Location
Surry Hills is an inner city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surrounded by the suburbs of Darlinghurst to the north, Chippendale and Haymarket to the west, Moore Park and Paddington to the east and Redfern to the south. (Wikipedia)
History
The first land grants in Surry Hills were made in the 1790s. Major Joseph Foveaux received 105 acres. His property was known as Surry Hills Farm, after the Surrey Hills in Surrey, England. Foveaux Street is named in his honour. Commissary John Palmer received 90 acres. He called the property George Farm and in 1800 Palmer also bought Foveaux’s farm. In 1792, the boundaries of the Sydney Cove settlement were established between the head of Cockle Bay to the head of Woolloomooloo Bay. West of the border, which included present-day Surry Hills, was considered suitable for farming and was granted to military officers and free settlers.
After Palmer’s political failures, his reduced financial circumstances forced his estate’s first subdivision and sale in 1814. Isaac Nichols bought Allotment 20, comprising over 6 acres. Due to the hilly terrain, much of the suburb was considered remote and ‘inhospitable’. In the early years of the nineteenth century the area around what is now Prince Alfred Park was undeveloped land known as the Government Paddocks or Cleveland Paddocks. A few villas were built in the suburb in the late 1820s. The suburb remained one of the contrasts for much of the nineteenth century, with the homes of wealthy merchants mixed with that of the commercial and working classes.
In 1820, Governor Macquarie ordered the consecration of the Devonshire Street Cemetery. A brick wall was erected before any interments took place to enclose its 4 acres. Within a four-year period, the cemetery was expanded by the addition of 7 acres to its south. A road was formed along the southern boundary of the cemetery in the first half of the 1830s and was called Devonshire Street. The Devonshire Street Cemetery, where many early settlers were buried, was later moved to build the Sydney railway terminus. The central railway station was opened on 4 August 1906. The area around Cleveland and Elizabeth streets was known as Strawberry Hills. Strawberry Hills post office was located at this intersection for many years.
In 1833, the Nichols estate was subdivided and sold. One purchase was by Thomas Broughton and subsequently acquired by George Hill who constructed Durham Hall on this and adjoining lots. Terrace houses and workers’ cottages were built in Surry Hills in the 1850s. The light industry became established in the area, particularly in the rag trade (clothing industry). It became a working-class suburb, predominately inhabited by Irish immigrants. The suburb developed a reputation for crime and vice. The Sydney underworld figure Kate Leigh (1881–1964), lived in Surry Hills for more than 80 years.
Surry Hills was favoured by newly arrived families after World War II when property values were low and accommodation was inexpensive. From the 1980s, the area was gentrified, with many of the area’s older houses and buildings restored and many new upper-middle-class residents enjoying the benefits of inner-city living. The suburb is now a haven for the upper middle class and young rich.
Trams
The West Kensington via Surry Hills Line operated from 1881 down Crown Street as far as Cleveland Street as a steam tramway. It was extended to Phillip Street in 1909, Todman Avenue in 1912, and then to its final terminus down Todman Avenue in 1937. When the line was fully operational it branched from the tramlines in Oxford Street and proceeded down Crown Street to Cleveland Street in Surry Hills, then south along Baptist Street to Phillip Street, where it swung left into Crescent Street before running south along Dowling Street. It passed the Dowling Street Depot, then turned left into Todman Avenue, where it terminated at West Kensington. The line along Crown Street closed in 1957, the remainder stayed open until 1961 to allow access to Dowling Street Tram Depot. State Transit routes 301, 302 and 303 generally follow the route down Crown and Baptist Streets as far as Phillip Street. (Wikipedia)
Places of Interest
