historical walking tours

Cover Image:. King Street near the corner of Missenden Road, 1950s.

(Photograph: Marrickville Library and History Services).

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Crowds of ‘promenaders’ on Newtown Bridge, 1906 (Image: City of Sydney Archives)

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 01.

NEWTOWN

Please allow 1 to 2 hours for this tour.

This tour will guide you through the history of Newtown. There are cafés and restaurants along the way. Your walking

tour starts at Newtown Bridge. Alight from the railway station on the eastern

side of King Street.

Sydney’s history

is all around us. Our walking tours will lead you on a journey of discovery from early Aboriginal life through to

contemporary Sydney.

Clover MooreLord Mayor of Sydney

“King-street Newtown is always more or less busy, but on Saturday night it is seen at its best and brightest. Fancy a double line, more than a mile long, of brilliantly lighted shops; and ‘side-walks’ so inconveniently crowded, that it is often a matter of some difficulty to push one’s way through the throng of people on business and on pleasure bent.” (Illustrated Sydney News, 27 June 1889).

King Street still hums, and today Newtown is one of Sydney’s most vibrant and gritty inner-city suburbs.

lthough it began as a rural outpost scattered with ‘gentleman’s estates’, Newtown became increasingly populous with the coming of the railway in 1855. The Municipality of Newtown was proclaimed in 1862. By the 1870s, it was one of the most densely populated municipalities in NSW.

