Darlinghurst, New South Wales

Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. Darlinghurst is colloquially known as Darlo.

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. The main thoroughfare of Darlinghurst is considered to be Oxford Street which is well-known around the world as the centre of Sydney's gay community, and is home to a number of gay venues. In recent years, Oxford Street has garnered a reputation as being Sydney's primary "nightclub strip", popular with both gay and straight clubbers, and surpassing the notorious red-light district of Kings Cross in popularity. Subsequently, crime rates increased in the area, particularly for assaults and robberies.

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.

History
The suburb was originally known as Eastern Hill and then Henrietta Town, after Governor Lachlan Macquarie's wife, 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.

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.

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 National Art School. The last hanging at the gaol was in 1907 (Jahn, 1997).

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).

Darlinghurst Fire Station
Completed in 1912, this three-storey brick and stone building occupies a prominent location at the corner of Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street. It was designed in 1910 by Walter Liberty Vernon (Jahn, 1997). It still functions as a fire station and is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

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). It was a toll road in its early years with the toll gates being located near present day Glenmore Road. 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.

Stanley Street
Stanley Street is one of the suburb's two secondary restaurant strips (with Victoria Street) and is often referred to as Sydney's first "Little Italy". However, the restaurants range from Japanese, Thai and Italian and the prices range from basic to moderate. There is an annual Italian Festival held here every June.

Victoria Street
Victoria Street is the other major cafe strip. Restaurants range from basic to upmarket. The majority of the cafes have outdoor seating. Several iconic restaurants are in this area, such as Tropicana and Bar Coluzzi.

Inter-War Apartments
Kurrajong, 138 Darlinghurst Road,Darlinghurst

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, 3-5 Darley Street, Darlinghurst

Portree, 2a Darley Street, Darlinghurst

The Horizon
The Horizon, located in Forbes Street, Darlinghurst, is a 43-storey residential high rise building completed in 1998. It has a distinctive scalloped facade and is finished in rendered concrete. The building was designed by Sydney architect, Harry Seidler and is controversial in that it has caused major overshadowing of the surrounding area.

Commercial Area
Darlinghurst's commercial activity is centred on Oxford Street, and extends to Victoria Street, Flinders Street, Crown Street and Darlinghurst Road. 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 Street. There is also a significant retail presence, including fashion retailers.

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 333 bus runs the same route but is an express service, only servicing major stops and all passengers must have prepaid tickets. 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.

Schools
The Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School (now called SCEGGS Darlinghurst) 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 located 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.

The National Art School of Australia, a specialist Art school in collaboration with Sydney TAFE, dates back to 1859.

Churches
Darlinghurst has four 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 and drop-in centre. It provides a range of services to the local community, including the homeless. There is 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 Darlinghurst.

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.

Songs Connected With The Area

 * 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

Books Connected With The Area

 * The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey (1991)
 * Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (1992)
 * He Died With a Falafel In His Hand by John Birmingham (1994)
 * Razor by Larry Writer (2001)

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 electorates of the Division of Sydney and Wentworth. Its current parliamentary representatives are Tanya Plibersek (Labor) and Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal). These electorates have some of the state's strongest support for The Greens.

Heritage
The following buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate.


 * St Peter's Church of England, Bourke Street
 * Beare's Stairs, Caldwell and Surry Streets
 * Hilton, Liverpool Street
 * Former Marist Brothers High School, corner Liverpool and Darley Streets
 * Stoneleigh, Darley Street
 * Hughlings Private Hospital, Darley Street
 * Novar, Darley Street
 * The Grange, Liverpool Street
 * St John's Church of England and Church Rectory, Darlinghurst Road
 * East Sydney Technical College (formerly Darlinghurst Gaol), Forbes and Burton Streets
 * Barham, SCEGGS School, Forbes Street
 * St Peter's Rectory, Forbes Street
 * Former Belgrave Terrace, Forbes Street
 * Terrace, 204-218 Liverpool Street
 * Terrace, 337-345 Liverpool Street
 * SILF Company Building, 10-20 Oxford Square
 * Former Family Hotel, 20 Burton Street
 * Former ANZ Bank, 52 Oxford Street
 * G.A.Zink and Sons, 56 Oxford Street
 * Presbyterian Church and Manse, Palmer and Stanley Streets
 * Darlinghurst Court House, Taylor Square
 * Former Darlinghurst Police Station, Forbes Street, Taylor Square
 * Darlinghurst Fire Station, corner Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street
 * Darlinghurst Public School, Womerah Avenue

Notable Residents

 * Sotherbys Chairman Justin Miller
 * Real Estate Agent Michael Marquette
 * Rita Goliard Mining Heiress