Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Darlinghurst

Inner suburb to the east of the city which has been home to both gentry and underclass. The former Darlinghurst Gaol is now the National Art School.

-33.873732111562, 151.21266825706

Name
Alternate
Henrietta Town
Commemorates
Property
Administered by
Part of
Type

Darlinghurst

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2011

Used by its traditional owners, the Gadigal people, well into the 1840s, Darlinghurst was a quarry and windmill site before it became popular for the fine villas of the colony's well-to-do, in the 1830s. Subsequent booms and busts raised and lowered the suburb's fortunes, creating the mix of poor and posh, criminal and respectable that have made Darlinghurst one of Sydney's most interesting localities.

The road east

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2011

The first track east to South Head followed the path Aboriginal people had travelled for thousands of years, but soon became a cleared road and later a paved street.

Chard Stairs

CC BY-SA 2.5 AU
,
2018

Chard Stairs connect Forbes Street with William Street and resulted from a project to widen the original William Street in 1916

Breeding delinquents: Surf City 1963-1966

CC BY 2.5 AU
,
2020

The venue Surf City in the former Kings Cross Theatre on Darlinghurst Road was accused of ‘breeding delinquents’ soon after it opened in 1963. Despite its short lifetime, the venue is crucial to the musical history of Australia. For three years it served as the spiritual home of Australian beat music, giving rise to mainstream pop stars and underground cult heroes whose influence remains today.