A

BILLYARD

AVENUE

ITHA

CA

RO

AD

M4 WESTERN DISTRIBUTOR FREEWAY

GEO

RG

E S

T

HA

RR

ING

TON

STC

UM

BE

RLA

ND

ST

PIT

T S

T

PIT

T S

T

BLIG

H ST

CA

STL

ER

EA

GH

ST

ELI

ZAB

ETH

ST

ART GALLERY RD

GE

OR

GE

ST

AS

H S

T

YO

RK

ST

YO

RK

LN

KE

NT

ST

CLA

RE

NC

E S

T

KE

NT

ST

CA

RR

ING

TON

ST

SU

SS

EX

ST

HIC

KS

ON

RD

HICKSON R

D

HIC

KS

ON

RD

SPRING S

T

O’CONNELL

ST

PH

ILLI

P S

T

YO

UN

G S

T

LOF

TUS

ST

MA

CQ

UA

RIE

ST

PH

ILLI

P L

AN

E

BRIDGE STDALLEY ST

PARK ST

WILLIAM ST

WILLIAM ST

KINGS CROSS RD

RO

SLYN

ST

RO

SLY

N G

AR

DE

NS

NEW SOUTH HEAD RD

OC

EA

N S

T

GLE

NM

OR

E R

D

CA

SC

AD

E S

T

GLENMORE RD

GURNER ST

PADDINGTON ST

OXFORD ST

RENNY ST

GORDON ST

MOORE PARK RD

GR

EE

NS

RD

OXFORD ST

WIL

LIAM

ST

OA

TLE

Y R

D

RE

GE

NT

ST

DR

IVE

R A

VE

AN

ZAC

PD

E

AN

ZAC

PD

E

ALISON RD

ALISON RD

ALISON RD

CO

OK

RD

ROBER

TSO

N RD

LAN

G R

D

LANG RD

OR

MO

ND

ST

GLENM

ORE

RD

BR

OW

N S

T

NIE

LD A

VE

BOUNDARY ST

BARCOM AVE

MCLACHLAN AVE

ELIZ

ABETH S

T

CRAIGEND ST

LIVERPOOL ST

LIVERPOOL ST

WENTW

ORTH AVE

FOST

ER S

T

BATHURST ST

WILMOT ST

CENTRAL STALBION PL

GOULBURN ST

GOULBURN ST

CAMPBELL STHAY ST

HAY ST

BARLOW ST

PAR

KE

R S

T

EDDY AVE

VALENTINE ST

CAMPBELL ST

ANN ST

RESERVOIR ST

FITZROY ST

FOVEAUX ST

DEVONSHIRE ST

KIPPAX ST

COOPER ST

ARTHUR STDAVIES ST

ARTHUR ST

RAINFORD ST

PHELPS ST

BENNETT STPROSPECT ST

ALBION AVE

NAPIER ST

JOSEPHSON ST

CHURCH ST

SE

LWYN

ST

BURTON ST

MACDONALS ST

SEALE ST

FRANCIS ST

STANLEY ST

CATHEDRAL ST

BO

UR

KE

ST

CLAPTON PL

FARRELL AVE

FORBES

ST

DARLINGHURST

RD

DARLINGHURST

RD

MA

CLE

AY

ST

VIC

TOR

IA S

T

BO

UR

KE

ST

FOR

BE

S S

T

GREENKNOWE AVEELIZABETH BAY ROAD

CHALLIS AVE

MCDONALD LN

ST NEOT AVE

ROCKWALL CRES

ROCKWALL LN

ORWELL ST

EA

RL

ST

HUGHES ST

TUS

CU

LUM

ST

MANNING ST

WYLDE ST

CO

WP

ER W

HA

RF

RD

WY

WAR

D A

VE

VICTORIA

ST

VIC

TOR

IA S

T

PALM

ER

ST

PA

LME

R S

T

CR

OW

N S

T

BA

PTI

ST

ST

NIC

HO

LS S

T

HU

TCH

INS

ON

MA

RSH

ALL

ST

SO

UTH

DO

WLI

NG

ST

SO

UTH

DO

WLI

NG

ST

SO

UTH

DO

WLI

NG

ST

RIL

EY

ST

SM

ITH

ST

BRIS

BANE

ST

BO

UR

KE

ST

BO

UR

KE

ST

CR

OW

N S

T

CR

OW

N S

T

CO

LLE

GE

ST

ALBION ST

TAYLOR ST

SU

SS

EX

ST

SU

SS

EX

ST

DIX

ON

ST

HA

RB

OU

R S

T

CA

STL

ER

EA

GH

ST

PIT

T S

T

KE

NT

ST

ELI

ZAB

ETH

ST

NIT

HS

DA

LE S

T

ELI

ZAB

ETH

ST

CO

MM

ON

WE

ALT

H S

T

BELM

OR

E ST

LAC

EY S

T

HO

LT S

T

RANDLE ST

CO

RB

EN

ST

MAR

Y ST

BELL

EVU

E ST

WAT

ERLO

O S

T

RIL

EY

ST

RIL

EY

ST

YU

RO

NG

ST

RIL

EY

ST

FLIN

DE

RS

ST

CH

ISH

OLM

ST

ELI

ZAB

ETH

ST

ELI

ZAB

ETH

ST

ELIZABETH ST

CH

RISTIES LN

PORTM

AN ST

CO

OK LN

TILFOR

D ST

MC

PHER

SON

LN

MERTON ST

CLI

SD

ELL

ST

BU

CK

ING

HA

M S

T

CH

ALM

ER

S S

T

