Alexandria is an inner-city
suburb of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Alexandria is located 5 kilometres south of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
and is part of the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
. The postcode is 2015.
The rough boundaries of Alexandria are Botany Road to the east, Gardeners Road to the south, Mitchell Road and
Sydney Park
Sydney Park is a recreational area in the inner-city area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The parkland is located in the suburb of Alexandria, sitting along the borders with Newtown and Erskineville.
Sydney Park is the third largest p ...
to the west, and Boundary Road to the north. It is approximately 3.5 km south of
Central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
.
History
The
Parish of Alexandria was established in 1835. The naming of Alexandria and neighbouring
Waterloo commemorates the famous British Empire military and naval victories over Napoleon – the
Battles of Alexandria and
Waterloo. The Iron Duke Hotel in Alexandria is itself named after the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
, as is Wellington Street in Waterloo. It was thought Alexandria may have been named after
Princess Alexandra, Queen consort of
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
, however, Alexandra was born on 1 December 1844 and the parish's naming predates the birth of Alexandra by six years.
In 1868, the
Municipality of Alexandria
The Municipality of Alexandria was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally part of the municipalities of Redfern from 1859 and Waterloo from 1860, the Borough of Alexandria was proclaimed on 27 August 1868. Wit ...
was formed, after separating from
Waterloo. The former
Alexandria Town Hall is in Garden Street. Land for the building was acquired in 1879; the building was designed by Ferdinand Reuss Snr and completed in 1881. Major alterations took place over the years, right up to 1928. The building is listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
.
By 1943, Alexandria was the largest industrial district in Australia, and known as the "
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
of Australia", with everything from bricks to aeroplanes manufactured in 550 factories in just . The municipality was abolished upon merger into the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
in 1949, along with
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
,
Erskineville
Erskineville is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Erskinevill ...
,
Newtown,
Redfern, Waterloo,
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
and
The Glebe
The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Ottawa's downtown area in the Capital Ward. According to the Glebe Community Association, the neighbourhood is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the ...
.
In 1968 the boundaries were changed again and Alexandria was part of a new municipality, South Sydney Council. South Sydney was brought back into the City of Sydney in 1982 and then became separate again under the City of Sydney Act of 1988. In 2004, Alexandria moved back into the City of Sydney, when the City of Sydney was merged with the
City of South Sydney
The South Sydney City Council was a local government area covering the inner-eastern and inner-Southern Sydney suburbs of Sydney. It was forcibly merged with the Sydney City Council by the New South Wales State Government in 2004. The council ch ...
.
Trams
![Tram from Mitchell Rd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Tram_from_Mitchell_Rd._into_Henderson_Rd.Alexandria..jpg)
The former Alexandria tram line opened in 1902 as a single-track electric line that was duplicated in 1910. The line branched off from the Botany line at the junction of Henderson and Botany Roads in Alexandria. The line proceeded down Henderson Road then swung left into Mitchell Road. A turn-back was provided at Ashmore Road (near
Erskineville Oval) for short working. The line turned right into the present day Sydney Park Road (then known as an extension of Mitchell Road) before terminating at the junction with the Cook's River line at the
Princes Highway
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
near
St Peters railway station. Services operated from
Circular Quay
Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...
in a route similar to the Botany line as far as the Henderson Road junction. The line was closed in 1959.
Transit Systems
Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group.
History
...
route 308 generally follows the route as far as St Peters station.
Heritage listings
Alexandria has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
*
Alexandra Canal
* 39 Brandling Street:
Enginemans Resthouse
* 16-22 Retreat Street:
Yiu Ming Temple
Yiu Ming Temple ( zh, 要明廟) is a heritage-listed Chinese temple at 16-22 Retreat Street, Alexandria, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1908–9, Yiu Ming Temple is one of the oldest surviving Chinese temples in Australi ...
Demographics
At the 2021 census, there were 9,649 people living in Alexandria.
At the , Alexandria had a population of 8,262. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.7% of the population. The most common ancestries in Alexandria were English 22.6%, Australian 17.5%, Irish 10.8%, Scottish 6.9% and Chinese 5.8%. 59.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
5.4%,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
3.7%,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(excludes SARs and Taiwan) 2.6%,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
1.3% and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
1.0%. 72.1% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 2.7%, Cantonese 1.7%,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
1.6%,
French 1.3% and Italian, 1.0%. The most common responses for religion in Alexandria were No Religion 49.6%,
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
18.3%,
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
5.8% and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
2.8%. 61.3% of residences were flats and 34.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.
