Darlinghurst
Claridge, 28-30 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst
Ballina, 5 Darley Street, Darlinghurst
Portree, 2a Darley Street, Darlinghurst
[edit] The Horizon
This 43-storey apartment block looms over the surrounding neighbourhood in Darlinghurst. It has a distinctive scalloped facade, and is finished in rendered concrete. Located at 184 Forbes St, Darlinghurst, the controversial highrise was completed in 1998. Controversy stems from the height of the building and the shadowing effects on surrounding buildings. The building was designed by Sydney architect, Harry Seidler.
[edit] Transport
Darlinghurst is well-served by public transport, with many bus routes from the Eastern Suburbs converging on Oxford Street prior to entering the central business district. The 380 bus between Circular Quay and Bondi Beach travels through Darlinghurst along Oxford Street. The 378 bus between Railway Square and Bronte also travels through Darlinghurst along Oxford Street. The 392, 394, 396 and 399 buses also travel through the suburb on Oxford Street. Buses that travel through the centre of Darlinghurst are the 311 and the 389 buses.
There are no train stations in Darlinghurst, however Kings Cross railway station on the CityRail Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line is just over the northern border of the suburb. Museum station on the City Circle, is located just to the west of Darlinghurst, on the south-west corner of Hyde Park.
[edit] Schools
The Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School (SCEGGS) was founded in 1895 in Victoria St, Darlinghurst, and moved to its current site in Forbes St, Darlinghurst, in 1901. The Darlinghurst Public School is in Womerah Ave and was opened in 1884. The Sydney Grammar School is located on College St, Darlinghurst, across the road from Hyde Park. This school is a boys-only private school, and opened in 1857. The Marist College, Darlinghurst, on Liverpool St, has long been closed, and is now an apartment complex.
[edit] Churches
Darlinghurst has 4 functioning churches; God in the City, an Assemblies of God congregation affiliated with Christian City Churches, St. Pauls Lutheran congregation, St. John the Evangelist, an Anglican congregation and the Church of Christ, Scientist. St. Johns operates Rough Edges; a street outreach centre that functions as a cafe. It provides a range of services to the local homeless community. There are also a variety of smaller chapels and religious services attached to St Vincent's Hospital and other religious organisations in the suburb. The Sacred Heart Church on the corner of Darlinghurst Rd and Oxford St, a Catholic Church, was closed in August 2005 as part of a controversial site redevelopment which will involve a campus of the Notre Dame University being built on its site.
There is also the now defunct St. Peters Anglican, which is now administered by SCEGGS.
[edit] Amenities
Darlinghurst's commercial activity is centred on Oxford St, however, Victoria St, Flinders St, Crown St and Darlinghurst Rd also have commercial activity. There are a large number of cafés, restaurants and take-away food stores throughout Darlinghurst, as well as a large number of pubs and nightclubs, many of which are on Oxford St. There is also a significant retail presence, including fashion retailers.
[edit] Darlinghurst in Songs
- From St Kilda to Kings Cross - Paul Kelly
- Darling, it hurts - Paul Kelly
- Darlinghurst Nights - The Go-Betweens
- Living in Darlinghurst - Drip Tray
- Darlinghurst Confidential - The Celibate Rifles
- Starling Burps - Botgardo Sharpe and the HotBots
[edit] Darlinghurst in Books
Fiction
- The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey (1991)
- He Died With a Felafel In His Hand by John Birmingham (1994)
- Razor by Larry Writer (2001)
[edit] See also
- Sydney
- South Sydney
- Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
- Politics of Australia
- Culture of Sydney
- Homelessness
[edit] References
- Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter (1989). A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present. Sydney, Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-18562-X
- Faro, Clive (2000). Street Seen: A History of Oxford St. Carlton South, Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84967-9
- Jahn, Graham (1997). Sydney Architecture. Sydney, The Watermark Press. ISBN 0-949284-32-7
- The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
[edit] External links
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
- Sydney City Council
- South Sydney Council
- Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
- Australian Museum
- City Rail
- Transport Infoline
- SCEGGS
- Darlinghurst Public School
- St. Johns Anglican, Darlinghurst
[edit] References
- The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
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