GR

EA

T B

UC

KIN

GH

AM

ST

CH

ALM

ER

S S

T

BE

AU

MO

NT

ST

WA

LKE

R S

T

DO

UG

LAS

ST

GE

OR

GE

ST

GEORGE ST

BROADWAY

THOMAS ST

MARY ANN ST

MACARTHUR ST

WILLIAM HENRY ST

QUARRY ST

FIG ST

ALLEN ST

MU

RR

AY

ST

WEN

TWO

RTH

PARK

RD

PARRAMATTA RD

CATHERINE ST

ARUNDEL ST

CARILLON AVEMIS

SE

ND

EN

RD

WELLINGTON

OCONNOR ST

QUEEN ST

MEAGHER ST

CLEVELAND ST

CLEVELAND ST

CLEVELAND ST

CLEVELAND ST

KNOX ST GRAFTON ST

GLEBE POINT RD

CAMPBELL ST

GLEBE ST

BROUGHTON ST

PHILLIP ST

WENTW

ORTH ST

MT VERNON ST

WESTMORELAND ST

DERWENT ST B

AY

ST

WATTLE S

T

WATTLE S

T

AB

ER

CR

OM

BIE

ST

BU

CK

LAN

D S

T

PIN

E S

T

SH

EP

HE

RD

ST

RO

SE

ST

BA

LFO

UR

ST

GLEBE PO

INT RD

TALFOURD

STG

OTTEN

HAM

STC

OLB

OU

RN

E AVE

DAR

LING

STD

ARG

HAN

STBELLEVU

E ST

BUR

TON

ST

GR

IFFIN PL

BAYVIEW ST

LOM

BARD ST

TAYLOR ST

GLEBE PO

INT RD

MAN

SFIELD ST

MAXW

ELL RO

AD

BELL STALLEN

STAVE RD

ALEXAND

RA

ROSS ST FO

REST ST

LOD

GE ST

JAROC

IN AVE

MINOGUE CRES

BRIDGE RD

BRIDGE R

D

PYRM

ONT

BRIDGE

RD

MILLER ST

BOWMAN ST

ED

WA

RD

ST

JOHN ST

HARVEY ST

WIGRAM RD

BOYCE STTOXTETH RD

ARCADIA RD

FORSYTH ST

COOK ST

FERRY RD

VICTORIA RD

EGLINTON RD

HEREFORD ST

MARLBOROUGH

ST JOHNS RD

ST JOHNS RDLYNDHURST ST

MIT

CHELL

ST

CO

WP

ER

ST

BOUNDARY ST

JAMES ST

JAMES ST

WELLS ST

REDFERN ST

TURNER ST

ALBERT ST

PHILLIP ST

RAGLAN ST

KELLICK ST

REEVE ST

HENDERSON RD

RAILWAY PDE

LOCOMOTIVE ST

CENTRAL AVE

WELLINGTON ST

MCEVOY ST

ALLEN ST

MANDIBLE ST

POWELL ST

LACHLAN ST

DACEY AVE

BOURKE ST

JOYN

TON

AVE

GR

AN

DS

TAN

D P

AR

AD

E

VIC

TOR

IA P

AR

K P

AR

AD

E

WOLSLEY GROVEAUSTIN GROVEMORRIS GROVE

LEYL

AN

D

GR

OVE

LINK R

D

O’DEA AVE

TOD

MAN

AVE

EPSOM RD

EPSOM RD

LENHALT ST

AN

ZAC

PD

E

DO

NC

AS

TER

AV

E

AN

ZAC

PD

E

TODMAN AVE

COLLINS ST

HUNTLEY ST

HUNTLEY ST

COULSON ST

MACDONALD ST

VICTORIA ST

ELL

IOT

AV

E

EV

E S

T

RO

CH

FOR

D S

T

UN

ION

ST

GO

WR

IE S

T

AN

GE

L S

T

HAROLD ST

NEWMAN ST

MUNNI ST

CAMDEN STKENT ST CO

LLE

GE

ST

STA

TIO

N S

T

FLO

RA

ST

GE

OR

GE

ST

CH

AR

LES

ST

JOH

N S

T

SE

PTI

MU

S S

T

BR

IDG

E S

TB

UR

RE

N S

T

PIN

E S

TWA

TKIN

ST

BR

OW

N S

T

MA

LCO

LM S

T

CONCORD ST

SYDNEY PARK RD

PRIN

CES

HW

Y

KIN

G S

T

MADDOX ST

MORELY AVE

GARDENERS RD

GARDENERS RD

BURROWS RD

BU

RR

OW

S R

D

BELM

ONT

ST

LAW

RENCE

ST

EUST

ON L

ANE

EUST

ON R

OAD

EUST

ON

RO

AD

CAMPBELL RD

BOURKE

RD

BOURKE RD

RICKETTY ST KE

NT

RD

HARCOURT PDE

RO

THS

CH

ILD

AV

E

RO

SE

BE

RR

Y A

VE

DA

LME

NY

AV

E

DA

LME

NY

AV

E

DA

LME

NY

AV

E

JOHN ST

POWER AVE

PAR

K R

D

CLA

RA

ST

PAR

K S

T

NE

WTO

N S

T

KIN

GS

CLE

AR

RD

ALE

XAN

DE

R S

T

HARLEY ST

ASHMORE ST

COPELAND ST FOUNTAIN STBO

WDEN ST

JENNINGS ST

SWANSON ST

ALBERT ST

COPELAND AVE

ERSKINEVILLE RD

RENWICK ST

MIT

CHELL

RD