Commercial area
Alexandria is a largely
industrial suburb
An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spra ...
with medium to high density residential areas. The suburb was once mostly terraced housing, that was demolished for light industrial use and warehousing which continues to this day. Pockets of quiet residential areas remain along the northern boundary of the suburb, adjoining
Erskineville
Erskineville is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Erskinevill ...
and
Waterloo.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
has its Australia offices on Level 3 Eastside in the Sydney Corporate Park in Alexandria.
Green Square
Alexandria is part of the
Green Square district, in the north east of the suburb, which is undergoing
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
. This involves an urban renewal project that is constructing modern retail, business and medium-high density residential developments.
South Sydney Markets
Established in September 2009, its main purpose was to meet the community demand for local markets, providing fine produce and a venue for local handmade crafts. The children's activities kept the little ones entertained with face painting and a kids zoo. It was open every Sunday 10am - 3pm a
75-85 O'Riordan St Alexandriahowever, it has unfortunately been temporarily closed.
Transport
Alexandria is serviced by
Transdev John Holland
Transdev John Holland Buses is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A joint venture between Transdev and John Holland, it operates services in Sydney Bus Region 9 in the Eastern Suburbs under contract to Transport for NSW. It is a separate comp ...
routes to the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
. Alexandria is close to two railway lines on the
Sydney Trains
Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...
network.
Green Square railway station
Green Square railway station is located on the Airport line in the locality of Green Square. The station is situated at a five-way intersection which is the meeting point of the four suburbs, Alexandria, Zetland, Waterloo and Beaconsfield. ...
, located on the north-eastern fringe, is on the
Airport & South Line
The Airport & South Line (numbered T8, coloured green) (''commonly called the East Hills Line)'' is a suburban commuter rail line in Sydney, Australia. It connects the Sydney central business district with the southwestern suburbs via Sydney Ai ...
.
Erskineville railway station
Erskineville railway station is located on the Illawarra line, serving the Sydney suburb of Erskineville. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
History
The original Erskineville station, situated on the north side of Ers ...
and
St Peters railway station are serviced by the
Bankstown Line
The Bankstown Line (numbered T3, coloured orange) is a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It serves Canterbury-Bankstown and parts of the Inner West and Western Sydney. The Bankstown railway ...
. Both are within easy walking distance, to the west of Alexandria.
Culture
* Alexandria has the headquarters of the
.
* Alexandria is the location for a Chinese community centred on the
Yiu Ming Temple
Yiu Ming Temple ( zh, 要明廟) is a heritage-listed Chinese temple at 16-22 Retreat Street, Alexandria, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1908–9, Yiu Ming Temple is one of the oldest surviving Chinese temples in Australi ...
in Retreat Street. The temple was heritage-listed in 1999, along with the terraced houses that line Retreat Street.
Sport and recreation
Sydney Park
Sydney Park is a recreational area in the inner-city area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The parkland is located in the suburb of Alexandria, sitting along the borders with Newtown and Erskineville.
Sydney Park is the third largest p ...
is a large recreational area on the western border. Alexandria Park and McKell Playground are situated on Buckland Street.
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
courts and a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
oval are located here.
Erskineville Oval is just over the western border. Erskineville Oval is the home ground of the
Alexandria Rovers
The Alexandria Rovers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Alexandria, New South Wales, a suburb of south-central Sydney. They play in the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League.
Notable Juniors
Notable First Grade P ...
junior rugby league team.
The
Alexandria Dukes Rugby Football Club play in the
New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union
The New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union, or NSWSRU, is affiliated to the New South Wales Rugby Union and runs the competition affectionately known as "Subbies" rugby. There are around 7500 players and 55 clubs competing across 6 divisions, maki ...
competition and will again contest the Meldrum Cup in 2014. The club rooms for the Dukes are at the Iron Duke Hotel.
A number of popular pubs are located in the suburb including the Alexandria Hotel (reopened), Iron Duke Hotel, Buckland Hotel and the Parkview Hotel on Mitchell Road.
Gallery
File:Former Alexandria Town Hall.jpg, Former Alexandria Town Hall, Garden Street
Image:Alexandria house.JPG, Victorian terrace house, Garden Street
Image:Alexandria Park 2.JPG, Alexandria Park, Wyndham Street
Image:(1)Yiu_Ming_Temple-2.jpg, Yiu Ming Temple, Retreat Street
Image:Lord_Raglan_Hotel_Alexandria.jpg, Lord Raglan Hotel, Henderson Road
Image:Alexandria_Baby_Clinic_(3293685257).jpg, Former Alexandria Baby Clinic
File:SLNSW 14091 Bestex Mills Alexandria taken for LJ Hooker Ltd.jpg, Bestex Mills, Alexandria on 17 July 1951
References
External links
Alexandria demographics from the Dictionary of SydneyAlexandria Printing Service
{{Coord, -33.90166, 151.20007, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:AU-NSW
Suburbs of Sydney