Surry Hills, New South Wales

:"For the Melbourne suburb, see Surrey Hills, Victoria"Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Surry Hills
city = Sydney
state = nsw


caption = Clock Hotel, Crown Street
lga =City of Sydney
postcode = 2010
pop =
area =
propval =
est =
propval = $835,000 [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?mode=buy&searchterm=surry%20hills#mapanchor Surry Hills] , accessed 04 July 2008]
stategov = Sydney
fedgov = Sydney
near-nw = "Sydney CBD"
near-n = Darlinghurst
near-ne = Darlinghurst
near-w = Haymarket
near-e = Paddington
near-sw = Chippendale
near-s = Redfern
near-se = Moore Park
dist1 = 1
dir1 = south-east
location1= Sydney CBD

Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located 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. [Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2002, Map 19]

Central is a locality in the north-west of the suburb around Central Station. Prince Alfred Park is located nearby. Strawberry Hills is a locality around Cleveland and Elizabeth streets.

History

Surry Hills was named after the Surrey Hills in Surrey, England. It was once a beautiful farming area, owned by Major Joseph Foveaux (1765-1846). His property was known as Surry Hills Farm and Foveaux Street is named in his honour. [ "The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, p.249 ISBN 0-207-14495-8 ]

The Devonshire Street cemetery, where many of the early settlers were buried, was moved to build the Sydney railway terminus. Central railway station was opened on the 4th 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. [Book of Sydney Suburbs, p.249]

Terrace houses and workers' cottages were built in Surry Hills from the 1850s. 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 vices. Fact|date=December 2007

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 building restored and many new upper middle-class residents enjoying the benefits of inner-city living. Fact|date=December 2007

Commercial area

Surry Hills has mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial areas. It remains Sydney's main centre for fashion wholesale activities, particularly on the western side. Crown Street is a centre of Surry Hills Shopping Village is a shopping centre on Cleveland Street, on the border with Redfern. Oxford Square is a shopping centre on Oxford Street, on the border with Darlinghurst. Surry Hills Markets are held in Shannon Reserve at the corner of Crown and Collins Streets, on the first Saturday of every month.

Transport

Central railway station, the largest station on the CityRail network, sits on western edge of Surry Hills. Surry Hills is also serviced by State Transit Authority buses. The Eastern Distributor is a major road, on the eastern edge of the suburb. Major thoroughfares are Crown Street, Cleveland Street, Bourke Street and Foveaux Street.

Churches

St Michaels Anglican Church, St Frances De Sales Catholic Church, St Peters Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, St Sophia and 3 Daughters Greek Orthodox Church, Surry Hills Baptist Church, Chinese Presbyterian Church, Dawn of Islam Mosque.

chools

Bourke Street Public School, Crown Street Public School, Sydney Community College.

Landmarks

St Margaret's Hospital, Sydney Police Centre, Centennial Plaza, Belvoir Street Theatre, Tom Mann Theatre, Prince Alfred Park, Clock Hotel.

Architecture

Architecturally, Surry Hills is largely composed of Victorian terraced housing, but with some warehouses and several large developments of apartment buildings from the twentieth century in the west of the suburb.

Pubs

Because of its industrial and commercial history, the Surry Hills area contains a significant number of pubs. The style of pubs range from the Victorian period, to Federation and Art Deco pubs from the mid-1900s. Many of these have been refurbished in recent years to include restaurants and modern facilities

Heritage

The following buildings are on the Register of the National Estate: [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/88]
* House, 177-177A Albion Street
* Public School, Bourke Street
* Cleveland House, Bedford Street
* Former Wesleyan Chapel, 348A Bourke Street
* Former Police Station, 703 Bourke Street
* Cleveland Street Public School, corner Cleveland and Chalmers Streets
* Terraces, 15-33 Collins Street
* Public School, Crown Street
* Houses, 82-146 Flinders Street
* Houses, 150-156 Flinders Street
* Terraces, 368-378 South Dowling Street
* St Michael's Church, Hall and Rectory, Albion Street
* Terrace, 197-201 Albion Street
* House, 203-205 Albion Street
* Durham Hall, 207 Albion Street
* Riley Street Infants School, 378-386 Riley Street

Population

Demographically Surry Hills is now characterised as a mixture of relatively affluent newcomers who have gentrified the suburb, long-time residents and an enormous number of transients. There are a large number of hostels and other facilities for transients and the homeless in the area.

References

External links