SUTT

OR S

T

DIBBS

ST

ALLEN AVEFO

X AVE

BELM

ONT

STLA

WREN

CE ST

MCEVOY ST

HUDSON ST

DANGAR PL

MYRTLE ST

VINE ST

IVY

ST

CO

DR

ING

TON

ST

IVY

LN

VINE ST

ABER

CROM

BIE

ST

ABERCROMBIE ST

WILSON ST

WILSON ST

CH

UR

CH

ST

NO

RTH

WO

OD

ST

RO

BE

RTS

ST

HO

PE

TOU

N S

T

DE

NIS

ON

ST

BISHOPGATE ST

PR

OB

ER

T S

T

ALBEMARLE ST

CH

ELM

SFO

RD

ST

BEDFORD ST

ENMORE RD

WILFORD ST

DON ST

SALISBURY RD

FOWLER ST

MA

LLE

TT

ST

GIB

BE

NS

ST

AU

STR

ALI

A S

T

FEDERATION RD

LANDER ST

DARLINGTON RD

KING STKIN

G ST

KIN

G S

T

YARALLA ST

GE

OR

GIN

A S

T

FITZ

RO

Y S

T

HO

RD

ER

N S

T

FITZROY LN

BA

ILE

Y S

T

HOLT STRAWSON LN

RAWSON ST

RE

IBY

ST

CA

MD

EN

LN

EG

AN

ST

O’C

ON

NE

LL S

T

SU

SA

N S

T

VICTORIA STPROSPECT ST

CHALDER ST

RAPER ST

BRENNAN LN

RAILWAY LN

NORFOLK ST

ST JOHN ST

WH

ITE

HO

RS

E S

T

MA

RY

STLENNOX ST

ELI

ZA S

T

LINTHORPE ST

BALDWIN ST

WHATE

LEY

LN

HE

RB

ER

T LN

CAMPBELL ST

LONGDOWN ST

QU

EE

N S

T

WE

STE

RN

AV

E

CITY RD

MAZE CRES

BLACKWATTLE

EVEL

EIG

H S

T

RE

NW

ICK

ST

GE

OR

GE

ST

WIL

LIA

M S

T

GE

OR

GE

ST

CO

PE

ST

CO

PE

ST

GE

OR

GE

ST

PIT

T S

T

PIT

T S

T

PIT

T S

TB

UR

NE

TT

HU

GO

ST

LEW

IS S

T RE

GE

NT

ST

RE

GE

NT

ST

GIB

BO

NS

ST

BO

TAN

Y R

D

BO

TAN

Y R

D

O’R

IORD

AN S

T

O’R

IOR

DA

N S

T

BOTANY

RD

PH

ILLI

PS

ST

LOVE

RID

GE

BR

EN

NA

N S

T

GE

RA

RD

ST

GA

RD

EN

ST

CO

RN

WA

LLIS

ST

RO

SE

HIL

L S

T

WYN

DH

AM

ST

SH

EP

HE

RD

ST

EDW

ARD S

T

CALDER RD

CAROLINE STLAWSON ST

LAWSON SQ

MARGARET

PITT ST

LEE

ST

REGENT ST

THO

MA

S S

T

QU

AY

ST

DA

RLI

NG

DR

HA

RR

IS ST

HA

RR

IS ST

BU

LWA

RA

RD

HA

CK

ETT ST

PYRM

ON

T ST

MO

UN

T ST

JON

ES S

T

DARLI

NG IS

LAND R

D

PIR

RA

MA

RD

PIRR

AMA R

D

JON

ES ST

JON

ES ST

KE

NS

ING

TON

ST

HARBOUR ST

ULTIMO RD

PIER ST OXFORD STPOPLAR

WAINE ST

DRUITT ST

MARKET ST

ALFRED ST

BENT ST

HUNTER ST

MARTIN PL

KING ST

GROSVENOR ST

MARGARET ST

BOND ST

CURTIN PL

REIBY PL

ERSKINE ST

BARRACK ST

ARGYLE ST

WINDMILL ST

LOW

ER FORT

STTOWNS PL

MC

CA

ULE

Y S

T

STO

KES

AVE

ON

SLO

W P

L

ON

SLO

W AVENUE

WOMERAH AVENUE

SURREY STREET

NIM

RO

D S

TB

RO

UG

HA

M S

TRE

ET

MC

ELH

ON

E S

TRE

ET

DO

WLI

NG

STR

EE

T

PYRMONT BRIDGE

UNION ST

ObservatoryHill

QUA

RRY

MASTER DR

IVE

LITTLE PIER ST

WE

STE

RN

DIS

TRIB

UTO

R

GADIGAL AVENUE

Sydney CoveWarrane

Bennelong PointDubbagullee

Dawes PointTar–raWalsh Bay

Darling HarbourTumbalong

RoyalBotanicGardens

The Domain

Hyde Park

Beare Park

DarlingHarbour

Moore Park

Belmore Park

Wentworth Park

Harold Park

JubileePark

VictoriaPark

CamperdownMemorialRest Park Hollis Park

Centennial Park

Royal Randwick Racecourse

Cockle Bay

Blackwattle Bay

Rozelle Bay

Johnstons Bay

Farm Cove Wahganmuggalee

Woolloomooloo Bay

Elizabeth Bay

RushcuttersBay

Sydney Park

TaylorSquare

Sydney University

Circular Quay

Wynyard

Martin Place

Town Hall

Museum

St James

Central Station

Erskineville

Redfern

Macdonaldtown

Newtown

St Peters

Kings Cross

John StSquare

SydneyFish Market

WentworthPark

StarCity

PyrmontBay

Convention

Exhibition

Paddy’sMarkets

CapitolSquare

Central

HarboursideDarling

Park CityCentre

GalleriesVictoria

WorldSquare

01

02

03

04

05

06

08

09

12

11

10

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23 24

1314

15

07

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 02.

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 03.

NewtowN Railway StatioN324A King Street

01

The Great Western Railway line from Sydney to Parramatta opened in 1855 with four stops along the way, including Newtown. The original train station was near Crago Flour Mills (now the Silos Apartments), hence the street name Station Street, but was moved to its present site in 1892 when the railway line was expanded. A ticket office was built at street level on the Newtown Bridge (02) and platforms were accessed by steep stairs.

NewtowN bRidge02

Newtown Bridge is much more than an elevated roadway over the railway line: ‘The Bridge’ is Newtown’s civic and cultural heart. It was a popular open-air meeting site in the first half of the 20th century. It attracted political rallies, soapbox speakers and religious preachers, including socialists and communists, supporters of the General Strike of 1917, and the Salvation Army. The late Bob Gould, a Newtown stalwart, remembered communists addressing passers-by from soapboxes were regularly arrested in the 1950s.

Turn left and walk along the eastern side of King Street to the corner of Newman Street.

Inside the ticket office at Newtown Station, 1932 (Photograph: Historic Houses Trust of NSW)

There were markets on this corner from 1885. They originally occupied the former office, waiting room and stables of the Sydney Omnibus Company.

Markets were held regularly between the 1880s and the 1950s, but Friday and Saturday nights were the most popular times. Newtown’s markets were crowded and noisy. Stallholders sold everything from fruit, vegetables, meat and tobacco to second-hand books, furniture and clothes.

Site oF NewtowN MaRKetS328-342 King Street

03

The trachyte obelisk on the opposite corner of Newman Street is a war memorial and honour roll engraved with the names of World War 1 veterans from Newtown Public School, now the Newtown High School of Performing Arts (04). Continue along to St Georges Hall (05).

Newtown Markets rebuilt in 1906 (Photograph: Jubilee Souvenir of the Municipality of Newtown 1912)

05

NSW premier Sir Henry Parkes laid the foundation stone for St Georges Hall in June 1887. It was designed by David Ross as a venue for concerts, theatre, dances and public meetings, entertaining up to 1,200 people. With its prominent position on King Street, it provided serious competition to the civic amenity of the nearby town hall.

St geoRgeS Hall352 King Street

Cross King Street at the lights then turn right. Trace your steps back towards Newtown Bridge and the former City Bank building on the corner, then cross Enmore Road at the lights. To the left is The Hub (06). The former Newtown Town Hall (07) is on the corner of Bedford and Australia streets.

Aldermanic reception at St Georges Hall, 1932 (Photograph: Powerhouse Museum)

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 04.

Hub tHeatRe7-13 Bedford Street

Newtown locals may remember the Hub’s spicy reputation. The former cinema started life as Clay’s Bridge Theatre in 1913. Theatre impresario Harry Clay provided Newtown’s only live vaudeville venue in the early 20th century. Clay’s theatre was taken over by Hoyts in the 1930s and converted into a cinema. In the 1950s and ’60s, it screened non-English-language films to cater to Newtown’s large migrant population, and was briefly the home of the Sydney Film Festival. With the relaxation of Australia’s censorship laws, The Hub became an insalubrious and infamous ‘blue movie house’. It closed in the mid-1990s and has been vacant since.

06

The former town hall was originally Newtown’s controversial first School of Arts. The building’s original architect Frederick Holland was Newtown’s first mayor. Holland designed the building but after concerns it was structurally unsound, rival architect John Bibb stepped in to oversee the demolition and reconstruction of the second storey. Holland became mayor in 1863 but nursed a grievance toward his fellow councillors, which tainted council meetings until he was voted out two years later.The Municipality of Newtown was incorporated in 1862. The council leased a number of rooms within the School of Arts before purchasing the building outright for its town hall in 1868. Within the year, the building was extended and renamed Newtown Municipal Council Chambers. It was refurbished and given a new façade in the 1920s and is now leased by the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre.

07 NewtowN towN Hall (FoRMeR)1 Bedford Street

Turn left on to Australia Street. This is Newtown’s civic precinct, with a Courthouse (08), Police Station and Fire Station (09).

NewtowN CouRtHouSe 222 AuStrAliA Street

Newtown Courthouse has been in continuous use since 1885. Although the courthouse appears monumental when viewed from Australia Street, police and court officers thought it was poky and didn’t want to move in. Offices were crammed underneath the courtroom because the site was small and restricted. Colonial Architect James Barnet was later censured by government for the choice of building site and for going over budget.

08

Funeral procession passing in front of Newtown Courthouse, late 19th century (Photograph: Marrickville

Library and History Services)

NewtowN FiRe StatioN 214 AuStrAliA Street

Newtown Volunteer Fire Company was established in the early 1870s with just nine volunteers, a hand pump, a small reel of hose and a ladder. When Newtown’s first fire station on Australia Street opened in June 1892, volunteer firemen were replaced by paid staff.The existing Newtown No.5 Fire Station was designed by Spain, Cosh & Minnett in 1913. By 1922, all the horse-drawn fire engines had been replaced with motor-driven ones, including one that could ‘throw 600 gallons of water on to a fire every single minute it is working’.

09

Continue along Australia Street until you reach the Courthouse Hotel, earlier called the Kingston Lodge Hotel, then turn right on to Lennox Street. To your right is Eliza Street. On the left is Camperdown Memorial Rest Park (10), previously Camperdown Cemetery. St Stephen’s Church is behind the brick wall. The entrance is on Church Street.

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 05.

Retrace your steps to Eliza Street. Follow the street along until you reach the School of Arts (11) and the Zanzibar Hotel (12).

Camperdown Cemetery was established in 1848 and was the Church of England’s principal burial ground until 1867. The cemetery covered 13 acres between Lennox Street and Federation Road. Both the Cemetery Lodge and the fig tree near the entrance gates date from 1848.Up to 18,000 people were buried during the cemetery’s 18 years of operation. Many could not afford headstones so were buried in unmarked graves.After Camperdown Cemetery closed, part of it was taken over for St Stephen’s Church. Designed in the Gothic Revival architectural style by Edmund Blacket, it was officially opened in April 1874.After complaints about its neglected state, Camperdown Cemetery was converted to a public park in 1951. Gravestones north of St Stephen’s were removed and a large wall was built to enclose the church grounds and the remaining gravesites.

10 CaMpeRdowN MeMoRial ReSt paRK 187-189 ChurCh Street

Camperdown Cemetery in 1951. The spire of St Stephen’s Church is to the right.

(Photograph: City of Sydney Archives)

NewtowN SCHool oF aRtS5 elizA Street

Newtown Workman’s Institute was formed in 1899, later becoming Newtown’s second School of Arts. Originally housed in rooms in St Georges Hall, the institute rented a small cottage at 5 Eliza Street from 1902, which was replaced with a new building in 1916. It featured a library, lecture hall, billiards hall, and small rooms for reading, retiring, smoking, games, meeting and classrooms.

11

There has been a pub on this corner since the early 1860s. Originally called the Daniel Webster Hotel, it was renamed the Oxford Hotel in 1875. It was refurbished in the art deco style in 1913. In the 1980s, the Oxford Tavern was a popular live music venue, and was open late most nights. The hotel was refurbished in 2002 with an African theme and renamed Zanzibar.

ZaNZibaR (FoRMeR oxFoRd Hotel)323 King Street

12

Cross King Street at the lights, turn left and continue until you reach Newtown Post Office (13) on the corner of Erskineville Road.

Plan and elevation drawn by architect N F Nurzey in 1913 for the Oxford Hotel (State Records of NSW)

KiNg StReet

King Street is Newtown’s ‘spine’. The first major transport route through Newtown followed the same alignment of today’s King Street. It is likely this ‘bullock route’ followed an Aboriginal track across the ridges to the Cooks River. Originally known as the Bullanaming Road and later as the Cooks River or Newtown Road, it was officially named King Street in 1877. Its retail strip developed from the 1880s, and soon it became one of Sydney’s busiest suburban commercial centres.

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 06.

Designed by NSW Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon, Newtown Post Office was officially opened in August 1893 by the governor of NSW, the Earl of Jersey. A clock was installed in 1900. Newtown Post Office had 70 staff working across post, telegraph and telephone services in 1912, 50 years after the thriving municipality was formed.

NewtowN poSt oFFiCe 292 King Street

13

Cross Erskineville Road at the lights and then turn right. Continue along and then turn left on Wilson Street. Walk along until you reach the former Oddfellows Hall (14).

Newtown Post Office, 1890s (Photograph: State Records of NSW)

oddFellowS Hall (FoRMeR) 69-71 WilSon Street

14

The Loyal William Lane Lodge (No. 5) of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) was established at Newtown in 1878 and their lodge on Wilson Street opened 10 years later. It was one of many friendly society lodges established in Sydney during the 19th century, providing mutual support for working men.The hall was converted to a boxing gym by Ern McQuillan in the 1970s. Aboriginal boxing greats trained by McQuillan include Tony Mundine, father of Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine, Harry Grogan, Wally Carr and Alfie Clay. Oddfellows Hall was redeveloped as residential units in the 1980s.

Ern McQuillan at his Newtown gym in 1979 (Photograph:

National Library of Australia)

Follow Wilson Street until you reach Hollis Park (17). Along the way, look out for the site of Henry Henninges bakery on the corner of Watkin Street (15). The Stucco housing cooperative is opposite the park at 197-207 Wilson Street (16).

Walk through the park to the corner of Warren Ball Avenue and Georgina Street, where there is a granite memorial to the ‘Prince of Charity Organisers’ Mr Warren Ball JP (18). Georgina Street is filled with grand terrace houses built between 1885 and 1890. This tree-lined street is Newtown’s most sought-after address. The synagogue (19) is on the corner of Hollis Lane.

17

Hollis Park was Newtown’s first public park, established in 1913. The park was named for English-born Robert Hollis, engine driver, unionist and parliamentarian. Hollis lived in Newtown from 1884, when he migrated to Australia. He was a foundation member of the Newtown Labor League in 1891 and MLA for Newtown in 1901-17. He was also a founder of the Newtown Literary and Debating Society and served as a director of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

HolliS paRK

Follow Georgina Street to King Street. Cross King Street at the lights, then turn right and walk towards the city until you reach the Trocadero (20)

19

Newtown had a sizable Jewish population from the 1880s. Organised Jewish life began at this time. Land was acquired on Georgina Street for a purpose-built synagogue in 1912, which was officially opened with a consecration ceremony in September 1919. Newtown was the second suburban Jewish congregation in Sydney to build its own synagogue.

NewtowN SyNagogue 20 georginA Street

Roller skating was a popular pastime in the late 19th century. One of the most ornate rinks in Sydney was Newtown’s ‘Trocadero and Acadamie de Musique’, opened in 1889. The Trocadero boasted hairdressing saloons for men and women, a billiards room with two tables, a French café, and oyster saloons. The roller-skating rink was in the main hall. It had a fountain as its centrepiece, and had a corrugated iron clerestory roof that could be opened to the elements.

tRoCadeRo 69-77 King Street

20

Retrace your steps along King Street, past the Marlborough Hotel, until O’Connell Street. Turn right. The former NSW Railway and Tramway Recreation Club (21) is on the corner of Victoria Street.

GRITTYNEWTOWNHistorical Walking Tour

Historical Walking Tours — Newtown / 07.

NSw Railway & tRaMway ReCReatioN Club (FoRMeR) 16-18 o’Connell Street

21

The NSW Railway and Tramway Recreation Club was built in 1911. It had recreational facilities including a gymnasium, billiards room and a library, as well as a miniature rifle range on the roof. By 1949, the building was converted into a factory for the Indiana Hosiery Company, and was later home to Champion Textiles. The building is now converted into apartments.

If you have time, wander along Chalder, Prospect and Hordern streets, which have a number of early timber houses. Otherwise, retrace your steps to King Street. Turn right and then cross at the second set of lights. Look out for the art deco façade of the Burland Hall opposite while you wait at the lights (22).

buRlaNd Hall (FoRMeR) 222 King Street

22

Although the former Burlington Hall has an art deco façade, it was originally built in 1888 as Her Majesty’s Skating Rink. The ice rink was famed for its skating surface ‘as smooth as polished glass’. In summer, it was converted into ‘monster’ swimming baths. The grand pleasure palace lasted less than a decade, and became part of Marcus Clark’s department store emporium at 216-226 King Street. It later became a cinema and received an art deco facelift in the 1930s.

After crossing King Street, turn into Brown Street. On the corner of Brown Lane is a former warehouse (23) that was once part of Marcus Clark’s department store emporium.

MaRCuS ClaRK & Co. ltd 1-1A BroWn Street (AlSo 216-226 King Street And 2-14 BroWn Street)

23

In 1883, Henry Marcus Clark established his drapery store on King Street on the site of Dendy Cinemas. It expanded to become one of Sydney’s largest department stores by the early 20th century. Marcus Clark’s ‘Millinery, Clothing, Boot & Fancy Goods Warehouse’ moved to its new location further north along King Street on the corner of Brown Street in the 1890s. The emporium covered 10 acres; only this modest warehouse survives.

Diagonally opposite is the Newtown Library (24). Your tour ends here.

Marcus Clark & Co emporium on the corner of King and Brown streets (Image: City of Sydney Archives / Salvation Army Archives)

The Newtown Corps of the Salvation Army was formed in April 1883 and their barracks on Brown Street were built a year later. The building was renovated in 1922 and renamed the Newtown Citadel. It has been home to Newtown Library since 1995.

24 NewtowN libRaRy 8-10 BroWn Street

The Salvation Army’s brass band played at the Newtown Bridge every week.(Photograph: Salvation Army Archives)

Newtown Railway and Tramway Institute’s third annual road race in August 1926

(Photograph: courtesy Clyde Ellem, City of Sydney Archives)

This brochure was prepared by the History Program at the City of Sydney. 1st edition, December 2012.

historical walking tours

Think before you bin this guideAfter reading, pass it on to someone else who might find it useful or recycle it.

Hwt 14

Discover more of historic Sydney with the other walking tour brochures in this series.

More information can be found at the City’s website: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/history or call the City of Sydney on 9265 9333

This story is one of many layers www.dictionaryofsydney.org